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If you're not using runs, a Quality Cage Chinchilla Condo would be good. You can get them in the smaller wire spacing for babies, and the height isn't too high where a very young chin can climb and fall a long distance.
 
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I use Quality Cages Chinchilla Townhomes for my breeder cages. They work great and you can order them with kit safe wire. They also can be stacked on top of each other (I have two towers of 3 cages each).

They are great for the adults, too. I have pairs and trios in them or mothers with kits.
 
thanks for your concern, i actually have taken out all of the plastic items and gotten rid of those cages, i just kept some of the photos because i thought they were cute. i have order the metal flying saucer because i was told it was much safer, so i'm waiting for that to come in the mail.


ticklechin said:
Looking at your pictures on your website, you have some unsafe items in there for adult chins, the wheels and all the plastic items, the wire spacing one of the chins is sitting on is unsafe. You might want to start with dealing with how to take care of adult chins and what is safe for them first before you continue with breeding.

http://www.cupcakechins.com/Cupcake_Chins/Photos.html

http://www.cupcakechins.com/Cupcake_Chins/My_Chins.html
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I bought mine at tractor supply company when a chin I got off craigslist had kits a few weeks after I got her. I still have some left over if you want it :)) I think it's 1/2" x 1/2"
 
amignatowicz said:
thanks for your concern, i actually have taken out all of the plastic items and gotten rid of those cages, i just kept some of the photos because i thought they were cute. i have order the metal flying saucer because i was told it was much safer, so i'm waiting for that to come in the mail.
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Breeding females and growing kits shouldn't have access to wheels. Wheels can cause injury to both sets of chins.
 
the wheel is not for the females or kits, i have a pair of older bonded males that i adopted because their former owner was moving, i ordered it for them :)

Ash said:
Breeding females and growing kits shouldn't have access to wheels. Wheels can cause injury to both sets of chins.
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Just a FYI for everyone who keeps old pics and old incorrect info on websites, get rid of it, new people do internet research, they read these sites and think the info is ok because a breeder has is on there, so update the sites and keep them current.
 
if you guys have time, i'd appreciate it if you'd take a look at my site, i have redone most of the photos, to make sure that i don't have anything unsafe since i have redone my chin's cages. if anyone sees anything please let me know :) thanks!

ticklechin said:
Just a FYI for everyone who keeps old pics and old incorrect info on websites, get rid of it, new people do internet research, they read these sites and think the info is ok because a breeder has is on there, so update the sites and keep them current.
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This is from the info part of your website, I have a few probelms with it, I've put my comments in bold:

" Chins are around 12 inches long and usually weigh between 18 and 20 ounces. Almost all people weigh chins in grams, so if you have it in ounces that can be confusing 400 - 1000g is the generally accepted range for an adult chin.


- The chinchilla’s native habitat is in South America. They dwell in the Andes Mountains where they have plenty of crevices in which to burrow and hide


- They live in small social groups called herds. So they do well in pairs

- The chinchillas native environment is a cool, dry region. The constant temperature is 50°F to 55°F. They do not tolerate heat or humidity well and become extremely stressed by temperatures higher than 80°F 80 is too warm for a chin, this sentence makes it seem like 80 is acceptable, I would just delete this whole sentence, because you specify appropriate temps in the next sentence. An ideal temperature for your chinchilla is 60°F to 70°F with a humidity level of 40% to 60%


- Chinchillas can be very jumpy. This means that not all chinchillas will enjoy being held and petted. That being said, the animals do often get very close to their owners and do enjoy some interaction with those that they know well. This doesn't make sense. Yes chins are jumpy, yes they don't like to be handled, but they don't really equate.


- In the early 1900s, laws were passed with the goal of protecting the chinchilla from extinction. They were nearly too little, too late, however. If the stories are correct, we owe many of our pet chinchillas today to the ventures of Mathias F. Chapman, a mining engineer working in Chile in the early 1900s. He fell in love with the little furballs and spent three years trying to collect enough to bring back to the US to begin breeding for their fur. He was only able to find eleven chinchillas worthy of breeding over three years with the help of 23 men! Assuming this is correct, nearly all chinchillas in the U.S. can be traced back to Chapman's original eleven."


Those are just a few suggestions. I've looked over your site, and I'm just wondering about where you got your chins from? You don't talk a lot about showing. Honestly all of the animals in your pictures look tiny. They appear way to small to breed, and from the photos they do not look like they are high quality animals. Did someone help you get started in breeding? You may want to talk to some breeders on here to make sure you're getting off on the right track.
 
As a new breeder (which you clearly are based on your posts) why are you breeding so many mutations and multiple mutations? Where did all of your chinchillas come from? Have they been evaluated for quality by a sanctioned judge? How long have you been breeding? Do you have a mentor that knows quality and encourages you to attend shows and learn?

The site looks a little better, but you still have a lot of pictures of the chins with the plastic dust houses and a few of chins in super pet cages with plastic bottoms and carefresh bedding. Also, on the "chinfo" page, you say "assuming" a lot about the history of domestic chinchillas. Please read http://rdzcranch.webs.com/historyofchins.html as the history of our domestic chinchillas is well known and documented.
 
i've gotten all my chins that i plan on breeding from monika grogan, brandi bowen, and susan from chincherubs. Brandi has been helping me out a whole lot, and monika and susan as well.

RDZCRanch said:
As a new breeder (which you clearly are based on your posts) why are you breeding so many mutations and multiple mutations? Where did all of your chinchillas come from? Have they been evaluated for quality by a sanctioned judge? How long have you been breeding? Do you have a mentor that knows quality and encourages you to attend shows and learn?

The site looks a little better, but you still have a lot of pictures of the chins with the plastic dust houses and a few of chins in super pet cages with plastic bottoms and carefresh bedding. Also, on the "chinfo" page, you say "assuming" a lot about the history of domestic chinchillas. Please read http://rdzcranch.webs.com/historyofchins.html as the history of our domestic chinchillas is well known and documented.
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brittany, sorry i missed this at first
Brittany said:
Those are just a few suggestions. I've looked over your site, and I'm just wondering about where you got your chins from? You don't talk a lot about showing. Honestly all of the animals in your pictures look tiny. They appear way to small to breed, and from the photos they do not look like they are high quality animals. Did someone help you get started in breeding? You may want to talk to some breeders on here to make sure you're getting off on the right track.
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many of my chins are still under a year, which is why they are still small, and i've gotten them all from breeders. i also have a few chins from ryersons that i'm waiting on, i've spoken to rich and am waiting for him to make a delivery out here.
 
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Hello Ashley

My name is Alex and of course you can see I run Norwood Chinchillas. It's a hobby for me. I also show and maintain a very small breeding herd.

As a fellow breeder I just wonder what the goals of your offspring will be. I'm going to be brutally honest and tell you some of your animals will never produce anything that can compete on the show table. Perhaps you won't be showing animals. Perhaps your just looking to breed and sell offspring.

I am glad you are on our forum. I'm glad your asking us questions. This is where I see CAUTION.
Your 9-4-2011 post says you have had chins for 8 years. And states your "just getting into breeding."
Your 9-5-2011 post notes you have 20 animals. You have bought a lot of young animals. I do understand you will let them grow out first.

Here is a little information about me. I spent nearly 5 years compiling material in a binder before I bought my breeding animals. I have added to it over the years. It contains a weight log/mentor notes for breeding/a section on mutations/chin vets in my area/a complete kit care section/a gestation calendar/a reference page for stasis/farm and feed phone number where I place bulk orders for feed/my cheat sheet for MCBA year letter use/grooming prep notes/judges comments for shown animals.

I have 19 animals. Eight of them are pets.
Two of those eight were bred out of great animals that will never see a show table and are not worthy to breed. I have had them listed for sale for months. No takers at all. And they are darling girls who would be sweet companions to any good potential adopter.
If your going to breed and sell cute pets your are going to be over run. Even if you breed and sell top show quality animals you have the potential to be over run if you don't watch your numbers. Some hobby breeders pelt to keep their numbers in check. I don't have a problem with that. I don't pelt so I have to keep my breeding couples together on a limited basis.

Are you ready for handfeeding? Do you have goats milk or pedialyte on hand? Do you have a heating pad? Do you have CC? Do you have multiple syringes on hand? Do you know syringes don't last long because the stinking medical grade silicon craps out with a few uses? Would you know a female was dry of milk? My last mother was dry. And she gave birth to a kit who was laying on his side when I found him. I hardly knew what to do with him but understood he needed fluid ASAP from me. Then his mother decided to set me back farther by being dry of milk.
Are you ready for gut problems? Diarrhea? Death of a mom or kits? I've had them die here at Norwood. It sucks.

So get ready. Know your mentors.
Lastly I baby proofed an FN with great success. Small squared hardware cloth wire from the hardware store. I cut the sections to fit each side and I zip tied the sections to the OUTSIDE of the cage. I didn't have a problem with mom or kits going after the zip tie.
Hardware cloth sections can be taken off and stored away. Or left on. In my case I took off the front door sections and left the others intact. I'll just zip tie my front door sections back on when needed. The top of my FN is closed off with adults.
 
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