Some Chin Questions. Please Help

[Korsini]

So I just got a 2-3 month old chinchilla today. I have the basic understand of care, just a few clashing ideas im having trouble with.

1) the person I bought from sold me Sunfeed Vita Exotic Chin mix. It has pellets, some hay, and veggies and fruits. She told me I didn't need Timothy hay as its already in the food. Should I still supply hay 24/7, and only offer a table spoon of the mix twice a day? Or should I leave two tablespoons of the pellets in all day and not put a hay stack in the cage.

2) should I leave the cage in a quiet area, or an area with a little life in the apartment. Right now he's on a bathroom that's nice, cold, and completely away from life in my apartment. I've read some articles that say this is perfect and others that say he should be in an area with more life, I was thinking my living room. If it should stay in a quiet place I may move it into my bedroom anyway so it gets some natural light (not direct sunlight). Because the bathroom its in right now has no windows so I have to use the lights to simulate a day and night cycle. Which room would be best? (Also I sometimes use a fan in my bedroom will that affect the chin?)

Thank you to anyone who can help out!

 

[kraucci]

I was sold a "fiesta" mix from the pet store I bought my chin from. I later learned from gobs of research that they should not have treats every day, and that was a large part of the pellet mix. I switched to a quality pellet-only feed (blending it in gradually incase he got sick). I also found in almost every resource I accessed, that timothy hay should be available in unlimited quantities and make up the majority of the diet, rather than the pellets.

A quiet area is best, as they spook easily.

 

[Smidgeyy]

Chinchillas should not have fruits or veggies. Dried fruit is alright as a very occasional treat(and even then, some won't feed them because they're too high in sugar).

You need a high quality pellet, such as the following... Oxbow, Manna Pro Pro/Sho(rabbit food but safe for chins), Mazuri, and Tradition. There are others but those a few. I personally feed Manna Pro Sho, but that's silly to buy if you only have one chin since it only comes in a 50lb bag. Oxbow is available in pet stores, so that's the brand I recommend. Any other brand found in pet stores are crap.

Chins need a constant supply of hay... The little timothy hay that that food provides is not nearly enough. They should have at least one heaping handful per day, depending on how much the chin eats. Don't limit pellets either... Hay and pellets should be free fed.

You want to keep the chins somewhere quiet, but you want them where you can spend time with them. Mine are in my bedroom since I spend a lot of time in there. If I'm not interacting with them directly, they still have my company. Mine enjoy TV and music as well.

I personally think your living room would be alright, as long as your chin is alright with it. Mine are rarely fazed by sounds or strange people so I know they would be fine somewhere other than my room.
You want him somewhere where there is natural light.

A fan is fine as long as it's not blowing directly on them. Can you keep the temperature chin appropriate in your bedroom or living room?

 

[Shenanigans]

you've asked this before (I remembered answering) here's the link to the other answer in case you forgot/lost it (I'm going to post the link from this post there too since some people will see one and not the other). http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46674&highlight=ceiling
to kind of summarize- a high quality pellet feed (Mazuri, oxbow, tradition or manna pro- that the stuff with sold with treats in it) and timothy hay all the time is best. Quiet but with socialization is best for chins- whether this is your bedroom or living room depends on your household.