A few questions about my chins

[Kalora]

Hello everyone! I have been browsing the forums for awhile now but this is my official first post! I got two male chinchillas exactly one week ago and I have a few questions about my little guys. I have a tan one named Romeo who was born in July 2014 and a gray one named Ralph who was born in May 2014.

1) I bought an edible hay hide for my chinchillas but I realized they peed in it. Should I remove it from their cage or keep it in there still? I heard people usually remove food and chin dust after it's been soiled so I wasn't sure what I should do with it.

2) I have my chins in my bedroom and I have done my best to "chin proof" it. However, they always find a way to squeeze through the tiniest and most overlooked places ever! One chin likes to hide under the cage (they dig through the towel I stuff there) and the other always tries to find a way to squeeze under my bed. I worry about them under the bed because I have a bunch of cardboard boxes from when I moved still under there. I took a hint and removed shoes or anything with wires that were under there. What have other people used to proof the bottom spaces of their furniture?

3) I have heard about the "hair rings" on males. I'm worried about my guys because they haven't bonded with me quite yet. They run when I attempt to pick them up and I don't know how "checking" them would be an easy thing to do.

4) Romeo is a lot more active than Ralph is.. Ralph just likes to sit around and doesn't jump very much. He likes to run a bit and chews more than Romeo does. Is this just the difference in personality or is he sick?

5) I hear them chewing plastic sometimes so I'm going to order some bass pans today. I have them in a Critter Nation 162 and I've been working on some DIY ledges. I'm wondering how you clean the ledges if they pee on them a lot.. wouldn't the wood absorb it and make it kind of smelly?

6) How sensitive are they really? Since they are new pets, everyone and their brother wants to come see them. I have people over maybe once or twice a week wanting to play with them. Usually, I ask them to sit down and let them do their thing (just watch) but sometimes it leads to more than two people standing in the room trying to watch. Do they get bothered by this?

Thank you for anyone who provides some answers for me. I have asthma so I try to clean the cage as often as possible, which is about everyday besides Wednesday and Thursday when I work late. Cleaning and smell is important for me to minimize and I would have an easier time bonding with my guys if I knew how to proof my area better. Right now, I use boxes to "block" entry ways but they find ways over or between them somehow.

 

[Stackie]

Congrats on your new chins!

1) I would go ahead and take it out. It can start smelling pretty quickly, and more than likely they will just keep peeing on it.

2)I bought a Marshall ferret playpen that has panels that you can detach, and use the panels to block off areas I don't want them getting to. Alternatively, you can deconstruct cardboard boxes and use them to block off areas.

3) I don't do hair ring checks on my boys unless they are showing symptoms. In 9 years of having boys, I've only done a few hair ring checks and only once have I found fur, but it wasn't a true hair ring. Some chins are more susceptible than others. Unless you notice one of them paying a lot of attention down there, cleaning excessively, etc. I wouldn't worry about checking them.

4) As long as Ralph is eating/drinking/pooing normally, he's probably just a more laid back chin. They can have very different personalities and activity levels.

5) I wipe my ledges clean with a 50:50 ratio of white vinegar and water. If I noticed a ledge is peed on, I spray hydrogen peroxide on it and let it sit for five minutes, then scrub with the vinegar/water mixture. Hydrogen peroxide is awesome at eliminating the pee, and the vinegar/water is good at cutting down the odor.

6) They're probably fine with the attention. Just keep doing what you're doing and watch for signs of stress.