Nursery for baby Chin?

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

Thanks to the great advice here from lovely, friendly, patient posters :thankyou:
I'm going to be a Mum to one Chinchilla :bliss:
I have the cage well on the way to being set up for my new arrival but......
Having read that babies don't know when to stop I'm concerned about my set up :confused3:
As my little one will have just left home should I limit the amount of space available until he/she has grown a bit? :hmm:
As in split off 1/2 the cage and make a nursery or will it be okay to just have everything available?

Is there an age when they can start dust baths? Do tinies need less depth of Chin sand?

Thanks for all your patience

 

[IceMaiden]

Knowing the size of that cage, I personally would block one part off for now. Apart from being overwhelmingly big, having so much space to bound away to isn't going to help much with taming. One section of that cage is big enough for one or two adult chins to live in permanently so it's quite adequate for a baby for a few weeks:thumbsup:.

Yes you can start sand baths right away. Baby chins learn to roll from their mother, so yours will have started having a bath long before you get it. Ten-twenty minutes two or three times a week is often enough, their skin can go dry if they bathe too much. You need a good 2-3" of sand in the tub so they can roll properly, mine gets frustrated if it's not deep enough for her to dig about in.

 

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

Thanks IceMaiden :~)

I did wonder about blocking not only the top part, but also 1/2 of the bottom section for the Kit for the first few weeks. When she/he is settled open up the other half then as the Kit grows and bonds open 1/2 top part and keep going until the whole cage is useable.
Any thoughts on this idea?
The bowl I got yesterday is lovely and deep :~) I plan to use a small Pyrex mixing bowl for the kit until to big and then move up to the big one.

 

[IceMaiden]

Personally I wouldn't split the cage levels, for the simple reason it would be rather tricky to do safely! If you are going to do this, make double sure that whatever you use as a barrier is totally immovable and secure. You don't want your kit to try and sqeeze between or under something and get stuck trapping tiny feet or for anything to drop on him/her. A safer idea which I would do would be to leave the floor level as it is, but reduce the accessories instead, that way there is nothing that can dislodge or fall, but the chin can't be overwhelmed by so much space and stuff at the same time.

Pyrex bowls are really good as their heavy enough to not move about and you get a great view of the chin flipping about in it.

 

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

Oh, gosh hadn't thought of that, thanks.
I'm so glad you're out there, I thought I was protecting them, but could have unwittingly caused more problems.
I'm usually a pretty calm person and I've brought up 9 children (not mine by birth, just had care from birth) as well as a variety of creatures and I swear I've never been this anxious about a new arrival :~)
I'll put a glass chopping board over the access hole in the top shelf just in case.
Should I put hammocks near top in case they scale bars and fall? I know they hop but not sure if they can climb as well?
I'm going to try fleece on the floors and watch for chewing :~)
Think watching them bathe in pyrex bowls will be great fun, might have to give up tv at this rate :~)

 

[IceMaiden]

Instead of a glass chopping board, over the hole, just turn the tray around. So if the cut out is in the far right corner, turn it so it's in the near left one instead and the tray base will block the hole completely. Easier and safer as it can't possibly drop through the hole:thumbsup:.

Yes, try and place the hammocks so that the kit can't drop far. Chinchillas are fragile, they have very tiny bones and a drop of more than 18" can kill an adult. Try to place hammocks and shelves so if h/she misses their footing or misjudges a jump, they can't fall too far, and overlap them slightly so if they do fall, they won't just slip straight down between the hammocks and miss them completely!

Chins can't really climb, not in the sense a squirrel or chipmunk can. Their rock hoppers not climbers, they aren't really built for climbing, as although they can jump pretty high and will scale up things if there's ledges/footholds, they have little nails rather like us so they can't scurry upwards as they have no claws to dig in or cling on with. When you get your chinnie have a look at its feet and you'll see how similar to human nails they are).

Oh and whilst they can't get their noses barely beyond the bars, their quite adept at reaching their paws through and pulling something in, so leave a good inch gap all around the cage or whatever is close enough to reach is going to get dragged in and chewed! My first chin chewed a dog lead to bits after I unwittingly left it in reach.

 

[IceMaiden]

Sorry that should be 12" not 18. 18 is far too big a gap.

 

[Amethyst]

Chins can't really climb, not in the sense a squirrel or chipmunk can. Their rock hoppers not climbers, they aren't really built for climbing, as although they can jump pretty high and will scale up things if there's ledges/footholds, they have little nails rather like us so they can't scurry upwards as they have no claws to dig in or cling on with. When you get your chinnie have a look at its feet and you'll see how similar to human nails they are).

Chins, especially kits can most definitely climb the bars of a cage. You are right that they don't have claws, but they can climb the cage like a ladder. Most chins grow out of it though, so it's normally only seen with kits. I have also seen chins scurry up walls, between two thing, like the cage and the wall if the two are at the right distance they can press their back against the cage and run up the wall. If you search youtube for "chinchilla climbing" you will find lots.

 

[Lucy~Caitlyn]

Gosh! Thanks to both IceMaiden and Amethyst for this new info.
I'll try to post a pic of cage set up before the Kit arrives so I can get an ok (or not) :~)
I did know about reaching out and plan to keep 6" clear around the cage. My cat's paws can't get in but I could well see them being grabbed by tiny paws, especially my 2 very long haired ones :~)
They'll never be alone with Chins, in cage or out, but they could need protection too.
I once forgot to put the lock on the door of my Chameleon, 10 minutes later I'm tearing the room apart looking for him. Having first put cats in their room. No sign of Fabbi with sinking heart I called the cats back in. My very Chocolate brown and white girl came out of the room her tail erect and she was crying, very unusual for her.
On the back of her tail, holding tightly was Fabbi! He was very reluctant to give up his new mode of transport :~)

 

[IceMaiden]

Chins, especially kits can most definitely climb the bars of a cage. You are right that they don't have claws, but they can climb the cage like a ladder. Most chins grow out of it though, so it's normally only seen with kits. I have also seen chins scurry up walls, between two thing, like the cage and the wall if the two are at the right distance they can press their back against the cage and run up the wall. If you search youtube for "chinchilla climbing" you will find lots.

Can they really climb the bars of a cage? Gosh I never knew that. The ones I've seen in pet shops are always sat on the shelves or in their bed box, even mine when I got her at ten weeks never once attempted to climb the actual cage, only the shelves and toys in it. She does try and climb me if I'm stood up but she can't get higher than my knees (I'm 5'3 so it's not exactly far off the ground!) and quickly drops back down unable to hold on. To me , apart from not having the claws to grip with, they don't seem the right shape to be able to climb in the way a rat or squirrel can, despite their squirrel like appearance. They seem too 'bottom heavy' like a rabbit to balance or twist about on the bars , and their back feet in particular don't look built to cling on, which I why I presumed they couldn't climb. You right about them scurrying up between things though, mine climbs up the back of a chest of drawers like this to get into the top drawer.