Acquired 2 very old, neglected chinchillas

Hello!

I have just come into ownership of 2 very cute male chinchillas. Unfortunately they are very old (somewhere between 10 and 14 years) and have for the most part been left in the cages their whole life. Even cleaning was apparently sparse. The good news is that they look healthy - they were well fed and watered, just rarely let out. So I assume they are a bit anti social at the minute.

I've never owned a chinchilla before but I'm reading/researching non stop. This is a different case however, so I'm looking for some more personal advice. I've went out and bought some pellets (Pets at Home brand), meadow hay (I'm in the UK, I couldn't find timothy hay), chinchilla dust, dried rose hips and apple wood sticks. The two cages they came in seems to be adequate from what I've read - it's quite large with 2-3 wooden platforms. They have been in separate cages all their life, but that's all I know - I don't know how they interact outside of the cages.

I'm mostly scared of how to interact with the fluffy little things though. They've been neglected for years and they're probably terrified of humans. I haven't dared try to touch them yet in case I scare them.

What would you guys recommend in this situation? I have the finances and time to take proper care of them, I'm just afraid of how to approach them at this point. I've had them for a day and I've just filled their food bowl/water bottle up and gave them a dust bath inside their cages.

Any help would be great

Thanks

Let them get used to your voice! I started with reading whatever book I was reading to them and sing to them as well! Just give them a while to get used to your presence

will they take treats out of your hand? That would be a start.

Good on you for taking these poor wee boys!

Newt said:

will they take treats out of your hand? That would be a start.

Good on you for taking these poor wee boys!

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I just tried and the answer to that is yes

One of them immediately did a backflip off the side of his cage after taking the treat. It was adorable. After eating he started making small chirpy noises.

The other one took the treat and ran back into his house to eat it, then came back out to explore. Probably looking for more treats.

Well at 10-14 it is possible to have them around another 10 years, so not end of life old. Your best bet if they are acting scared is to just give them time, as said talking, singing, reading, and just plain sitting near them will help. It can take weeks, months, or sometimes years, but they normally eventually come around. Their world has just changed it will take more then a day for even a well cared for chin to adjust. Wait for them to come to you rather then trying to grab them, offer treats, in this case if they like them the apple sticks work great because they can't over dose or fill up on sticks so you can give as many as you want. Since you don't know if they have ever interacted with each other at this point it's probably best to not try it, at least until they are comfortable with you. Minimum cage size is about 2'x2', so anything bigger is good.

Amethyst said:

Well at 10-14 it is possible to have them around another 10 years, so not end of life old. Your best bet if they are acting scared is to just give them time, as said talking, singing, reading, and just plain sitting near them will help. It can take weeks, months, or sometimes years, but they normally eventually come around. Their world has just changed it will take more then a day for even a well cared for chin to adjust. Wait for them to come to you rather then trying to grab them, offer treats, in this case if they like them the apple sticks work great because they can't over dose or fill up on sticks so you can give as many as you want. Since you don't know if they have ever interacted with each other at this point it's probably best to not try it, at least until they are comfortable with you. Minimum cage size is about 2'x2', so anything bigger is good.

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Thanks for the advice

As mentioned in my previous post (which you can't see yet since it hasn't been approved), they seem eager to investigate my hand whenever a treat is offered. I generally sit there for a few mins before I open the cage to offer the treat.

I've read you shouldn't let a chinchilla out to play if they don't trust you. Would it be wise to continue this treat giving/general presence process for a couple of days before I let one of them out? That would give me more time to properly chin-proof my room also.

Sorry for the double post but I don't see an edit function. To add to my last post - I need to clean their cages. I'm scared to let them out though because of what I read about not letting chinchillas out if they don't trust you. What you guys recommend I do here? The cages need cleaning pretty badly.

I have a pet carrier that I put mine in for a few minutes while I clean. It is always good to have a carrier in case a vet trip is needed anyway. I have a metal one made specifically for chinchillas/small animals, but a regular cat carrier would work as well.

You're doing all the right things! Keep talking to them every time you're in the room & they're awake. It's great that they're already taking treats from you & wanting to explore your hand. At this point you may be able to build trust with them just by giving both verbal & physical attention since they were neglected.
I would not recommend letting them out in a large room. Start with a small room & make sure they're completely supervised the whole time. Letting them out & playing with them while they're does build trust too. In regards to cleaning the cages, is there a level you could close off to clean out the bottom? If not, I would also recommend a carrier while you clean.
Having an older chin (12yrs old) myself, watch the teeth & make sure they've got plenty of things to chew on. Plus watch for gas, my little guy sometimes gets some gas since he's gotten older from too many sticks. As with every chin, get to know them & their normal "poop" so you can catch any issues early. Is the brand of pellets what the previous owners used? I'd recommend Oxbow or Mazuri for pellets b/c it covers all life stages for the chin. Just make sure anything new food wise pellets or hay is introduced slowly. Their little tummies can't handle quick food changes. Hope this helps.

I actually let my boys choose when they wanted to come out of the cage. I just put my hands in front of it and when they jumped onto my hands we started taking them to the bathroom for playtime. Eventually we got a playpen for them to run around in because they seemed to feel safer in the small space. Jackie took the longest to adjust but now they all hop eagerly onto our hands for out time.

My three boys are between three and five. They do not get along inside or outside the cage. They do interact from their cages but we've never been able to let them be together. We knew this could happen when we got them so it doesn't bother us. They each get individual out time each night so it takes longer but we have a great time.

In a cage without time out doesn't mean they were abused (dirty cages aren't good though). There are lots of chinchillas who live at breeders that don't get out time and end up being great pets when retired. It just may take them longer to adjust to a pet life. I also wouldn't hesitate to take an older boy in if I were to want another chinchilla. To be honest the ones we got at about two years are much better pets and we are their first home to give them outs. We ruined the one we got as a baby by spoiling him so he's the brat.

I have an update on the cleaning situation

Managed to get one of them into a cat carrier then started to clean out his cage. It was terrible - the previous owners clearly didn't clean them at all. I feel so bad for the poor things. One of the ledges is almost stained black from dried poop/urine. I spent 20 minutes scrubbing it with a wire scourer and water/white vinegar mix, but it just wouldn't lift the stains. Fortunately the top ledge that he likes to sit on the most is mostly clean. I gave that a good scrubbing with the mix too. Then I went around and scrubbed the entire metal wire part of the cage.

It's a lot cleaner, but the ledges are unacceptable still. I'll need to replace them. Can I buy untreated pine of the same size and simply replace them? That would be wonderful.

He didn't have a house so I put a cardboard box with a few holes cut out in the cage. If he destroys it I'll keep putting in cardboard boxes until I buy a suitable wooden house box. The new food came too. I put a handful of the food that the chinchillas originally came with (it's a clear pastic bag - looks a lot like our guinea pig food) and a few of the new actual chinchilla food on top. Hopefully he eats the new food, and I'll slowly add more and more while adding less of his old food. The willow sticks came too. The guy I cleaned today doesn't seem fond of them, but that might have been because he's been in his cat carrier so he was probably a bit scared. The other guy who I haven't cleaned yet loves them.

Getting him out of the cat carrier and into his cage was a bit scary. I opened the cat carrier a few inches away from the open door of his cage then put his dust bath inside the cage. Hoping he would go straight for the dust bath inside the cage. Unfortunately he didn't go for that and simply wandered off into my room. My room is mostly chin proof so I just chilled and waited for him to come to me and then picked him up. He didn't seem to like me picking him up very much, but he didn't bite or go crazy.

The guy I cleaned is the one with the bad fur on one side. Here are pics:

http://i.imgur.com/41CJVVN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hqWBFVF.jpg

When I picked him up today, I discovered it wasn't a bald patch like I thought it was (you can see the patch in the 1st pic there). His fur is dried and clumped into a disc like shape. I don't think dust baths and being more clean is going to fix that. Fortunately, it just looks like his fur is clumped. It didn't seem sore or red or anything. Any advice on clumped fur like that would be great.

So yeah. It's been an interesting day. Tomorrow I will clean the other guy, I have ran out of vinegar.

Poor little guys!

Yes, you can make your own shelves really easily. Just go to the hardware or wood store and look for kiln dried pine (the words kiln dried or kd will often be stamped on the end of the wood). Aspen is also safe. There should be lots of info on building shelves on the 'do it yourself' pages.

Also, with the cardboard boxes, be careful that they don't have any tape or staples or glue, all of which can cause tummy issues for chins if they ingest them.

So happy to hear that you've taken these two in and are giving them better care than they've ever had before!

No chinchilla likes being picked up or at least none of my boys do so don't worry about that. They fact that he came to you is very positive. I am going to leave the grooming questions to the experts because I've not had to deal with that. Also great job taking these boys in and giving them a better life.

Basket_of_Chinchillas said:

Poor little guys!

Yes, you can make your own shelves really easily. Just go to the hardware or wood store and look for kiln dried pine (the words kiln dried or kd will often be stamped on the end of the wood). Aspen is also safe. There should be lots of info on building shelves on the 'do it yourself' pages.

Also, with the cardboard boxes, be careful that they don't have any tape or staples or glue, all of which can cause tummy issues for chins if they ingest them.

So happy to hear that you've taken these two in and are giving them better care than they've ever had before!

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I found this amazing site: http://www.shelfridges.co.uk/shelves/

They have shelves that actually fit the cage, which is amazing. I'll be buying some asap.

Sounds like these boys are in great hands now! As for the matts, if he will let you touch him, you can gently work out the matted fur. It will take time though. Most important is getting them fed, cleaned and comfortable.

Would it be ok if I used this thread for various questions and updates on my chinchillas? I don't want to clutter up the forum with my questions that I'm having a hard time finding the answer to.

For example, I found this hay: http://www.hayforpets.co.uk/products.html

"Timothy & Rye Hay - We also supply ‘Timothy and Rye’ grass this hay consists of a mixture of the two grasses and sometimes clover"

Is rye grass okay for chinchillas? I googled but found very little info. The site was recommended by chinchillas4life.co.uk which seems like an awesome site, so it's reputable at least.

I think that just timothy hay would be better. What about this site?

http://farm-pet-supplies.co.uk/Timothy-Hay-Sun-Cured-340g.html

Edited to fix link

ibuki said:

I found this amazing site: http://www.shelfridges.co.uk/shelves/

They have shelves that actually fit the cage, which is amazing. I'll be buying some asap.

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Looks awesome! I love the corner ledges And they have the flying saucer wheel!

There is some problematic info on that website as well... under the chinchilla care section, but since you're on the forum and it's a great place to ask questions, I'm sure everything will go swimmingly Looking forward to more updates on the little guys

Jazicat said:

I think that just timothy hay would be better. What about this site?

http://farm-pet-supplies.co.uk/Timothy-Hay-Sun-Cured-340g.html

Edited to fix link

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That particular link is extremely expensive. 340grams for £4 :O

If the timothy hay/rye grass mix isn't acceptable, then this is probably a better choice: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/timothy-hay-1.8kg-by-alfalfa-king-36642

Basket_of_Chinchillas said:

Looks awesome! I love the corner ledges And they have the flying saucer wheel!

There is some problematic info on that website as well... under the chinchilla care section, but since you're on the forum and it's a great place to ask questions, I'm sure everything will go swimmingly Looking forward to more updates on the little guys

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Which information is problematic, out of interest?

A good portion of the advice in that section in incorrect, the shelves are nice.