Concerned New Chin Mommy

[MommyofChiChi]

So I got a boy Chinchilla the day after Thanksgiving, so I've only had him for about a month now and his name is Chachaylee Alexander but I only call him ChiChi! And I have a few concerns.
1. He is only about 7 months old and was not used for breeding but he sometimes gnaws at his private area and he doesn't seem to have a hair ring from what I've inspected?
2. I really want to know how to bond with him because when I got him, he didn't have time to be in his cage because me and my family were constantly playing with him is that bad?
3. I just recently found out that I'm not supposed to give him many treats because I would give him like 3 cheese treats that were for small animals like him. And I gave him raisins. But not I found out that that could kill him I feel terrible and cut all that out and now he only has 2 plain Cheerios a day!
4. He doesn't chew on his woodsticks so I put his cheese treats and rub them on the stick so that he will chew it. Is that bad?
5. I got him this big 12" wheel but it has a bar thing in the middle so that he could put his hands on it and run or whatever but he doesn't use it, he just runs but his back looks as though it hits the bar as he runs. Will that cause damage to him?
6. I let him run around my basement for a little over an hour everyday (supervised by 2-3 of my kids) and the basement is where they play and watch tv and my other two kids bedroom is down there. But he does in the couch and so we block it off. It's a huge space!
7. He never popcorns! I read that happy and excited chinchillas popcorn but he doesn't! And he is my 13 year olds for her birthday and she keeps begging for a second one because he gets lonely I guess. But they poop a lot! So he makes these little lonely sounds every time we turn our head and begs to come out the cage as soon as he gets done playing for an hour maybe more!
8. I know he is still slightly a baby, but his teeth are only a regular shade of yellow, not too light though.
-He gets fed boiled water left to cool, WildHarvest Pellets and a buttload of Timothy Hay and has kiln dried pine shavings as bedding. He looks healthy and so cute and my daughter trained him to give kisses! His cage isn't huge but it has a ledge and hammock and big round cove type thing that used to Benin our turtles cage that he likes to sit on or hide/sleep in.

 

[ninjaturtletayy]

I can't help with much but I can comment on number 5. If it's one of those metal, meshy wheels then you should consider getting rid of it. The bars are bad since he can hit his back on it. Plus the wheel itself is a little too small and dangerous. The size causes his spine to bend unnaturally which can cause problems. And the mesh wheel itself is bad. Chins can get their toes/feet caught and get injured or catch their fur/tail and injure the chin. I had one of those for my boy and got rid of it. A lot of members here have Chin Spins and love them. I got a Silver Surfer and it's great! You could also go with a Leo Braun or a metal flying saucer. If you go into "Chin Housing and Supplies" and search wheels you'll get a ton of info to help too.

 

[akane]

If you are buying wood online see if you can find a fresh local source or someone who just scrubs and bakes the wood a little instead of heavy processing like boiling or long baking times. It can make a huge difference in whether they want to chew on the wood or not. Katsu goes nuts for fresh apple twigs that have just been scrubbed clean but he only chews on the boiled purchased ones when there's nothing else to do. Other treat ideas are plain wheat cereal (try the health food section), oats/oatmeal (not instant or flavored), and other hays like individual pieces of oat hay or legume hay (clover, alfalfa).

Ditch the cheese treats. They shouldn't have dairy anyway and most of those small animal treats from pet stores are loaded with sugar and crappy preservatives. The more you feed junky treats the less he is going to go for the healthy stuff. It's like giving a kid candy before breakfast.

Wheels with crossbars need to go. They can hit them with any part of their body and if the crossbar doesn't spin their tail can get wrapped on it and broken or skinned so it has to be amputated. Some wheels with crossbars like wodent wheels have a little spinning plastic piece you can put on the bar so that doesn't happen but the wheel still isn't ideal for chins. You want a metal wheel with a solid running surface and no spokes or crossbars. The silver surfer is the cheapest. Next would be the flying saucer. Then there are some really expensive wheels like the chin spin but they run smoother and last forever.

Outgoing chins always want out of their cage. It doesn't really matter how big you make it or how long you let them run they will be there hanging on the bars for attention, treats, and chances to get out again. You occasionally just have to tell them tough. They are still a normal happy chin. Getting a friend really doesn't stop that behavior. A lonely chin is more likely to be hiding, inactive, and not taking treats. If you have an active, begging chin then he's probably fine.

 

[MommyofChiChi]

Thank you all so much this calms my nerves and helps a lot!