Chinchilling
New member
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2012
- Messages
- 2
Though I have owned my chinchillas for almost a year now, I still consider myself a "new" owner, as I am having great difficulty establishing a suitable environment for my chins. I have two mosaic chinchillas, one was still an adolescent when I purchased him (smaller body, shorter tail), the other I was told was no more than nine months, though this is unverifiable as from what I can tell he has remained the about same size (plump, stocky, but not overweight) so he could be any age. The "fat" one, as I affectionately call him, is extremely friendly, and has never shown any signs of fear. He eagerly approaches me, preferring to scale my body and nibble on my clothes and face, even when fresh food is supplied and in reach. The "small" one, as I call him, has quite the opposite disposition. He tends to be nervous, shy, and very easily frightened, and is prone to making his distress call whenever he hears wild animals, encounters unfamiliar smells, etc. I am sad to say that I have not been a good owner to either of these beautiful creatures. I purchased a double level ferret nation cage when I got them, with the intention of having them live together as friends (as they had been prior to my owning them). One of many regrettable decisions I made was to acquire them from a local pet store. It is not a chain and is owned by a single woman. She has many animals in her home, and breeds chinchillas when she sells the few that are in her store. She does provide adequate care for the animals, with acceptably furnished cages, amenities, exercise area, etc. though I doubt they get personal attention. I purchased them because I could not find a rescue near by and did not want to risk transporting such sensitive animals for hours in my car. Upon reaching maturity, the small fellow became very hostile to his docile companion. It took me about a week to understand that this abuse was occurring, I noticed bits of fur disturbed on his coat, but was not sure if he was chewing out of nervousness (he was distressed all week). Again, one of many mistakes. I was forced to separate them. Because of the fearful nature of the small one (the aggressor), I am unable to handle him at all. The few times he has escaped his cage (by using my arm as a bridge to "freedom" or by clearing the 4 foot glass barrier at the door of their room, I was forced to corner him, a process that made him feel persecuted, took hours, and exhausted us both. The best I could do was capture him in a tunnel box made of wood and lift the entire object off the ground. Seeing that I could not control him, I made yet another poor decision and confined him to the 2 level cage, with wheel, many ledges, etc. while letting the easy to control "fat" one have the run of a medium sized bedroom with wood floor, tunnel boxes, etc. I am horrified to admit that in the first month of owning them, they both consumed their fair share of non food items due to a series of mistakes. These include a cardboard box with packing tape, painted wooden baseboards/door, and a plastic cord attached to a portable air conditioner. I have sense rectified these early mistakes, by providing kiln dried pine baseboard covers, door cover, only supplying safe wooden and stone toys, and protecting the electric cord with metal covering. Even so, I fear I have shortened what would be a formidable lifespan of 10-20 years, and I would do anything to take it back. My issue now is how to reconcile the two, protecting the docile one, who I suspect has poor eyesight and is thus disadvantaged socially, while providing an adequate exercise area for the small frightened one, who can easily jump over 4 feet, constantly runs from me despite using a calm voice, slow movements, plenty of healthy rewards (apple sticks) etc. They both was oxbow Timothy hay and oxbow pellets, do not consume sugar of any kind, and in general are safe from harming themselves, after having learned the range of their formidable agility and desire to consume practically ANYTHING that is not food. I have just completed a suitable fence that is 4.5 feet high, spans the length of the room, and is constructed from kiln dried pine and metal mesh covered with fleece to protect paws from being snagged. Once I install it they can both have floor space, but I don't know what to do about the cage, I can't currently afford another (it was 200 dollars, spent about 50 on the fence, about 40 a month in food and toys, 300 last year on a brand new window AC that's out of their reach) the biggest issue is sanitation, about once a month I am forced to clean out their room, vaccum the floor for dust and then wash it to remove the urine, replace cage bedding, etch. This upheaval puts stress on them both but the fat guy rebounds within hours, while the small one remains traumatized and a nervous wreck, remembering each "betrayal" for an entire month and compounding the mistrust severely over time. How do I clean his home without upsetting him? I do it as little as possible as it is but it is unsanitary to leave it indefinitely. I can't think of any situation where I wouldn't need to come in and clean, except for a climate controlled artificial "outdoor" zoo like rock enclosure, replicating their natural habitat and costing tens of thousands I am sure. A lesser issue is their reluctance to be touched, at all. Needless to say the small one doesn't even like to make eye contact, the fat one, despite his curious and friendly nature, will shuffle away ever so slightly each time he detects touch anywhere on his fur. I hand feed him, give him dust, treats, etc. he is always very excited to see me, responds with wall bouncing, scaling my body, nibbling softly and licking me, making low, barely audible squeaking similar to a Guinea pig, and generally seeming ecstatic. Yet when I slowly and gently attempt to touch his head, front paw, chin, tail, body, anything at all, I get the shuffling away response. After 5-6 tries he will hop a few feet away, but will return almost immediately with vocal encouragement, or just on his own after 10-15 seconds. I feel that if I continue to make him uncomfortable I will loose the relationship I already have with him and he will become fearful and mistrusting like his former companion is. I love them both tremendously despite my series of awful mistakes/decisions. I would never want to abandon either of them, even if they never want to touch me, I just want to do the right thing and have them lead a happy life. I feel that the fat one is content with his larger space, daily (15-30 min) interaction he has with me, variety of treats and toys etc. The small one has the same amenities, sees me for the same amount of time (I sit by his cage and speak softly to him, try to get him to take food from my hand, though he only nibbles and is afraid to take it, he waits till I am gone to eat) he even has a 75 dollar flying saucer wheel that he uses rigorously for exercise. I feel he is unhappy in the cage, but if I divide the room as planned the fat one may become unhappy as well, as he does not have a cage, just two wooden nest boxes. The last thing I want is 2 unhappy chins. Letting them take turns with the floor is not an option as the small one is totally beyond my control. He will not bite but will flee for hours. He is smart enough to hear me coming and leaves the cage every single time, knowing I can/will lock the door to the cage and trap him inside again. I feel he is exceptionally intelligent and sufficiently agile to outsmart me on a daily basis, and each time I am forced to corner him and return him to captivity I risk causing him to have a heart attack, he is that distressed. I have even considered anxiety medication (Valium, Xanax, Ativan) but even with the proper dose I cannot keep him under the influence of drugs forever, tolerance occurs within weeks (as I have experienced, having severe anxiety and being prescribed Ativan from a psychiatrist) so at best this would be a one time solution if I ever need to move, take him to the vet etc. I am sorry for the exceptionally long post, I just feel incredibly guilty and like a terrible person. I have been irresponsible from day 1, allowing countless dangers to my chins out of ignorance, and it was selfish of me to buy such exotic creatures because of their beauty, knowing I am not an "animal person" not training them properly out of a desire not to make them uncomfortable, and allowing the situation to get further and further out of hand. I would gladly give them up to make them happy, although I do not want to, I also know there are many homeless and abused chinchillas, and I fear that someone else would be even less prepared and knowledgable about their disposition. Part of the problem is my obsessive compulsive disorder. I clean my house constantly and have literally barranca des them in one room which I consider to be "dirty". Even by normal standards it is a mess, dust, poops, hay and pellets, wood shavings from treats, etc litter the floor. Maybe if I made them more a part of the family and let them in my room or the den it would be better? They could spend more they around me, but there are so many dangers, cords, painted surfaces, etc, I don't know how I'd do it. I suspect the nervous one just wants a solitary, quiet, undisturbed, natural life, but I've no idea how to give it to them. I am saving money for a second cage, but if I can't control them I fear it will do no good. I just want them to be happy :'(
