New Chinchilla Own

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

dave67

Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2016
Messages
6
Hi all

My Chinchillas name is Zoe and she is very friendly. Does not like to be picked up but she runs all over me if I lay down on the floor in her cage play penand nibbles my ear. :)

Zoe and I know each other from my pet store She was friendly on the spot when she came in. The company they are not the best place to find chinchilla supplies even though the sell chins. I have giving my special vet a stool samples to test. since I question the pet supplier we currently use.

I searched the web for information on chinchillas and found this forum and I have read many posts before joining. I purchased The chinchilla
handbook by Sharon Vanderlip DVM. It was helpful in some ways not all my questions were answered.


What was not covered in the chinchilla handbook is my questions I need to ask.

-nuts can chins have these my vet said sunflower seeds but I want to only give her what is good for her.

-wood there is some contradictions to what type is safe in my searched but all I can find is poplar here anyway. I needed this for her cage door since it was wire I covered it in poplar so she could have a ramp to the cage.

-I need to find twigs for her to chew she like chins only chews off the bark and I think she is eating it that okay something smaller would be harder to chew the bark off suggestions?

Thanks

D
 
Welcome!
This forum has tons of info! You can search on the top for certain issues. Or just read and learn a lot. Also, ask questions.
I would not feed my chin nuts or seeds ever! There are other healthy treats and herbs to give chins.
Poplar is good and kiln dried pine (which is what most pine is at the Home Depot, Menards, Lowes). I prefer poplar
I get apple and other sticks from sellers on this site. Look under the supplies for sale section master list. (I've had good luck with Ronda)
I also get my treats/herbs/chew toys from sellers on the site. Also, pellets. I get my hay from a local farmer. You can get old fashioned rolled oats as a treat, too.
If your chin is under 6 months old, it should not get any treats at all.
Good luck and enjoy!
 
Although printed books can be helpful, most use outdated info. I've found a good amount of what is in chinchilla care books is just info from decades ago reprinted into a fancy new book. A lot has changed in our knowledge of chins since then, and even a book with new info is only as updated as the info at the time of printing. I'm not saying that the book you got is bad, I haven't read it, but just keep that in mind. A better resource is forums like this one that have people active in the chinchilla world, breeders, ranchers, and pet owners, that will have more up to date info. New info is coming out all the time too since chins are fairly new in the pet world, only being bred as pets for about 40 years.

As said, no nuts, and no seeds, they are too high in fat, chinchillas can't process fat well at all. In addition to no nuts or seeds, you also don't want to give chins any fruits, veggies, animal products, or human junk food. They require a good quality pellet only food, unlimited hay, and water. Everything else is treats, good treats include at pinch (1-3) old fashion oats, rose hips, rose petals and blossoms, a cheerio, and certain herbs.

As for wood, this is not a complete list but is a good start http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34 . Wood also needs to be properly prepared, you can't just give your chin fresh cut wood from your yards or something. Chins do eat bark, and that's fine, it's added fiber. As Idgie said check out the vendors on here (banner ads and classifieds), and Ronda's seem to have the most variety of wood types and sizes (from twiglets to chunks). I don't pull the sticks from the cage everyday, even after the bark is gone they do go back to the sticks to chew on them. I only remove the sticks when they are too small or they get peed on. They do get new sticks everyday though, so by the end of the week they do have a small pile worth of sticks in the cage.
 
Thanks all. I have to wonder why my vet which is my bird vet but he does exotics too. but he only said green pepper and carrot that was all.

http://noankmysticveterinaryhospital.com/

My vet said I could feed her carrot and green pepper but she does not like pepper that much. but I only give her small strips of carrot. Zoe likes it but I guess she cannot have it. I went to this site below and if this is not correct hmm inaccurate information. How do they get enough nutrition in the wild?

http://www.onlinechinchillacare.com/what-vegetables-can-a-chinchilla-eat/

I have a cage that is a rabbit cage so I used poplar wood to cover the door since it was wire. that board is to big to bake in an oven. Zoe likes to chew the painted baseboard so she needs to stay in the play pen for her safety. I play with her till I start falling asleep I did fall asleep once in the play pen one night. cage link below.

http://store.skeeterz71.com/shop/pe...ccessories/oxbow-play-yard-small-pet-habitat/

I picked this cage since she does not like to be picked up and it has a play pen.
Is is possible to give to much affection to her? I ask I think she only wants so much from me. I leave for a while and than go back and entertain her seems to work best. Than she she uses the wheel and bounds around the play pen at night.
 
The fecal sample I gave the vet is positive for Giardia. Has any owner here had the be an real issue? Zoe is eating drinking playing and no diarrhea. I do not know how i will get the med to her she is the type not wanting to be picked up. If she will have an oral med a y suggestions?

Thanks
 
Thanks all. I have to wonder why my vet which is my bird vet but he does exotics too. but he only said green pepper and carrot that was all.

http://noankmysticveterinaryhospital.com/

My vet said I could feed her carrot and green pepper but she does not like pepper that much. but I only give her small strips of carrot. Zoe likes it but I guess she cannot have it. I went to this site below and if this is not correct hmm inaccurate information. How do they get enough nutrition in the wild?

http://www.onlinechinchillacare.com/what-vegetables-can-a-chinchilla-eat/

I have a cage that is a rabbit cage so I used poplar wood to cover the door since it was wire. that board is to big to bake in an oven. Zoe likes to chew the painted baseboard so she needs to stay in the play pen for her safety. I play with her till I start falling asleep I did fall asleep once in the play pen one night. cage link below.

http://store.skeeterz71.com/shop/pe...ccessories/oxbow-play-yard-small-pet-habitat/

I picked this cage since she does not like to be picked up and it has a play pen.
Is is possible to give to much affection to her? I ask I think she only wants so much from me. I leave for a while and than go back and entertain her seems to work best. Than she she uses the wheel and bounds around the play pen at night.

The only reason I can come up with that some vets suggest veggies for chinchillas is that they don't really know chinchillas that well. Chins are very similar in a lot of ways to a guinea pig or a rabbit, so they just naturally assume they require the same stuff. I will say though that carrot is less bad for chins then other veggies but still not good. From that website you linked, pumpkin isn't terrible either, in tiny amounts, but is better if you are having gut issues or need to force feed since it makes the food tasty and adds fiber. red lettuce is ok if fed rarely and in tiny pieces, like the size of your thumb nail. Honestly though there are no veggies that we have here that are normal for a chin to be eating. In the wild they eat a much different diet, mostly low nutrient scrub grasses with small amounts of seeds, bark, and fruits. It's not a very good diet though, so the fur quality is much worst then pet chins, and wild chins only live around 5-10 years (pet chins can live 15-20 or more years). Basically in the wild chins have to spend all their waking hours eating or finding food. Most of the medical issues that arise from eating that poor diet don't show up until they have eaten it for years, so the wild ones simply don't live long enough for it to be a problem for them, or maybe that is why the die so young.

I didn't mean lumber needs to be cleaned and baked, I mean fresh wood. Like if you have a organic poplar tree in your yard and you cut some sticks off it for your chin, you need to clean and bake that before you can give it to your chin. Lumber boards are already dried, generally kiln dried, and good to go.

That cage is ok, but not really that great for a chin you want vertical space more then horizontal. You can make that cage ok, just add lots and lots of shelves and ledges so the chin can hop up and down the cage. I am also assuming you got the Large not the small one of that cage you linked. If the playpen you are referring to is that pen that comes with the cage, it's not high enough, chins can easily jump 5' if they get it in their mind. It's ok if you watch the chin the whole time and the room you are in is chin proofed in case of an escape though.

As to your post today about giardia, it can be a problem, and is apparently hard to fully get rid of. To give her meds you will have to probably catch her and wrap her in a towel or blanket. Giving her meds like that is not going to be easy, and will hurt your bond, but you can work on fixing/rebonding after she is better. The most common way chins get giardia is from drinking tap water, chins should be drinking filtered purified water only.

Chins do like their alone time sometimes too, you basically want to spend at least an hour a day with your chin. Beyond that it's really more up to you and your chin, some chins like more social time, and some less, and also some people simply can offer more time then others. Most chins will only tolerate small amounts of petting at a time too.
 
Zoe likes her med [panacur] she licks it off the syringe, so it is easy to give it to her. Her checkup when well other than giardia and dry skin on her back feet she is fine. I only give her bottled spring water. As for the wood I figured after I posted that is what you meant.

With the cage, Yes it is the large cage 47" I plan on adding shelf's in the back left corner. I got a the silver surfer 14" wheel for her she loves that wheel fits on the right side covers the whole side and no wheel noise :popcorn:. I did have a kaytee 12 inch but it was to wobbly and Zoe would hardly ever use it and she needs one. In a year I may try to fine a tall cage for her with a playpen but that seems hard to find.

Zoe and I are still adjusting to each other and that is to be excepted. I had her only 3 weeks. Zoe got out once and I know why so I am not doing that again.

Thanks again for all the replies.
 
Hi all

All gas been going well Zoe is growing. Lately she runs in the room enjoying her time out. At times she either scares herself or something is going on. She runs and than I get this puff of urine in the air. Shes does this at least once a night or more whst could cause this?

Thanks
 

Attachments

  • 20170331_220106.jpg
    157 bytes · Views: 17
Back
Top