Shout out from Plano, TX!

[KALINIFIED]

Hello, everyone! My name is Kalin and I'm a 20-year-old college student in Plano, TX. I really wanted a small pet to share my life with because it gets kind of dull living alone, but I didn't want to get a hamster or something else that would just die in a year or two. After doing a bunch of research, I decided that a chinchilla would be the perfect pet for me (especially since I'm pretty much nocturnal, too...). I got my chinchilla, Potato, about a month ago and I already love him so much! When I first got him he was very skittish and wouldn't let me come near him, much less touch him. If I would try to put my hand in the cage to let him sniff me or scratch him under his chin (because I read most chinchillas like that...but Potato seems to not enjoy it as much as I thought he would), he would either scram or push my hands away. He's warmed up to me quite a bit now and will let me pick him up and hold him without much of a fuss. He even jumped onto my shoulder a couple of days ago.
Anyways, a lot of my research on chinchillas came from this website and I finally got a chance to create an account and join all of you fabulous people! I'm so glad I have a place where I can go to interact with people who love these magnificent creatures as much as (if not MORE than) I do!

I'll try to post a few pictures of Potato in the next couple of days. Until then...I just wanted to say hello and let everyone know I look forward to getting to know you!

-Kalin T. King

 

[tunes]

Welcome Kalin and Potato.

 

[Jenn]

Hi and welcome Kalin and Potato! I'm glad this site has been so helpful! Can't wait to see pictures of Potato

 

[lauralynne]

Hello & Welcome!

 

[mattvela91]

Where did you get Potato? If you don't mind me asking. I live in Arlington, TX, and I have been looking for a good place to get a pet chin for several weeks now. I'm happy to hear that he is warming up to you!

 

[Shooper]

Welcome, glad you have joined us! Always nice to meet another chin lover!

 

[KALINIFIED]

Where did you get Potato? If you don't mind me asking. I live in Arlington, TX, and I have been looking for a good place to get a pet chin for several weeks now. I'm happy to hear that he is warming up to you!

I got him from Pet Land in Dallas. I live in Plano and there's a Pet Land here, but the one in Dallas had better reviews than the one in Plano.
That being said, given all that I know about chinchillas, his cage (which was shared with one other chinchilla) was ridiculously small, but he was asleep inside of a plastic (AH!) castle-looking house and seemed content at the moment. The woman who was there to help me seemed knowledgeable and warned me not to try to grab him to tightly around his middle because of his floating rib cage. I'd say they probably know the bare minimum of what is required to raise a chinchilla. I would have really loved to see a bigger cage for them though.
I would have loved to get a chinchilla from a breeder...but there's not one around here, so I had to resort to the pet store option. Not the best, but he seems content enough now. Still a tad scared of my hands when I try to reach towards him, but he has no problems after I pick him up, or even running all over my body when I lay on the floor to read.

Sorry I'm so long-winded. Haha.

 

[Laurie]

Welcome ya'll!

 

[cindyv3737]

Welcome.

 

[KALINIFIED]

Pictures of Potato...and his new friend Brisket!

Hello again! I told you guys I'd come back with pictures, and I have! But I also have news. My mom knows a family who had a chinchilla they bought from a breeder about three years ago. They got him for their daughter, but she has lost interest and doesn't give him enough attention now, so I went and bought him from them and he is now under my care. In my research before i got my Potato I read up on introductions because I knew that at some point in time I would want to get another one. I just didn't know it would be so soon! I want all of you to know that I am aware that I should have quarantined the new chinchilla for the 30-day period to make sure he's not carrying any illnesses and form a bond with him, but that isn't an option for me because my college apartment complex only allows ONE cage in the apartment (it can be GIGANTIC, but I can only have one). Plus, I don't have another room to put him in, so it wasn't possible. So I performed a slowed-down version of the smoosh technique (mixed with a few others). (They are both males.)
1. I placed their cages about 6 inches apart for five hours.
2. I let the new chinchilla (who I have named Brisket) run around the play area for about 30 minutes while simultaneously putting Potato into Brisket's cage. Brisket would come up and he and Potato would kiss through the bars every so often.
3. I coaxed Brisket into Potato's cage and then let Potato run around the room for 30 minutes. He did the same thing as Brisket and they both kissed through the bars every so often.
4. I let the two play together for about 15 minutes. There wasn't any chasing or attempts to mount during this period. They actually more-or-less ignored one another.
5. Cage swap for about an hour. The cages were still kept 6 inches apart.
6. Let them run around and play together for 30-ish minutes. Opened up both cage doors and let them choose which one they wanted to go into. Closed the door. This is when they started chasing one another. I didn't latch the door all the way, but just held it mostly closed in case a brawl presented itself and I would have to intervene. Multiple mounting attempts from both. I sat there for almost an hour as the chasing and mounting attempts slowly deescalated. A few small fur slips.
7. Put them back into their own cages. Went to sleep for the night.
8. Woke up the early this morning and let them run around the room whilst I thoroughly cleaned out both cages and reorganized the cage I was going to put both of them in. They ran around and chased one another for a couple of minutes, mounting attempts ensued, a few small fur slips. Then they calmed down and moreso just started walking around and jumping over one another and smelling the other's face and butt areas.
9. Put them both in the same cage. No large chases occurred, but there were a few short-lived moments when Potato would mount Brisket, who would run away, but wouldn't try to mount Potato. I think Potato, though smaller, is dominant, probably because he was here first. One fur-slip. A few instances where one would be playing with a toy (loofah, apple orchard stick) and the other would try to take it and the one who initially had it would grunt a bit of annoyance, but no fights broke out. It was actually kind of funny.
10. By this time it was probably around 9:00am and they were both starting to wind down (this is 45 minutes to an hour later than Potato's usual time to go back to bed to sleep during the day). I cleaned out the PRSC pellet and timothy hay dishes and the glass water drink thing (I honestly don't know exactly what this is called. Water dropper?). Gave them a few tablespoons of new PRSC and hay and refilled their water thing. They both ate with one another and drank without fighting. Potato started grooming Brisket's neck area and Brisket's eyes started shutting and he looked like he was in heaven. Brisket groomed Potato a bit as well. Then around 9:20-30-ish they both jumped into the hammock I have in the cage and laid together for a couple of minutes. Potato then moved to the fleece-covered tube he usually sleeps in and Brisket followed.

They're both curled up together in it now and it is 3:41pm (pictures below!!!). They seem to be content. I know this is still considered the "honeymoon phase," but I'm extremely happy with the way things turned out. http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/images/smilies/11_4_124v.gif It was a very long and exhausting process since I had to watch them intently for HOURS, but I think everything is good between them now. I'm getting them a brand new cage this week and have a ton of new, unchewed toys coming in from Classy Chillas and Tiffany's Chinchillas, so when I decorate the new cage the majority of it will be new to them.

If I encounter any problems between the two before then I'm going to trim their whiskers and perform the car-ride method. I don't want to do either, but I will if I have to. I'm determined to make sure they get along well. http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/images/smilies/LO6bigHug02HL2.gif

If you read this far, I'm impressed. This took me like an hour to type out completely. Thanks for all of your help regarding introductions. I wish I wouldn't have had to smoosh, but I think everything will work out for the best.