Soon to be Chinchilla owner, needs advice!

[sheilabeilabobo]

Hi! My friend has a chinchilla, and she's giving him to me because he is too "noisy". I think he is minorly neglected, because he doesn't play with him as much as he needs, from the research I've done. I'm pretty sure he is well socailized, as I've heard many people say he is cuddly.
I'm basically changing a lot for him, as I refuse to own a pet I cannot care for properly. I live upstairs in my house, where in the summer it gets hot due to no air conditioning, which I know they don't like. I also have two labs. Yikes. One is 2 and the other is 16. I am not worried about the 16 year old, for he has three legs and he's is very old and slow. My other baby is a chocolate lab who loves to go in the back yard and eat squirrels and bunnies. (I hate it, but there is not much I can do!) That's obviosly another problem. The room I live in right now is very sunny. Another problem. Also, upstairs in my house is chaos, due to my spoiled 7 and 9 year old screaming siblings. Yet another problem. Believe it or not, I solved all of these.
I moved downstairs! My downstairs has air conditioning. One problem solved. My dogs can't go down stairs. Problem two solved. I'm moving into a dark bedroom. Problem three solved. The only people that use the downstairs is my two teenage brothers, 16 and 18. Both quiet. Problem four solved. Hey look, all my problems, gone!
I'm planning on super-cleaning my downstairs, and chin proofing it, so he can run around and be an animal! (Very large basement, 3 bedrooms and a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room, almost like a whole different house.)
I know I can give him attention, school isn't an issue.
Oh, I also have a kind hamster. Of course they are not going to be sharing a cage.
So now that you know he has a suitable home, let me start my questions!
How long does it take for a chinchilla to become your best buddy?
Does a camera flash bother him?
Would he eat my hamster if I let them have play time together?
What kind of music do they like?

 

[Dusty Foot Prints]

How long does it take for a chinchilla to become your best buddy? That depends on the chinchilla. Some are affectionate, others will always remain aloof.

Does a camera flash bother him? Again, that depends on the chinchilla.

Would he eat my hamster if I let them have play time together? Your hamster & a chinchilla should never have play time together due to the spread of diseases.

What kind of music do they like? A lot of people leave a tv on for their chins and they seem to like cartoons.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Laurie]

Chinchillas don't not like heat they die if it's too hot. Where do you live? If you live somewhere hot and humid--meaning it gets above 72 degrees where the chinchilla will be kept you will need to get a portable a/c to keep the room cold so that your chin does not get heat stroke and die

 

[sheilabeilabobo]

How long does it take for a chinchilla to become your best buddy? That depends on the chinchilla. Some are affectionate, others will always remain aloof.

Does a camera flash bother him? Again, that depends on the chinchilla.

Would he eat my hamster if I let them have play time together? Your hamster & a chinchilla should never have play time together due to the spread of diseases.

What kind of music do they like? A lot of people leave a tv on for their chins and they seem to like cartoons.

Welcome to the forum!

Okay, I will note not to let my
chinchilla near Raphael. Haha! And, I will leave on some
SpongeBob SquarePants! And for the ones that were "depends on the chin", I will stop worrying about it until I get him.
Thankyou! This forum is very helpful.

 

[GorillaJTA]

How long does it take for a chinchilla to become your best buddy?

Depends on the chin. Some are very sociable, some not so much.

Does a camera flash bother him?

Not usually.

Would he eat my hamster if I let them have play time together?

The are not carnivorous, but I would not advise a joint playtime as they are very different animals and could spread disease.

What kind of music do they like?

Mine like country, classic rock, and blues. Not so much on pop or jazz.
Mine also like food network and CMT.

I do not advise a free run play in a 3 room area as it an awfully large area to monitor.

 

[Godofgods]

yea, with a dog that likes to chase things around i wouldnt give the chin and overwhelming running area. Accidents or things not planned on do happen. So u want to take ever precaution you can to ensure safty.

As for a flash on a chin, Its hard for me to be objective. My mom was insain with a flash on me as a kid. Not only do i have a server hatred of cameras now, i also have extremly poor eye sight. So even if its ok, i try to never use it on my chins.

 

[sheilabeilabobo]

Depends on the chin. Some are very sociable, some not so much.

Not usually.

The are not carnivorous, but I would not advise a joint playtime as they are very different animals and could spread disease.

Mine like country, classic rock, and blues. Not so much on pop or jazz.
Mine also like food network and CMT.

I do not advise a free run play in a 3 room area as it an awfully large area to monitor.

Thanks for your answers! And as for the room situation, if I sit i the living room I can see the kitchen and the hall. I plan on keeping the bedroom doors **** during playtime, so I can basically see every thing he is doing! Thankyou for the help!

 

[sheilabeilabobo]

Chinchillas don't not like heat they die if it's too hot. Where do you live? If you live somewhere hot and humid--meaning it gets above 72 degrees where the chinchilla will be kept you will need to get a portable a/c to keep the room cold so that your chin does not get heat stroke and die

I live in Wisconsin. It's not hot at the moment, the hottest it's been in months was today, 60 degrees. It can get fairly hot though, but the room I have has no sunlight and is underground. I will check the temperature at all times.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

Hahaha, you must have typed an i instead of a u in shut, since that word got edited out.

As for playtime, you are going to want to keep him closer, where you can actually reach him, since they chew and destroy basically everything. He'll be eating your baseboards, furniture, etc., so keep him close!

 

[sheilabeilabobo]

Hahaha, you must have typed an i instead of a u in shut, since that word got edited out.

As for playtime, you are going to want to keep him closer, where you can actually reach him, since they chew and destroy basically everything. He'll be eating your baseboards, furniture, etc., so keep him close!

Haha, I just relized that! I do all my posts on my iPod, so there has got to be mistakes once in a while!
And thankyou! I will definitely keep him in a more enclosed area, preferably my room or the bathroom. And since he's new to me, will he mind if I reach ad grab him when he's chewing up things?

 

[rbarile92]

Hello!
I am glad you are taking in a little chin

It takes awhile for a chin to become 'buddy buddy' with you. Every chin is different but it does take about a month for them to become extremely comfortable with you. But if this one was neglected it could take a lot of time. When you first bring the chin to your home, do not let it out of its cage at first unless it wants to come out. Trying to grab him inside of his cage will just make him frightened and bark. Just sit next to the cage for a week and talk to the chin. You can hand feed it too when you feel that the chin is comfortable. I just got a little shy chin and I am still working with him. But he comes up to me now without barking because he is scared. He lets me pet him and will stare at me as I talk to him softly.

I don't think that a camera flash bothers them, though I never put my flash on with them when I take pictures just incase.

You shouldn't let your hamster play with him. No other animal should probably be near the chin when you two are playing. The chin could become aggressive to the hamster and god knows what could happen.

For music, it all depends. Right now my three are enjoying Justin Bieber, haha!

Whenever mine start to chew on something I do not want them to chew I usually just tap them on the top of their nose. It doesn't hurt them but they know enough to stop.

 

[sheilabeilabobo]

yea, with a dog that likes to chase things around i wouldnt give the chin and overwhelming running area. Accidents or things not planned on do happen. So u want to take ever precaution you can to ensure safty.

As for a flash on a chin, Its hard for me to be objective. My mom was insain with a flash on me as a kid. Not only do i have a server hatred of cameras now, i also have extremly poor eye sight. So even if its ok, i try to never use it on my chins.

Alright sounds good! Yes my baby will never be able to touch my chin. And I think I'm going to use my bedroom or the bathroom as a chin room.

 

[sheilabeilabobo]

Hello!
I am glad you are taking in a little chin

It takes awhile for a chin to become 'buddy buddy' with you. Every chin is different but it does take about a month for them to become extremely comfortable with you. But if this one was neglected it could take a lot of time. When you first bring the chin to your home, do not let it out of its cage at first unless it wants to come out. Trying to grab him inside of his cage will just make him frightened and bark. Just sit next to the cage for a week and talk to the chin. You can hand feed it too when you feel that the chin is comfortable. I just got a little shy chin and I am still working with him. But he comes up to me now without barking because he is scared. He lets me pet him and will stare at me as I talk to him softly.

I don't think that a camera flash bothers them, though I never put my flash on with them when I take pictures just incase.

You shouldn't let your hamster play with him. No other animal should probably be near the chin when you two are playing. The chin could become aggressive to the hamster and god knows what could happen.

For music, it all depends. Right now my three are enjoying Justin Bieber, haha!

Whenever mine start to chew on something I do not want them to chew I usually just tap them on the top of their nose. It doesn't hurt them but they know enough to stop.

Aww, that's so cute!
Why is Jersey taken off your sig?