draagonfly
Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:
I had 7 chinchillas over the course of 19 years. When I started out with my first furballs, I posted as LadyKestrel on Chins-n-Quills.com. All my fuzzies are gone now and I miss them terribly, but occasionally I come here and post because they taught me so much over those 19 years, and it seems a shame to waste all that knowledge.
Zeus was adopted at ~3 months and left us at 3 years. Never found out why. One day he was just suddenly not acting right, and three days later he died in my arms while I was waiting for the vet to come into the exam room. Zeus & Odin were our first fuzzies, purchased from a breeder in Easton, PA. A blizzard delayed us picking them up, then we drove through horribly hazardous conditions to get them home. They both erped almost the whole way home! They also both ended up having fur fungus from the terrible conditions of the breeder's facility, so I always considered them a borderline rescue. I remember calling the most well-known breeder at the time because breeders "were the ones with all the knowledge," and she told me I would have to pay $500 for treatment for each chinchila, and she wanted me to put chemical FERTILIZER on them to get rid of the fur fungus. I thought that was ridiculous and researched what fur fungus actually was (it's ringworm - people can also contract it), then found more natural healing methods (thank the gods for the internet, even in its infancy!). I managed to eradicate the fungus with tea tree oil ointment over several months at an enormously cheaper price, and never bothered with breeders again. Zeus was a mosaic.
Odin was also adopted at ~3 months and left us at 12 years. He was my daughter's chinchilla and Zeus's cagemate. He gave the best hugs! The breeder told me Odin was a "standard grey," but he always looked more like a violet before violets were a thing.
Earl was adopted when he was about 6 months old, and left us at 6 years. He was standard grey. He was a rescue from a Texas fur farm that was closed because the owner got cancer (karma?!), and he was born with only one ear. Having only one ear never held him back, and it was never a medical issue either. He was the cutest darn thing! Also a standard grey.
Edwyn was another standard grey, adopted around 6 months old, and rescued from PA - the result of inbreeding due to uninformed/irresponsible owners. He was the last to leave me at 18 years old in June 2019. He was Earl's cagemate while Earl was with us, and was always the skinniest and grumpiest of our chinnies. He hated to be picked up, but once you had him, he would snuggle in. I called him my Immortal Chinnie (there can be only one!) the last couple years of his life. Such a trooper!
Hopi left us at ~9 years, about 6 of which were spent with us. She was completely normal the night before when I went to bed, but when I came downstairs in the morning she was already gone. So strange. She was a standard grey, rescued from a lady who was feeding her birdseed, said she was a biter, and thought she was a male. She was my only girl. I posted an ad looking for a male to be a cagemate for Odin, but I knew she was female due to her size the moment I saw her. The lady was well-meaning, but when I heard how Hopi was being treated and fed, I took her without question or comment and never looked back. Hopi never bit me, but she didn't like my daughter much. Hopi did love to have her chin scratched though, and would practically turn upside down with pleasure!
Wilbur came to us when he was about a year old, and left us on the older side of 6 years. He was surrendered to me by a lady whose children lost interest in him (and good thing, as they were apparently allowed to "play with him" by tossing him in the air from the middle of a bedsheet - ugh!). I was hoping he and Odin would get along, but Odin had apparently decided he wasn't having another cagemate. Wilbur was the tiniest chinchilla we had, all white, and so adorable! He moved cross-country with me (and Edwyn, Odin, and Hopi, plus two lizards), but chewed his plastic cat carrier along the way and swallowed some of the pieces. Despite many vet visits and efforts to save him, the resulting blockage ended in the most terrible death I've ever experienced.
Artemis was 3 when he was adopted from the SPCA, and left us at ~10 years. I didn't intend to have any more chinchillas once the four I moved to California with had passed, but after Hopi died so suddenly, I had a terribly persistent and loud thought in my head that there was a beige chinchilla out there who needed help. I thought that was crazy and said I wasn't adopting any more because I wanted to travel once all the pets had gone, plus I'd spent the last decade+ on inhalers because I'm allergic to them, but wouldn't give them up once I'd adopted them. I was assured this adoption would not extend the total number of years that I had pets. After three days of this weirdness, I agreed to do ONE search on the internet, and the SPCA was the top result. I said fine, I will look, but I wasn't adopting anyone that wasn't beige. Sure enough, the SPCA had ONE chinchilla... and he was beige. I couldn't really say no to that, so I went and picked him up. He told me his name was not "Legolas" like his papers said - it was Artemis. I said, "But you're male and Artemis is a female goddess. How's that work?" He told me, "No, no! After Artemis Fowl, the wizard!" I'd never read the books, but I said, "okay, then, Artemis, so you are!" and he was my magical chinnie for 7 years. And when it was his time to go, I knew he was also right about it not extending the time I had pets.
I miss them all so much. They sure did teach me a lot about medicine, solving problems, love, and happiness over almost two decades. Worth. Every. Minute.
Zeus was adopted at ~3 months and left us at 3 years. Never found out why. One day he was just suddenly not acting right, and three days later he died in my arms while I was waiting for the vet to come into the exam room. Zeus & Odin were our first fuzzies, purchased from a breeder in Easton, PA. A blizzard delayed us picking them up, then we drove through horribly hazardous conditions to get them home. They both erped almost the whole way home! They also both ended up having fur fungus from the terrible conditions of the breeder's facility, so I always considered them a borderline rescue. I remember calling the most well-known breeder at the time because breeders "were the ones with all the knowledge," and she told me I would have to pay $500 for treatment for each chinchila, and she wanted me to put chemical FERTILIZER on them to get rid of the fur fungus. I thought that was ridiculous and researched what fur fungus actually was (it's ringworm - people can also contract it), then found more natural healing methods (thank the gods for the internet, even in its infancy!). I managed to eradicate the fungus with tea tree oil ointment over several months at an enormously cheaper price, and never bothered with breeders again. Zeus was a mosaic.
Odin was also adopted at ~3 months and left us at 12 years. He was my daughter's chinchilla and Zeus's cagemate. He gave the best hugs! The breeder told me Odin was a "standard grey," but he always looked more like a violet before violets were a thing.
Earl was adopted when he was about 6 months old, and left us at 6 years. He was standard grey. He was a rescue from a Texas fur farm that was closed because the owner got cancer (karma?!), and he was born with only one ear. Having only one ear never held him back, and it was never a medical issue either. He was the cutest darn thing! Also a standard grey.
Edwyn was another standard grey, adopted around 6 months old, and rescued from PA - the result of inbreeding due to uninformed/irresponsible owners. He was the last to leave me at 18 years old in June 2019. He was Earl's cagemate while Earl was with us, and was always the skinniest and grumpiest of our chinnies. He hated to be picked up, but once you had him, he would snuggle in. I called him my Immortal Chinnie (there can be only one!) the last couple years of his life. Such a trooper!
Hopi left us at ~9 years, about 6 of which were spent with us. She was completely normal the night before when I went to bed, but when I came downstairs in the morning she was already gone. So strange. She was a standard grey, rescued from a lady who was feeding her birdseed, said she was a biter, and thought she was a male. She was my only girl. I posted an ad looking for a male to be a cagemate for Odin, but I knew she was female due to her size the moment I saw her. The lady was well-meaning, but when I heard how Hopi was being treated and fed, I took her without question or comment and never looked back. Hopi never bit me, but she didn't like my daughter much. Hopi did love to have her chin scratched though, and would practically turn upside down with pleasure!
Wilbur came to us when he was about a year old, and left us on the older side of 6 years. He was surrendered to me by a lady whose children lost interest in him (and good thing, as they were apparently allowed to "play with him" by tossing him in the air from the middle of a bedsheet - ugh!). I was hoping he and Odin would get along, but Odin had apparently decided he wasn't having another cagemate. Wilbur was the tiniest chinchilla we had, all white, and so adorable! He moved cross-country with me (and Edwyn, Odin, and Hopi, plus two lizards), but chewed his plastic cat carrier along the way and swallowed some of the pieces. Despite many vet visits and efforts to save him, the resulting blockage ended in the most terrible death I've ever experienced.
Artemis was 3 when he was adopted from the SPCA, and left us at ~10 years. I didn't intend to have any more chinchillas once the four I moved to California with had passed, but after Hopi died so suddenly, I had a terribly persistent and loud thought in my head that there was a beige chinchilla out there who needed help. I thought that was crazy and said I wasn't adopting any more because I wanted to travel once all the pets had gone, plus I'd spent the last decade+ on inhalers because I'm allergic to them, but wouldn't give them up once I'd adopted them. I was assured this adoption would not extend the total number of years that I had pets. After three days of this weirdness, I agreed to do ONE search on the internet, and the SPCA was the top result. I said fine, I will look, but I wasn't adopting anyone that wasn't beige. Sure enough, the SPCA had ONE chinchilla... and he was beige. I couldn't really say no to that, so I went and picked him up. He told me his name was not "Legolas" like his papers said - it was Artemis. I said, "But you're male and Artemis is a female goddess. How's that work?" He told me, "No, no! After Artemis Fowl, the wizard!" I'd never read the books, but I said, "okay, then, Artemis, so you are!" and he was my magical chinnie for 7 years. And when it was his time to go, I knew he was also right about it not extending the time I had pets.
I miss them all so much. They sure did teach me a lot about medicine, solving problems, love, and happiness over almost two decades. Worth. Every. Minute.
Signature
Zeus, Odin, Earl, Edwyn, Hopi, Wilbur, and Artemis were the 7 chinnies I had over the course of 19 years. You can read about them on my profile. They've all passed on now, but they taught me so much. Seems an awful waste of knowledge if I don't share that with others.