Adopting My First - What to Consider

eversoclever · Dec 7, 2012

I have been researching adopting for a few weeks and have narrowed my search down to a female chin in my area. She has had one owner who can no longer care for her due to $. The chin was originally purchased from Petco over the summer and believe it is around 1 year old. I may plan a visit this Sunday to meet her. My current vet does see exotic pets, I have a great space and the chin is supposedly social and not too skittish around kids - and even a dog the owner has.

I read that chins via pet stores (I would never purchase one via a pet store), can have issues - espcially with their teeth due to poor breeding practices. What should I look for when meeting this chin and how can I determine whether she is in good "shape" if I decide to bring her home?

Thank you!

3CsMommy · Dec 7, 2012

The only way to be certain you're teeth-problem free is to do a set of x-rays, which can be both expensive and hard on the chin. About the only thing you can tell from an external/surface mouth exam is how the front teeth line up, and even that can be tricky because they don't like to be restrained. In advanced cases of root overgrowth, there will be lumps on the jaw that you can feel through the skin.

But, for over all health, look for the same things you'd look for in another mammal: clean fur, especially around the eyes and tail; curiosity (or the ability to put up a fuss if she doesn't want to be handled), a weak or lethargic animal can point to internal illness; clear eyes with no squinting or tearing; clear nose with no stuffiness or discharge; appetite okay; moving alright with no sign of lameness/sore limbs; regular sized frequent poop that's dark colored, possibly a little shiny, but not squishy, and usually smaller than an Ibuprofen capsule but larger than a Tic Tac.

I hesitate to say "she should like you" only because I've met so many chins that *don't* like human cuddles and such (including one of mine), but you want an active, alert animal that may or may not find you interesting. Remember that an irritable female can pee in your eyes or mouth from over 6' away, and that some nervous behavior is normal when strangers are around. In other words, be prepared to duck, just in case.

Kansas City Chinchillas · Dec 7, 2012

I would check to see the the animal's eyes look good - Not watering and the fur around them isn't laying flat. Check the body fur to see if there are areas of missing fur which might indicate fungus. The chin should be alert and responsive. Seeing the conditions the chin is kept in and how it has been cared for will help you decide.

ticklechin · Dec 8, 2012

Pet store, breeder, rancher, CL, rescue, does not matter, any chin at any age at any time can come down with malo, malo is not only genetic. Its just something you have to accept if you want a chin as a pet.

VolunteerChin22 · Dec 8, 2012

ticklechin said:
Pet store, breeder, rancher, CL, rescue, does not matter, any chin at any age at any time can come down with malo, malo is not only genetic. Its just something you have to accept if you want a chin as a pet.

I agree - it's just a risk you take with any animal that they may down the road develop complications even if you have a full pedigree. And I wouldn't say a petstore chin is at risk for malo necessarily due to "poor breeding practices" - pet store chins usually are wholesaled by a large rancher to fill an order - ie they need 40 standard chinchillas so they go through their stock and pull 40 young chins that match the order. The issue is that there's no way to know a background on a petstore chin so if the large rancher encountered issues with a line (be it fur chewing, malo, seizures, etc) there would be little way to let a pet owner know.

Also, if this chin is around a year old (no real way to know as petstores don't even know how old their animals are) malo is something that *generally* doesn't show up until an animal is 2 years + but there are of course always exceptions.

The above are good things to look for about her general state of health. You also may want to be a little open minded about her behavior when you visit - I had chins who were outgoing little monkeys but would get a little nervous when a new person would enter the chin room. Just new smells and sounds. If everything checks out then I would say there's no reason not to get her as long as you're ready