Getting back into chinnies :)

[rach806]

Hi! My name is Rachel. I had chins several years ago (probably close to 10 years) and am getting back into them. I pick up 2 babies (about 4 months old) next Sunday. Both females & ebony mosaic (lady said also called silver mosaics....are they really the same??).

Working on (quickly) getting all of my supplies together! Getting ready to order a Ferret Nation 182 with glass water bottle & stainless steel bowl. When I had chins before, I always used the bedding stuff you buy at the pet store, but have been reading that people will also just cover the pan in fleece. Are the pans that come with the FN sufficient for that? Any place in particular you recommend buying the fleece covers from? And the shelves....better to cover the plastic ones in fleece or completely take them out & put in wood shelves? Or a different type of shelf?

Any other random suggestions you might have for me? I haven't really given myself a whole lot of time to get everything together for them! It just all kinda came about pretty quickly!

Looking forward to getting back into all of it though! Thanks for all of the help everyone!

 

[MNChinLover]

Hello and welcome! I am also getting back into chins! Mine won't be ready until the first week of august though.. Lol.

But I have been extensively researching since then, found out I did a few things wrong last time I had chins..

If you are going to have them together, many members here advise to have two water bottles, two food dishes, and two hay holders so one can't hog it all and cause problems. So I have at least one of these items in each level of my double unit ferret nation.

You can use bedding, aspen or most people prefer kiln dried pine and say it helps neutralize the pee smell.

Many people use the fleece liners, there are two styles. One that fits into bass pans (from bass co. -a lot of people with ferret nations order these pans to replace the plastic ones that come with it.. Either galvanized or stainless steel) and the other that is pillowcase style that fits over the plastic pans that come with the cage.

You can also use the pillow case style liner for the plastic ledges, or if you have the money, can take those out and replace with wood shelves that are chin safe like pine.

Feed good quality pellets (such as oxbow, or a rabbit pellet I believe is called pro manna sho? Someone please Correct me if I am wrong on that one!)

If the pellet is Timothy hay based you can feed alfalfa hay, some or all, if the pellet is alfalfa based you should definitely feed Timothy hay.

No exercise balls, no leashes, etc.

Limit treats or don't give them at all, it isn't advised to give chins under 6 months any treats-unless it's wood like Apple sticks for example.

Chins under 6 months are not advised to have access to a wheel if you are planning on having one. After that it is good exercise, but not necessary. Good quality common quieter ones are the chin spin or flying saucer.

A chin chiller, or granite or marble tile is recommended to have in the cage for if the chin is feeling hot they can sit or lay on it.

Most supplies can be found in the classified section, and there are vendors there as well as in the banners on the top of the page.

I hope that helps!

 

[rach806]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm trying to do things differently (better) this time around with them. Excited but feeling a bit overwhelmed since I decided to wait till I found chins I wanted before buying ANYTHING for them! LOL