Escape Artist!

[Jonn13]

Our new baby chin (born march 5th) lives in a ferret nation cage. Last night he discovered how to squeeze out of the bars. New cage, chicken wire, or something else?

 

[Sandi]

Use hardware cloth instead.

 

[halfstache]

use 1/2" x 1/2" or smaller hardware cloth. Cut panels of hardware cloth to fit the panels of the cage and secure them on the inside of the cage using either bolts with large fender washers and nuts, or a whole lot of really small zip ties, or you could even cut some paper clips down and use those as twist ties, but its harder to get a good tight seal with bent paper clips. Make sure the cloth is on the inside in order to prevent a baby from getting stuck between the FN bars and the cloth.

 

[Godofgods]

Our new baby chin (born march 5th) lives in a ferret nation cage. Last night he discovered how to squeeze out of the bars. New cage, chicken wire, or something else?

March 5th?? That means hes just over 7 weeks old now? When did you say you got him? And where?

 

[Godofgods]

just an FYI in addition to how to protect him. Chins will be able to fit through the 1 inch bars of a FN for a few months. Even when they grow to a point where u start thinking they no longer can, there is a good chance they still can do it. They fit though spaces extremely well. If you take the protection off to early they will still be able to slip through, or they will get stuck half way though and hurt themselves. And once they know how to do it once, they will remember and keep trying.

 

[Jonn13]

just an FYI in addition to how to protect him. Chins will be able to fit through the 1 inch bars of a FN for a few months. Even when they grow to a point where u start thinking they no longer can, there is a good chance they still can do it. They fit though spaces extremely well. If you take the protection off to early they will still be able to slip through, or they will get stuck half way though and hurt themselves. And once they know how to do it once, they will remember and keep trying.

Thanks for the tip. I guess I just learned that LOL.
Im thinking about 4-5 months now with the guard up now?
At least it does not look too bad.
:hmm:

 

[Cuddlebug]

Godofgods, If you look at his other post, he has had the chinchilla for about a week now. That means it was 6 weeks old when he got it.

 

[Jonn13]

Ok..
This is the second time now somebody has mentioned sometime about my chin and his age.
I bought him from a breeder. Valleyview Chinchilla's. They have been breeding Chins since the 60's. They said he was fine and ready to go. I called them a few days before and they said I would need to wait and call back. The day i called back they said, yes we have a few ready. He already had been weaned and was in his own cage. Is there a problem?

 

[Godofgods]

Ok..
This is the second time now somebody has mentioned sometime about my chin and his age.
I bought him from a breeder. Valleyview Chinchilla's. They have been breeding Chins since the 60's. They said he was fine and ready to go. I called them a few days before and they said I would need to wait and call back. The day i called back they said, yes we have a few ready. He already had been weaned and was in his own cage. Is there a problem?

Most chins generally arnt weened till 8 weeks of age. And then observed carefully for a week or so to make sure they are eating and drinking sufficiently on there own. - If you picked him up at 6weeks old.. then i would question what they are doing.

 

[Godofgods]

Thanks for the tip. I guess I just learned that LOL.
Im thinking about 4-5 months now with the guard up now?
At least it does not look too bad.
:hmm:

One other thing i forgot to mention, baby and young chins especially seem very good at climbing the cage bars on a FN cage. So you will want to cover the whole thing. I made that mistake to. Covering the bottom half of each level. Then i watched my baby climb up and over the covered area, then slip through the bars and out of the cage!

 

[MyzarandGemma]

Check out my blog (click on my name) for pictures and how we covered our cage in wire mesh. Just so you know, you will want gloves and a good pair of wire cutters.

Also, I'm sorry, but 6 weeks just sounds irresponsible. Just because a breeder is doing it, does not mean it is safe. There was a breeder of French Bulldogs in Arizona that was injecting the babies with steroids so that they would grow faster!! They've been shut down, but they were still breeders.

You have to be careful. Your little guy should be watched; make sure he is eating, drinking, etc. Also, be very careful not to expose him to anything that could make him sick... because he was weened early, he has not been given all of his mothers antibodies and so his immune system could be weakened. Take good care of him and I am sure he will be fine!

Good luck and I hope everything works out for you. If you have any questions about wire mesh stuff, feel free to PM me, or write on here!

 

[AZChins]

Well, I don't know. Some breeders can wean kits a little earlier at 6 or 7 weeks. It's around that time that the breeder has to make a judgment call about weaning. Are the kits still nursing, do they seem small, how's the mother doing with nursing, etc. It can be irresponsible to wean earlier, but other times it can be just fine. (Anything under six weeks would be too young though, I don't like the thought of weaning them too early because they need their moms' milk to grow and develop into super healthy adolescents!)

I like to wait it out as long as I can before I wean kits, but that's a luxury I have and I don't worry about getting the kits sold or not having enough room for everyone.

At any rate, any newly weaned kit needs to be kept clean and away from anything that could make them sick...like MyzarandGemma said. Their immune systems are far from being complete and exposure to bacteria, which normally wouldn't be a big deal, can make them very sick. That's one thing about keeping a baby chin nursing for longer, it helps to keep the kit healthy...but once they are weaned the protection from their mamas' milk isn't there anymore.

 

[Jonn13]

Thanks everybody. He is still doing fine. The mesh is working well. I will make sure to wash my hands before I handle him.

 

[Jonn13]

Wondering how old chin should be before we take the hardware cloth off of ferret nation cage. Our guy is about 4 months old. Thanks!

 

[Cuddlebug]

Usually, they are to big to squeeze between the bars by the time they are 6 months ol. It is really not a question of age as much as it is of size. A small kit may still be able to get out at 5 - 6 months of age while a larger 3 month old can't.

 

[ashleynicol3]

My chin will be 12 weeks old Tuesday. I've had him in his FN for two weeks without hardware cloth and he hasn't escaped. I was worried about it when I first got him, so I bought hardware cloth just in case - it's in my garage, along with about a million zip ties, but I haven't had to use it. I weighed him a couple nights ago and he weighs 343g. He can stick the tip of his nose out to sniff me or to grab a stick or something from me, but that's it. *knock on wood*

 

[Godofgods]

If you think theres even a chance he might, you may wanna play it safe anyway and use it. When they are in that size period of a little to big to fit though, but still small enough they might wanna try, they can get there head stuck between the bars. And if there legs are a bit high off the floor during that (Ive seen it happen) then they have no leverage. And all the pressure is on there neck. - And/or waking up to an empty cage is a surprise you never want.

I guess finding my first kit, that i never knew was born, under my fridge because he escaped, left me a little overly paranoid about the subject.

 

[Jonn13]

Thanks everyone! He's giving himself a bald spot on his nose from chewing on the hardware cloth. Will the hair grow back after the hardware cloth is taken off? He seems big enough, but maybe we'll wait a little longer.