A not so new owner with new chinchillas!

[Peep_erz]

When I used cardboard I just made a wall of it and slightly titled it onto the wall. Others have made giant cardboard playpens that fold accordion style and are free standing.

 

[Godofgods]

does anyone use any types of toys for their chins when their out for play time?

 

[mishellyshel]

i use cardboard boxes & plastic pvc pipes for them to run thru. i also keep a dustbath in the playarea and some large wood chews.

 

[ChinnyMom]

Rhino gets cardboard boxes with door holes cut to jump in/out of. he usually ignores them in favour of playing hide n seek behind the pillows on my bed, lol.

 

[Dusty Foot Prints]

We have big boxes with holes cut out, and large tubes. We also have a few toys that are only available at playtime, just to make them extra special.

 

[Godofgods]

While chin kits are generaly seperated form mommy chin after 6 weeks or so, are their any danger form it being longer then that?

 

[Ash]

A male kit left in with mom can impregnate her as early as 8 weeks. As for females in with mom, there's not usually an issue.

 

[Godofgods]

8 weeks? seems a bit early. Tho most things iv been able to find suggest either 8 weeks or 3 months as a begining of activness. I no my first kit Houdini was around 3months~ befor showing signs.

 

[Cuddlebug]

8 weeks is recommended because there have been occasions when a male kit has impregnated its mother when he was this young. There have also be occasions when a female kit was impregnated by her father or brother at that same young age.

 

[Ash]

And 13-14 is the time when most human females hit puberty, but there are some who go into it at 9. Is it a common occurrence? No, but it can happen, just like chins being able to reproduce at 8 weeks, so why risk it?

 

[Godofgods]

It seems my chinchilla has some digestive problems. I noticed it looking a little watery, and becomeing easly squished.

I havnt had any changing in their diet. Same food, same hay. The hay was reaching the bottme of the bag which generaly becomes smaller, thinner peices, but nothing they havnt delt with before.

I gave them fresh food and opened a new bag of fresh hay (same kind) today. Along with cleaning out their water bottles and giving fresh water.

I have to males that live in the same cage. Father and son. I havnt yet determined which one is actuly having the problem. Their in a pretty stress free invoirment, aside from Sophie. And other then the it becomeing watery looking and squishy, nothing else is diffrent. Their both eating noraml as far as i can tell. Both active.

The only thing that has changed recently, Which is not so much a change, rather an increase, is my father male has been much more horney as of late, when he sees his women out to play. (their housed speretly for the last several months.) To the point where hes trying to mount anything with four legs. But diarrhea seems an unusual side effect of being horny.

Theirs a good chance i cant get to a vet anytime soon as well. (being disabled and all) Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Godofgods]

posted this in the health and hygene thread

 

[chichismama]

well, i read thru this thread...and i don't comment much. and im not sure if the dismissive attitude ceased at some point...and i dont want to sound insensitive...but i don't know the extent of your injuries, but if you were sick, would you not find a way to get to the drs because you are disabled? would you lay there and die? i think not. i mean this in a very good way. disability, does not mean no ability. and the ability is not there, then maybe you should be more inviting to people who are trying to help and work on finding out how, instead of saying can't and trying to find holes in everything. at some point you have to find people to put your trust in, how you decide that, is up to you... do you have friends who will partner up with you? someone in your area that will volunteer to help? if you've had these chins for years, certainly you could've saved 50 cent a day to put into a vet fund. a check up here is 57 bucks.

as far as solutions. are you cleaning their cage? how often? washing their water bottle? why type of water are you giving them? do they have hay at all times? are you still feeding them treats? that same food? how do your chins eyes look? are any of them tilting their heads or anything?

i don't want to sound harsh, but i also don't want you to give up on yourself, bc those little guys need you.

oh and i don't know if you accepted that the chins don't need treats, but if i ate what made me go ga-ga, twice a day, i would probably shorten my life. imagine the life you take away from something with a lifespan 1/3 of yours...

 

[Godofgods]

if i have to take them to the vet i will some how. But its only been a day or two. So i was asking around here for some more information. Never had a chin have this problem before.

Their treats are down to once a day at best. They get a cheerio after play time. The only other thing they get is an apple wood twig in the morning when another gets home from work. He did imform me today however that he had given them a peice of dried banna chips the last day or two. (Their for my ferrets) He wont be doing that anymore.

Their cage is clean, i cleaned their water bottles yesterday. Waters from my sink, but it runs through a filter. They have hay at all times, unless they finish it all while im asleep. Which they usaly dont. Same food, but all 5 chins have been eating that for many many months, maybe a year+. (aside form the kits, obviosuly) Chins eyes look fine. Chins in general look fine, other then needing a sand bath. Behavoir is completly normal.

I reposted this diarrah problem in the health and hygen thread a few min after this inital post. Better placeing for it. Can see some of the responces and what not their.

 

[ChinnyMom]

i think it may be the banana chips causing the poop problem, since the timing lines up.

as suggested in the other thread, pull their pellets and feed only hay for a few days. no treats at all, not even the cheerio after play time, until you get this cleared up.

wash your hands well in between tending to their cages, to ensure nothing gets transferred over to your healthy chins.

hopefully it's just tummy upset from the banana chips and their systems will clear out. if they stop pooping then get them to the vet asap, as stasis is very serious and requires immediate medical attention.

edited to add: and tell your roommate to leave the chins alone. i know they get all excited when roomie comes home and expect a treat from them, but they'll get used to not getting anything soon enough.

 

[Godofgods]

well thats why i was trying to find a 'treat' that they could have every day that wouldnt mess with their system. They get the cheeroi when they go back in the cage, and thats their only real treat all day. But their used to expecting something when he gets home and will be super loud if you ignore them. Wake me up quite often. So i wanted something they could have then to if possible. That where the apple twigs came in. Heard that would be safe for them to have on top.

As for right now with the problem, their not getting any treats, any time. And i did pull their pellets out last night, and gave em some extra hay.

 

[Dusty Foot Prints]

A piece of hay or even a stick can be a "treat" if you give it to them. You can't overfeed them and they are both good for their teeth.

 

[ChinnyMom]

they'll adjust to not getting anything when your roommate comes home. sure, it'll be annoying and you'll lose sleep for a bit, but in the long run it's better that only you know what's going in the chin's cages.

 

[Godofgods]

well, i was origionaly going to try moving the kits into the males cage tomorrow, but with the diarreha problem, that will have to be postponed, again. However i still need to seperate my two male ktis from their mom. So i had to seperate the FN cage into two seperate cages for the time being. I dont htink sophies overly thrilled about losing her two story cage, but itll be her first night of peace and quite in a long time.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

But their used to expecting something when he gets home and will be super loud if you ignore them.

Too bad. I have a niece who throws tantrums when she doesn't get to eat candy for dinner. Do you think I give it to her so she'll be happy? Chinchillas (just like children) don't know what's best for them, but now you do so it's your responsibility to make sure they're being taken care of properly. They won't die or get sick if they don't get a treat.

Someone on here once said that treats aren't really for pets, they're for humans. They're to make people feel better about themselves and make them feel like good pet parents. I'm sure your chins would much prefer for you or your roommate to just go talk to them, give them scritches, and general attention.