water bottles

[jessers]

this is for all new chin owners, make sure you clean your chinnies' water bottles! I just took in a chin whose owners can't keep him anymore and when i went to go clean and refill his bottle i found green growth in it! :hair: i just hope nothing got into his system. Not to mention he was living in cedar bedding with guinea pig food and no hay. PLEASE understand the needs of chinchillas before getting one!!! -end rant-

 

[tunes]

I hope you quarantined that chin away from the one you already had. Coming from conditions like that, it's very possible the chin is carrying something.

 

[jessers]

i'm doing my best trying to quarantine him though the only issue is that my parents think its unnessary. they have their own cages but are in the same room with a gap inbetween the cages.
his owners said he is shedding but i found huuuge matts which i managed to pull and brush out but he is still losing fur. i read about all these fur problems but i also saw that they can shed. what should i trust?

 

[InkedupTara]

A Gap is not enough of a QT they need to be at least on opposite sides of the room... you are really putting your chin at risk by having them that close.

 

[tunes]

Same room with a gap is not a good enough quarantine. If the other chin is carrying something airborn, then you're chin will get it. Keep a close eye on them both, monitor their behaviors and their eating/pooping to be sure everything is okay.

Chins prime, which is when tufts of hair kind of stick up all over the place. They are not matts, just little bits of hair everywhere. You can gently tug on the matts and pull them out. They generally let loose fairly easily. If he's really matted, I would do it a little at a time rather than yanking him all over all at once. If you can't tug them loose, you may need someone to help you cut them loose. BE CAREFUL with this. Someone tried this with a rescue chin Crysta took in and they darn near ripped his intestines out. Do not attempt to do it by yourself.

 

[jessers]

I know about the whole gap thing but my parents don't understand i've argued with them about it but they won't have it if anyone has any good arguments I can point out to them then I'd gladly do so. They also don't want chin bedding and poop in different rooms and we live in an apartment so there isn't too much space. As for matts I've had a really badly matted chin before and I got them all out with a few matts each day. I bought a comb from ftc and they showed me how to brush the chin so I just copyed what they did. I got most of the matts out without causing too much pain.

 

[jessers]

oh by no room I mean they're either in my bedroom (my mom would disown me) or in my parents room (even worse) kitchen bathroom etc or the living/family room so...yeah
ideas?

 

[AZChins]

I agree about the whole water bottle thing. I have chins come here with filthy waterbottles. Every week I have to clean 130+ bottles, most people should be able to handle washing just one of them.

Try to keep the chins as separate as you can. Wash your hands after holding them so you don't spread anything to either one. It's important to keep the new chin's droppings away from the other one. If you see anything strange happening with either one of them, get them both to the vet. Like Peggy said, the other chin will catch any airborne illnesses with the chins being so close together. Give it a month or so, then you will know for sure that both chins are alright. I wish so much that you could quarantine them in different rooms.

 

[jessers]

thanks for the tips I'll just have to go poop-picking now

 

[Essentia]

Yes, please do not try to cut anything yourself. It's so hard to decipher between skin and fur when it's matted. Unfortunately I am having to deal with the aftermath of it all with the wound care and such. Please be very, very careful.

 

[jessers]

Oh I would never cut fur, it gives me the creeps, especially since they have a ton of jerky movements and all. Anyways the only fur problem I have right now is his shedding, the matts I got out since I had some experience with matts with my other chin. Apparently the worst matting FlowerTown chinchillas has ever seen. I get the feeling I'm taking in a lot of chins considered as "rescues".

 

[Rickman]

Might try putting a piece of cardboard [or plywood] between the cages, as chins play 'tic-tac hockey' during the night!
Just one 'goooaaal' could cause more problems than you know of!

 

[jessers]

great idea! I just put a piece of cardboard from a big box inbetween