Got my new chin today; pretty upset with her condition

[bens_momma]

My boss bought his teenage daughter a chinchilla a couple of months ago after she endlessly begged and begged for a chinchilla. Knowing this wouldn't end well (we have a fish tank at work which he's repeatedly coming close to crashing), I was really worried for the welfare of the little sweetie.

As it turns out, his daughter is going away for school this year and doesn't really have time to devote to the chin anyway, so he asked if I wanted her. I said **** yeah, I'll take her off your hands!

He brings her into work today.

She doesn't have a dust box.
She hasn't had a dust box for the last several months.
She's stressed all to ****, and it looks like her cage hasn't been cleaned in weeks.
I haven't had a good chance to look at her yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if she had an URI.

I had to keep myself from criticizing him (because honestly, with this guy, it's not going to do a single thing), and to be honest I am really grateful that I'm getting the chin and the setup for free.

In any case, all complaining aside, I'm so freaking excited, now I just need to settle on a name and get her settled in after work! My son is going to LOVE her! :hug2:

 

[Godofgods]

My boss bought his teenage daughter a chinchilla a couple of months ago after she endlessly begged and begged for a chinchilla.

I sighed in disappointment after just the first line. So many bad pet stories start off this way.

I hope the chin does well with you. My first take in was a similar way. Bad environment, stressed beyond belief. Hes the most loving and friendliest chin of all mine today. So good luck!

 

[MyzarandGemma]

Well I hope you get her healthy! I am sure she will have a loving and fun home from here on out. Thank you for taking her in, he obviously had no idea what he was doing.

Post pics when you can XD

 

[AZChins]

Get her dusted and get her some decent food and she will be fine. The cage shouldn't be too hard to sterilize and clean up. Make sure to bleach out the waterbottle because that probably hasn't been cleaned either. Chins tend to bounce back pretty quickly after situations like these. If you have any questions, just ask.

Taking her to the vet may be something you'd like to do just for peace of mind and also to establish a relationship with a veterinarian should you need help in the future.

 

[ChinChiq]

I was surprised at how well my SPCA rescue chin settled in when I brought her home. She was at the shelter for about 3 weeks and I have no idea what her living situation was before that. I can only assume she was pretty stressed out. Once she was moved into her new home with toys, hay and pellets, along with regular dust baths and scritches, she was a happy girl in no time!

Your new girl is lucky to have a new home to go to!

 

[bens_momma]

Thanks everyone! I took a short break from work to get her home and settled in, unfortunately I didn't have enough time to clean out her cage, but I'll be doing that first thing when I get back.

My husband is running out to get her some food and dust while I work, and I got her to eat some dried fruit (she about ate my hand off!), but I think she'll be okay. Her weight is all right, and aside from being pretty oily she seems clean enough.

It'll be an adventure! My ex had chinchillas and I always coveted them, and I'm so glad to finally have our own!

 

[Sandi]

Welcome to the forum... when you have a chance, please take the time to read the FAQ's here on the forum. There is some great info there. Also, please hold back on giving your chin dehydrated fruit, there is way too much sugar in them and can cause some gut issues down the line.

ETA: some great treats for now until she gets some good feed and hay is prepared safe wood sticks/chews, a rosehip or a pinch of old fashioned oats.

 

[chin_gal]

That's awesome that you took her in! ) Hopefully she does well for you.

But as a side note, dried fruit is really bad for chinchillas (too much sugar!). I'd lay off of any types of treats for now until she gets settled in on a better diet, honestly.

 

[bens_momma]

Thanks everyone for the input! As far as the dried fruit I only gave her 2 cranberries which I'd read are okay very sparingly. I'll keep the notes here in mind!!

She seems to be settling in great; little Emmy comes to the front of the cage anytime I go near her, haha. She's such a sassy little girl! She had her first dust bath in months and was so happy! Husband and I are going to start working on building a bigger enclosure for her and hopefully soon add a little buddy!

I love this forum already!