Unsure of Everything

[Nadine83]

Hi, I just acquired a chinchilla that was given to me by someone who could no longer afford/had the time to care for it. I'm new to chinchillas never actually owned one of my own until now. I did research online about feeding, cage, chew, and other requirements. I just want to make sure that everything he has is good/safe for him. I also read about having to monitor the droppings, with his I'm a little confused because they are all different shape, sizes, and colors. But here is a run down of what I have purchased for him.
Cage - Is a two story metal ferret style cage with levels.
Food- Use to be Carefresh Complete. (But had corn in it and i read corn, seeds, and fresh food was not good for him.) So i bought him a bag of Oxbow pellets which he doesn't seem to like very much, barely eats them.
Hay- Has every type of hay you can think of. (alfalfa, timothy, orchard grass, oat hay, oxbow botanical hay, and timothy hay cubes) This he has access to 24-7, and eats more of the hay then pellets.
Chews- I purchased many wood chews for him assorted variety in sizes, and wood types. He destroys most of them in a day or two. I also got him wild harvest carrot crunchies (made from compressed timothy hay and carrot). He seems to like them and I've read good reviews about them from other people who give them to there chinchillas. But im still unsure as to how good /safe they are for him.
Water- has 3 water bottles and i give him bottled water due to our tap water having too much calcium, and iron in it.
For bedding (bottom of cage) - I use pine shavings.
He has a dust bath house and i use blue cloud dust.
My question being is there anything I should change from the list provided? (add or remove) How can i get him to eat his pellets? Or is there something else that I am needing and don't have?
As for his droppings- His poop is all different shape, sizes, and color. He is pooping more than he was when i got him, which im assuming is a good thing. However, some are large dark brown sprinkle shaped looking, some are light tan small white rice shaped, others can be and in between color and half the normal size and roundish in shape (almost like rabbit droppings but not perfectly round.) What could be the cause of this? Could the different hays be creating different droppings? Is this something I should be concerned about? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Amethyst]

Cage sounds good, just make sure there is no plastic. Chins chew plastic and it can cause a gut blockage if swallowed.
Food, good you switched to the pellet only and oxbow is a good brand. Most chins only eat 2 tb a day, some more some less.
Hay, it's good to offer a variety, and hay should make up about 75% of the diet so it's good he is eating lots. Chins can live/survive off hay alone, but it does cause coat quality to go down, pellets are more supplement to the hay, adding the vitamins and stuff hay lacks.
Chews, I wouldn't give the ones with carrots, chins shouldn't have veggies (or fruit, nuts, seeds, sugary food or animal products (bone, meat, milk etc)). Lots of chews and sticks are required, they always need to be chewing, check the classifieds on here for good vendors that offer safe chews in bulk for much cheaper then pet stores.
Water, bottled or filtered water is best, straight tap water can have all kinds of bad things.
Make sure not to leave the dust bath in the cage, he only needs a bath a few times a week (depending on humidity).

The odd poop could be due to change in diet, depending on how long you've had him. So long as he is pooping (chins poop about once a minute), eating, drinking, and peeing I would give it time to sort out. If after a week or so if things don't normalize, or if the poop changes to only tiny or go mushy or smelly, a vet visit is needed. Small poop can be a sign of constipation, but if there is also normal poop it could just be adjusting to the food and/or the stress of a new home.

 

[LGarl]

Congrats on your new fuzzball! Sounds like you've really done a lot of thinking and research to make sure your chin is well cared for. It's great to see another conscientious chinchilla owner.

One thing I would suggest is to find an exotic vet before you actually need one. This way you have one all lined up should anything happen. A regular vet just doesn't have the training to care for chinchillas.

Enjoy your new pet!

 

[Nadine83]

Thanks so far he seems to be doing good. I just got him some new chews and an oxbow bungalow hay hut which he seems to like. What about the Blue Cloud Rock? Are they ok for him to have in his cage or should I treat it the same as the dust bath?

 

[Godofgods]

Amethyst covered most of it. Ill add that some chins just have a natural preference of either hay or pellets over the other. My guy Chico is a massive pellet eater and doesnt touch to much of the hay. My girl Ameena tares though the hay. Generally the main hay give is western timothy because most pellets are made with alfalfa hay (check your ingredients label.) So having the other kind helps provide a more balanced diet.

bottled/filtered water was a good idea. Regular tap can have some bad things for them. Back in NJ on city water i was able to use a Pur faucet filter to filter the water. But when i came to PA on well water, even with the filter, there were very high calcium and mineral contents in the water. I believe that could be the reason one of my chins developed a bladder stone.

Safe shaving type bedding's are either Aspen or Kiln-Dried Pine.

 

[Jazicat]

If it's a blue cloud rock and not dust you can leave it in the cage. Our guys will chew them into dust and roll in it but it's not enough dust to irritate their skin.