Chinchillas at sale barn???

[chinnychinchinchilla]

i dont understand why she cant wait until she has all the things she needs. sure she might have to get one for more money somewhere else but if she really wants one then that shouldnt be a problem. its not fair to the chinchilla.

 

[Essentia]

For $12 they are not going to be sold with a cage....

 

[Christina Noraas]

She says the cage goes with them, she just said that the chins where 12 each she didn't mention what the cage costed.

I tried telling her to wait until she had everything ready, but she wouldn't listen so I typed up the basic stuff about the best cages for them, the wood they should and shouldn't have, the bedding, the quality foods and dust, about the chinchillers and room temp, and various other information that I knew she'd need to know.

 

[KristinC1983]

$12?! Seriously?!

Who would sell a chinchilla for $12? I'm not a breeder or anything, but $12?! The cheapest I ever saw was for $50 and that surprised me, but again, I'm not a breeder! I agree that their care must not have been too great, though. SO sad

I think telling her about this forum is a great idea. It only takes like 5 minutes to join or of course anyone can read what's written-that's how I advertise for here on Yahoo Answers, lol, cause some people are too lazy to actually join. It will be kind of hard for you to type up EVERYTHING you know about chins. I would type up important info, like your vets name, number, and address as well as your name and number (if you want to of course), common things she should watch out for like dental problems, hair pulling diarehea, etc, the must haves like chew toys and excercise, the common dangers like naughty things to chew on, grooming facts, their diet-especially the treats and good food she should use, and things not to buy that are labeled for chins, like those **** excercise balls, 12" plastic wheels, tiny cage.... Things that every chin owner MUST know to have a healthy chin, which is a lot, but if you don't, where will she get her info? A site online that says fresh fruits and veggies are a must, a book written 20 years ago or just by an idiot, or a petshop?! I would let her know that his forum is a place she can trust, unlike most other chin websites out there. Also, a website I used very often when I first brought Sunny home and still do sometimes- petchinchillas.info -it can also inform her on a lot of important things.

Honestly, if she lives close enough to you, I'd also offer to come by after she brings the chin home or invite her over to show her how to hold them, make sure her set up is good, etc, but I'm OCD and will still be worrying about this in a week, lol.

If you dont' do anything, who will?! That's the question that would get me to. You can't save them all, but at least you can help just one. Yeah, the girl is obviously being stupid, but at least she did want to do a little research. That's more than a LOT of pet owners do during the animals entire life. Cost scares many people away, the health issues, the time needed, etc, so maybe if you could lay them on her, she'll realize the cute little fur ball is more than just a stuffed animals that poops! Also, many people see cuddly when they look at chins, but once they learn the truth, that most aren't cuddly, it changes their mind! I'm luucky if Sunny lets me hold him for more than 5 minutes at a time. He likes being scatched, but even that doesn't last very long!

 

[oct7thmrmyers]

12 dollers for a chin?????????/

 

[Christina Noraas]

I did tell her about it, but she doesn't really have internet access except for at school which is limited unless you have your own lap top where the librarian can't see everything your doing on the screen.

Yes, I gave her all if not most of htat information I spent all 3 hours I have in the library typing it up plus working on it in my two in school classes. I looked up the vet that is closer to her and gave addresses and phone numbers, she goes to my school but she lives over an hour and a half away so my vet isn't ideal for her.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

It shouldn't matter if the vet is ideal for her...it should matter if the vet is ideal for the chin..IMO I travel an hour both ways to my vet because there are none where I live that deal with chins..She needs a good qualified vet and if that is the one you use and is the only one near her then she should use it. But like I said, this is just my opinion.

Try and stress this site to her, as suggested to you. I hope she takes you up on it and the advice you gave her!

 

[Christina Noraas]

Sorry I thought I added that the vet has worked with actual chinchillas before not just some rodents I called them.

 

[KristinC1983]

Well, its good you are helping however you can! You can't make all people see reason-you'll just keep banging your head against that wall and hurting yourself! All it seems you can do now is maybe know that she can come to you for chin advice if she needs it. And of course if somehow she can get on here. Since you can, she can always ask you to look something up for her that you may not know! People drive me insane! That's why I'd never be able to be a vet or a rescue person-the ones I couldn't save I'd obsess over. It's also why working in social services scares me-the kids I can't save will end up driving me crazy.

 

[DevnChip]

I really hope this girl turns out like me. I took on my chin with no info just like she did. "Oh, so cute!" And he came with all the wrong things which I maintained for at least a month. Heck, I just changed over to the proper dust and got him the right wheel! And I'm still learning. Thank you, again, everyone. The previous owner wasn't even the person who handed him off to me so I did extensive research online knowing the petstore was the worst place to ask questions. I had no chinchilla owners to turn to at the time and didn't know about this forum.

I'm encouraged that she even asked you. That means she wants to learn. Take advantage of that and give her all the help you can. Some things she'll just have to learn on her own but she is trying if she's asking. That's huge. She could have just done it and you'd never know until she happens to complain about a problem she could have prevented by just asking. I understand the responsibility, but a chinchilla is just like any other pet. I'm reminded of a cat that slipped off a counter and broke it's leg on a drawer handle. $4000 later and a change of handle design and it's jumping up on the counters again. If you know their limitations and needs, chinchilla's are easy to care for and no more mess or trouble than any other animal. I'm not trying to upset anyone. Just pointing out that once the responsibility is accepted it's not that hard to do it. You have a unique opportunity to be a mentor to someone who really needs that right now. Be a huge, positive resource for her and this will all work out. You could be her access to the forum if she can't get here on her own. Thank you for being there for her.