Chin Home alone?

[Ilovemychin]

How long can she be home alone? Maybe 3 days? All extras will be pt in thanks!

 

[Ashley]

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable leaving a chin alone for that long, at least not without someone to check on the basics like food, hay and water. I would think maybe two days max, but it also kind of depends how far away you would be if something were to happen.

 

[ABBY W.]

Yes, the longest I leave mine is overnight. (I feed them before I leave, am gone for one night and see them the next evening). Anything longer than that I call my pet sitter.

 

[Snickers]

I leave mine alone for 1 night only. Can a friend or relative take care of your chin for the 3 days?

 

[Carol~Anne]

I don't want to come across as a fanatic but chinchillas can get themselves into a lot of trouble in a short while b/c they're all imps, so I personally would not leave mine alone for more than a day max.

 

[chinsNdobermans]

I don't even leave mine alone overnight without someone coming and checking, just in case. But I'm a paranoid mommy!

 

[oxchincerelyxo]

when I went on vacation, I had my friend check once a day at least. But I think the minimum would be a day...

Even if you leave enough food and water there for 3 days, you don't know that they won't spill their food or knock off their water bottle, get caught or hurt-it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to these little guys!

 

[ticklechin]

Chins can get into too much trouble without supervision, they should not be left alone for more than a day. Power outage is the biggest worry in the summer or a a/c unit failure, broken water bottle, peed on food, cage injury, illness all very real possibilities and if your luck is anything like mine all will happen when your are gone.

 

[Spoof]

My setup allows for me to be gone for a week. I ask a neighbor come over a couple times to check the water lines, otherwise they're on their own.

Never had an issue. It's up to you and what you feel comfortable with. )

 

[mishellyshel]

I agree, if you are going away for three days, have someone come once a day to check water and food & to make sure there are no injuries. They dont have to even open the cage, just do a visual.

 

[starleomach]

They need to be checked and given food/water daily. I have left them overnight for 1 night before, but they were fed in the morning before I left and I was back early the next day. What happens if the A/C fails and it gets to warm?

 

[Sandi]

I totally believe that they need to be checked on at least once a day. There's alot of what if's that can happen.

 

[Carol~Anne]

I may have a wee bit of an anxiety disorder that causes me to be extra cautious but the first thing I do every single morning when I wake up is to go downstairs and check on my chinnies. I have heard so many stories from people who have had their chinchilla stuck in an unlikely spot, had a wheel accident or have been dangling by their leg somewhere. I don't even want to think of anything like that happening let alone leaving them like that for three days. *shudder*

Not too long ago when I checked on my guys like I do every morning, I noticed my rw boy was all hunched in a corner at the bottom of his cage and he did not look well at all. At first I thought he had taken a fall but upon closer examination and after talking with some more experienced owners, he actually had bloat which can be fatal if not dealt with immediately. He's fine now.

Maybe in breeders/ranchers cases where their cages are smaller and don't have a lot of stuff that pet people add to their cages, they can leave them alone for longer b/c there's not much stuff for them to get into or injure themselves on. I'm just guessing on that one.

 

[Courtney]

I don't have chinchillas, but when I go away overnight, my mom checks on the hedgehogs at least 3 times a day - morning, noon and night. That way, they're not waiting too long if the heater blinks out, or something. It might be excessive, but it helps me sleep at night to know that my hogs are still being checked regularly, even if they're free of "supervision".

 

[ticklechin]

I don't think anything living should be left alone for a week and only checked a couple of times.

 

[Brittney]

I have left Bryson alone for 3 days before. :duh: This was when I had first got him, and it didn't end too well. He had got hold of the cord to the fan (don't even know how, but he did) and chewed it in half while it was plugged in. Needless to say it was a pure miracle that he didn't get electrocuted, and that my house didn't catch on fire. Since then, he is now boarded where my dogs are when we leave. I still go insane when I go out of town cause I always wonder "what if" and it never allows me to enjoy me vacation, and I am constantly calling in ever 6 hours to see how my furry kids are doing. I would never risk it again, cause I know what he is capable of getting into.

 

[Carol~Anne]

Maybe I'm not an over-worrier after all. Since I keep a real close eye on my boys, I noticed last night at playtime that my pretty boy Feeney (avatar) sounded rather stuffy and he didn't want to come out to visit.

I checked on him throughout the day and he still sounded off so I ended up taking him to the vet. Sure enough, he's got an upper respiratory infection and his poops were quite small.

So now he's on Chlor Palm and I'm hand feeding him CC, Lifeline acidopholus and water. I've been bitten twice by him today but I am glad that I was here keeping a close watch on all of them and I do hope my pretty boy pulls through b/c right now he's isolated and his cage mate Pip is out of sorts and seems to be missing him. *sigh*

 

[Bethany]

This was too long to read, so if someone said this already sorry. They should be checked on daily. What if the a/c or power goes out and they are left in the heat of the day. This has happened to me 2x this year already. Luckily I was home both times.