Leaving chins alone for days

Go look in the emergency section-think the chin who got trapped under the bowl would be alive in 3 days, I think not. 3 days is way too long.

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I'm sorry, Not trying to be insensitive, I just can't agree with these blanket statements that are meant to apply to everyone. Circumstances vary from person to person. I have two Chins. I can't imagine Chinchillas anywhere that get the care and attention that mine do. However, living in Alaska makes my wife and I avid outdoors people and we take off on weekends sometimes 3-4 days in a row. For this reason I custom built my Chins a ginormous cage so when we were gone for a few days they would still get plenty of exercise and not be cooped up in a small cage for long lengths of time. There is not one thing that can be turned over on top of them. I put TONS of hay in for them and make sure they have all they need in the way of food and water and we go enjoy Alaska. Because of the huge cage my chins when awake are very active and just run and climb all over it and they do it with amazing speed. So, they have plenty of food, they get plenty of exercise, and I have left them alone for 3-4 days at a time on numerous occasions and always come back to happy healthy Chins with food left over. We went on vacation to Hawaii in April for 2 weeks and of course then we had a full time house sitter to make sure all went smoothly. One more thing, the climate here is such that heat is not a problem so I don't have to worry about keeping my chins cool. Since a hot day here is 65 Our house stay cool all the time and that just removes one more thing I have to be concerned about.

ticklechin said:

Go look in the emergency section-think the chin who got trapped under the bowl would be alive in 3 days, I think not. 3 days is way too long.

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Like I said, I have a big bowl that attaches to the side of the cage, so I don't have to worry about that. I know my chins, and I know what they are capable of. I've looked in the emergency section, and I heard the story. It was a freak accident, and no, it would probably not survive. And no, three days is not too long IF you have your cage properly set up for leaving it. But every person is different, and if you're not comfortable leaving them that long, that's totally fine! But they are very capable and intelligent creatures, and mine do just fine every time. And hey, they survive in the wild, right?

Not to be snarky, but what if something happens to you when you are out outdoorsing, like you get hurt, who will take care of the chins needs if you are delayed? 3 days to leave a caged animal alone is just not cool, chins could get themselves in trouble even in the safest of cages, they could get bloat, break a tooth, break a leg, poke a eye out, have a seizure, choke on a twig etc, all in a safe cage, even worse in a big open cage-let alone things like a water bottle leaks out, they tip the bowl over on top of the pellets, get into a fight and kill each other, I could go on and on.

Not to be snarky, but what if something happens to you when you are out outdoorsing, like you get hurt, who will take care of the chins needs if you are delayed? 3 days to leave a caged animal alone is just not cool, chins could get themselves in trouble even in the safest of cages, they could get bloat, break a tooth, break a leg, poke a eye out, have a seizure, choke on a twig etc, all in a safe cage, even worse in a big open cage-let alone things like a water bottle leaks out, they tip the bowl over on top of the pellets, get into a fight and kill each other, I could go on and on.

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All I have to say to this response is this. First. You live in a very paranoid world. My Chins are the most loved well cared for on the planet. I doubt you would fine two more spoiled. But I do not put their welfare on a pedestal above my own. You have no clue about my cage set up, my Chins, their health, NOTHING. you obviously base your opinions on whatever mistakes you have made or you have heard about from someone else. Your ridiculous blanket statements doled out to everyone simply do not apply to me no matter what you think so get over it.

I think you just need to put your faith in God that he will watch over your babies. "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them..." (*Matthew‬ *6‬:*26‬ NIV) I'm not saying God will feed them for us, but He watches over His creation! Anything could happen to anybody, but that doesn't mean God will allow it to. There are so many things that I could be afraid of, but if I let everything that had a possibility of happening change my plans, I wouldn't have a life!! Three days isn't bad at all, and you could always call someone to look after them if something happened to you.

I think you just need to put your faith in God that he will watch over your babies. "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them..." (*Matthew‬ *6‬:*26‬ NIV) I'm not saying God will feed them for us, but He watches over His creation! Anything could happen to anybody, but that doesn't mean God will allow it to. There are so many things that I could be afraid of, but if I let everything that had a possibility of happening change my plans, I wouldn't have a life!! Three days isn't bad at all, and you could always call someone to look after them if something happened to you.
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A post like this needs a "Like" button. Brilliantly said Sadie

Burnt Offering said:

A post like this needs a "Like" button. Brilliantly said Sadie

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Aww, well thank you!

Burnt Offering said:

All I have to say to this response is this. First. You live in a very paranoid world. My Chins are the most loved well cared for on the planet. I doubt you would fine two more spoiled. But I do not put their welfare on a pedestal above my own. You have no clue about my cage set up, my Chins, their health, NOTHING. you obviously base your opinions on whatever mistakes you have made or you have heard about from someone else. Your ridiculous blanket statements doled out to everyone simply do not apply to me no matter what you think so get over it.

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There is no self policing on this forum, so you alone can't tell me to "get over it" FIRST I would actually have to care about you which I don't, your attitude towards your chins sucks. Kill your chins off, other people who have said the EXACT same thing you have said have. Have a nice day, I know I will since I care about my chins, leaving yours alone for days and days proves you don't. So how about you get over yourself and your attitude.

Whoa, there's no need to get hateful. You can't say someone else doesn't care for their chinchillas since they do something differently than you do. That was harsh.

There is no self policing on this forum, so you alone can't tell me to "get over it" FIRST I would actually have to care about you which I don't, your attitude towards your chins sucks. Kill your chins off, other people who have said the EXACT same thing you have said have. Have a nice day, I know I will since I care about my chins, leaving yours alone for days and days proves you don't. So how about you get over yourself and your attitude.

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Are you for real??!! It is better to be thought of as a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

ticklechin is correct - There is no self-policing on this forum. Telling someone to get over themselves is self policing. If you have an issue with what someone said in a post, please, use the (!) button and let the moderators or admins handle it. That's what we are here for.

Second, I personally am not going to rely on God to take care of my animals. God gives people free will and the right to choose. If someone chooses to leave their animals alone with no one to take care of them for an extended period of time, don't expect God to take care of them because you won't. That's like saying you are not going to use an air conditioner because you trust God to cool them off. Not gonna happen.

I don't leave my animals alone for longer than the normal work day or maybe a bit longer. I check them in the morning, I check them in the evening several times. Before my kids went to college, my son would run home from school to check them, especially on hot days.

In addition to that, we live in a world where not everyone believes in God. They are going to be a bit more practical and make sure their animals are cared for when they cannot be there to take care of them themselves.

Oh, and I pretty much bet there are others whose chins are just as spoiled if not more spoiled than yours are Burnt Offering. If you ever had the chance to walk into the chin palace at Sandi's house, you might be feel inadequate. Lord knows I do after I leave.

No, I'm not saying that... I'm just saying that you can only do so much. I don't just leave my chins and go, "Here ya go God, do whatever!" I give them what they will need until I return, and if I'm gone longer than I think they can handle, then I will ask a friend to come and check on them. But, I do trust that He will watch over them while I am away, and they are in His hands. After all, they are His creation. And yes, I'm aware that not everyone believes in God, I'm just sharing my opinion on things.

Oh, and I pretty much bet there are others whose chins are just as spoiled if not more spoiled than yours are Burnt Offering. If you ever had the chance to walk into the chin palace at Sandi's house, you might be feel inadequate. Lord knows I do after I leave.

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This was a generalization not a statement of fact tunes. It was only meant to say that I love and take care of my chins health as well as anyone else here. In no way am I trying to compete with anyone else. The suggestion that someone hates their Chins because they leave for 3-4 days is crazy IMO. Do accidents happen? Of course But I have seen stories of dead Chins hanging in their cages while the owners are asleep in their beds. I love my Chins and they are the greatest pet I have ever had but I don't worship the ground they poop on. We don't have the heat here, we don't have the parasites here, we don't have the ticks, fleas, and a lot of other things that you deal with down there. So please (not you specifically) don't lump me in with everyone else when its said that I can't leave my Chins alone for a weekend.

ticklechin said:

There is no self policing on this forum, so you alone can't tell me to "get over it" FIRST I would actually have to care about you which I don't, your attitude towards your chins sucks. Kill your chins off, other people who have said the EXACT same thing you have said have. Have a nice day, I know I will since I care about my chins, leaving yours alone for days and days proves you don't. So how about you get over yourself and your attitude.

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I personally think ticklechin took this too far. Just because someone decides to leave their chins alone for a couple days does not prove that they do not love and care for them.

Many people care for their pets in different ways. For example, some people would argue that dogs should only be fed a raw diet, but let's be honest how many people feed a raw diet to their dogs let alone a top quality kibble, yet most of the people who do not feed their dogs top quality food still love and care for their dog.

The comments about the "what ifs" is what each individual has to think about when they are deciding how long they feel comfortable leaving their chins. Of course there are freak accidents that may occur, which can occur whether you are sleeping, out shopping, working, or on a weekend vacation. Many of these freak accidents can happen very quickly and if you aren't watching the chins at that very moment they could die.

I personally think everyone has the right to choose how long they are comfortable leaving their chins with their back up systems/safety nets.

Thinking only about worst case scenarios is a good way for someone to become isolated and potentially not living a fulfilled life because they are too afraid and paranoid of what could happen. Let's be honest any person could die any day and same with chins. Whether it be freak accidents or old age. People tend to not live in fear about all the what ifs (and there are A LOT, probably a lot more than for chins) yet people leave their homes and face the world each day.

It all just depends on what people are comfortable with and the typical activity of their chins, and everyone will have different comfort levels and chins all differ in personality. Let's try to just keep this a civil thread to discuss what people are comfortable with and what back up systems they use with what they are comfortable with.

MNChinLover - If you want to offer your two cents that's fine, but did you miss the part about self-policing? No one is asking for your opinion on how far ticklechin went in this thread. If you have an issue with it, use the (!) button and let the mods and admins know.

This is the second time I have had to say something about this. I would prefer not to address it again.

Actually, isn't this what this forum is all about? It's called a "Chin DEBATE", right? It's where we post our opinions about something, correct? I don't think there was anything wrong about what MNChinLover said, and at least she wasn't slamming people and being rude, she was merely stating a fact. Because last time I read the rules, insulting people and being "uncivil" meant a warning.

tunes said:

MNChinLover - If you want to offer your two cents that's fine, but did you miss the part about self-policing? No one is asking for your opinion on how far ticklechin went in this thread. If you have an issue with it, use the (!) button and let the mods and admins know.

This is the second time I have had to say something about this. I would prefer not to address it again.

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I'm sorry you feel my post was self policing, I was just offering my two cents/opinion on the debate.

However, maybe I am not understanding what you guys mean by self-policing. Is there a place on here I can read what exactly "self-policing" is? Or could you provide me a description?

Do you mean people who are not admins should not try to keep the peace in the thread? I find this to be an interesting topic and would prefer it doesn't get deleted because people begin making unnecessary comments?

Thank you.

Self-policing is telling someone to chill, back off, stop posting, mind your own business, etc., etc. Self-policing is when an owner of this forum says to stop self-policing and then someone comes on and says - I think so and so took this too far. This thread, from post #44 on down, could be done away with and not detract from the original topic at all. It has become a pissing contest and a finger pointing session.

Debate goes down the toilet when someone starts saying back off, chill, or get over it. It instantly inflames the person you are saying it to, and let's face it, that's what it was intended to do.

The moderation staff and the admin/owners decide what is inflammatory on a case by case basis. Sometimes we just post a blurb in the thread. Other times we send out warnings or place people on moderated status. We have also had to shut down a thread or put in the recycle bin, depending on how out of hand it got.

I won't comment on others ideas of what is safe or not. I will say that for me and my chins this is what I do. If I'm spending one night away, and will return early the next day, I just fill feeders and waters, give extra hay and chew sticks. If I'm going to be gone any longer than that I have a list of people who come check on them. My mom comes over before and after work, my grandpa comes early in the morning and early evening, our friend comes over every couple of hours (especially in the summer or if I'm expecting babies). I am blessed to have these people, I consider myself lucky. I've invested to much into my chins (money, emotion, work and love) to leave them for days.

tunes said:

Self-policing is telling someone to chill, back off, stop posting, mind your own business, etc., etc. Self-policing is when an owner of this forum says to stop self-policing and then someone comes on and says - I think so and so took this too far. This thread, from post #44 on down, could be done away with and not detract from the original topic at all. It has become a pissing contest and a finger pointing session.

Debate goes down the toilet when someone starts saying back off, chill, or get over it. It instantly inflames the person you are saying it to, and let's face it, that's what it was intended to do.

The moderation staff and the admin/owners decide what is inflammatory on a case by case basis. Sometimes we just post a blurb in the thread. Other times we send out warnings or place people on moderated status. We have also had to shut down a thread or put in the recycle bin, depending on how out of hand it got.

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I am sorry you feel that way about what I said. I still stand behind my statement because I think it seemed unnecessary/rude/mean, and there were several things that seemed that way by various people/posts, just that statement stood out because of my opinion on the matter, which I tried explaining after that.

You seem bitter towards me in that post, but that could be the unfortunate aspect of forums versus talking to someone face to face, you can't tell the way they said it so it's difficult to tell how someone means something because it can be interpreted different ways than intended without hearing tone or seeing facial or body language cues.

Can you guys delete a section of posts but not the thread itself? That would be pretty cool to just get rid of the bickering but leaving the topic there to help others who may read it and find it helpful or interesting.