double chins for the low

[seanvidabest]

Hello chinchilla people!

I'm very psyched as i'm about to receive a condo cage, two female (sister) chinchillas, and many of their necessities.

A friend doesn't have the time to care for them and I am the loving/lucky owner to take them in. My experience with rodents ranges as far as ferrets and gerbils.

My biggest concern is keeping the cage cool. My home is kept around 74 degrees and I plan on taking extra measures to keep the chinchi's chilling.

I heard my fans will do more harm than good. There is a storage space below the cage, and thought to make it a haven for ice; since cool air falls i'm not sure it'd be much help. I also have some cool towels (Dwayne Wade) I was thinking of how to put it to use. Last resort would be frying pans full of ice but this seems temporary.

My goal is to make the set up more low-maintenance to give the rodents the special care, instead of the habitat. Miami weather gets killer in about a few months, anyone care to partake some wisdom?

 

[Narcissus]

A/C is a must when you own chins. Especially when you live in a hot climate. There is really no way around it, you'll need a window unit A/C for the room they are in or keep the house in general at 70 lower.

 

[Amethyst]

As said, an A/C is a must, 75F is the max limit before you run into problems and that's assuming the humidity is below 50%. Miami is plenty humid so 74 is going to be too hot, the 70 or below mentioned would be better, I try to keep my room at 68 or below. Pans of ice are not going to be enough and would probably increase humidity by adding moisture to the air as it melts and evaporates. You are right the fans would do more harm, they would just create a draft, which can make them sick, chins can't sweat so they will get no cooling effect like we do from a fan. If the cooling towel is what I think it is, the towl you wet to keep cool? Then most definitely not a good idea, the chin would probably eat it, causing an impaction, but also would make the chin wet. Chinchillas take dust baths not water baths, they should never get wet, and if they do get wet somehow they need to be completely dried (generally hair dryer on low or no heat, fluffing the chin as you go) or they will grow mold in their fur.

Another thing to mention, chinchillas are nothing like weasels (ferrets), and nothing like any other rodents really. They require a very specific diet and environment, and can live for 15-20+ years, much longer then any other pet rodents. Your friend could have the perfect set up and knowledge, or could have easily been misinformed, especially if the chins and the info they got about them came from a pet store. Please read up on them here if you haven't already, this forum truly contains a wealth of information some of it from people with decades of experience.

 

[lightningturtle]

Something to help the window unit along is insulating curtains. You have to make sure to keep the unit itself clear, but you get less radiant heat that way.

Also, even though they are happily living together now, it would be a good idea to invest in a backup cage in case they suddenly change their minds.

 

[Dreamlite]

AC is a must. There is no other way to keep your chins cool enough. Ice packs and tile are temp fixes which are great in an emergency but they are not a long term thing.