Inuranchan
New member
Hello all, I'm David and I'm slightly new to chinchillas but do not own one. I am actually not new to this site, only my account is, I've been stalking this site for about 2-3 months now for answers to my questions and cage setup ideas. ^^;
I found out chinchillas existed when my girlfriend invited me over to her house and showed me one about five years ago.
Put it out of my mind since then but one day I came across a craigslist add of a chinchilla being given away, she looked somewhat sick and after reading a few quick signs online I realized she was and I wanted to take her. She had bumble foot and seemed to be malnourished as well as her coat looking as if it hadn't gotten a dust bath in a while..So I spent a sleepless night reading up on them to see if it was possible for me to be able to provide proper care fast, but the next morning my mom would not allow me to save her (she thinks all small and furry creators are rats and are ugly and disgusting, but of course you all know that's not true at all). I still tried, I spent my money to get a good cage and made the cage temporarily safe so I could at least house the chinchilla for a little bit nurse it back to health and try to find a better home for it if my mom really felt I would not take care of it. I was still told no, so sadly all I could do was send the owner a message asking him if he adopted her off and never heard back..
Since that time, I've fallen in love with the animals I now have a cage, toys, a hidey house and some chinchilla stuff I made in a day (a hammock, a couch, a flat bed, a cuddlecup, and a bunk bed made out of cardboard. All of it is safe, made from fleece, and the cardboard bunkbed is held together with little tabs inside) and it makes me feel sad to see it empty. I am currently saving up money to move out of my house in the coming months and then I'll be able to house a chinchilla in it. : ) I have done extensive research but I do have a few questions.
I keep hearing about water bottles leaking..and I know if it leaks too much and gets on a chinchilla fungi could grow in their fur. I've never handled a pet bottle before, so is there a good water bottle that doesn't leak or is there a way to stop them from leaking? Basically, what is the best water bottle to get for them? (I was thinking of getting a water buddy, but I heard that was discontinued) Also, for chin owners living in NY: where do you find KD Pine? I want to build shelves because it's cheaper and I have the time now to do so, as well as hidey houses. As I'm saving up for a place, I am on a budget so buying anything expensive is out of the question. My homedepot near me has told me they don't sell KD Pine! They're the biggest wood store in my area...the Ace by me sells it, but they don't have much and it's way too thick. (For some reason the stores around here don't know what KD pine is when I ask :/) I'm going to try a Lowes which is farther away from my home but I doubt I'll have any luck, as chinchilla DIY supplies seem to be scarce here and I end up getting weird looks for asking for such things..
So anyway, sorry for this long intro. ^^; I'm thrilled to be a part of this community and look forward to sharing some cage pictures and eventually pictures of my chins someday
I found out chinchillas existed when my girlfriend invited me over to her house and showed me one about five years ago.
Put it out of my mind since then but one day I came across a craigslist add of a chinchilla being given away, she looked somewhat sick and after reading a few quick signs online I realized she was and I wanted to take her. She had bumble foot and seemed to be malnourished as well as her coat looking as if it hadn't gotten a dust bath in a while..So I spent a sleepless night reading up on them to see if it was possible for me to be able to provide proper care fast, but the next morning my mom would not allow me to save her (she thinks all small and furry creators are rats and are ugly and disgusting, but of course you all know that's not true at all). I still tried, I spent my money to get a good cage and made the cage temporarily safe so I could at least house the chinchilla for a little bit nurse it back to health and try to find a better home for it if my mom really felt I would not take care of it. I was still told no, so sadly all I could do was send the owner a message asking him if he adopted her off and never heard back..
Since that time, I've fallen in love with the animals I now have a cage, toys, a hidey house and some chinchilla stuff I made in a day (a hammock, a couch, a flat bed, a cuddlecup, and a bunk bed made out of cardboard. All of it is safe, made from fleece, and the cardboard bunkbed is held together with little tabs inside) and it makes me feel sad to see it empty. I am currently saving up money to move out of my house in the coming months and then I'll be able to house a chinchilla in it. : ) I have done extensive research but I do have a few questions.
I keep hearing about water bottles leaking..and I know if it leaks too much and gets on a chinchilla fungi could grow in their fur. I've never handled a pet bottle before, so is there a good water bottle that doesn't leak or is there a way to stop them from leaking? Basically, what is the best water bottle to get for them? (I was thinking of getting a water buddy, but I heard that was discontinued) Also, for chin owners living in NY: where do you find KD Pine? I want to build shelves because it's cheaper and I have the time now to do so, as well as hidey houses. As I'm saving up for a place, I am on a budget so buying anything expensive is out of the question. My homedepot near me has told me they don't sell KD Pine! They're the biggest wood store in my area...the Ace by me sells it, but they don't have much and it's way too thick. (For some reason the stores around here don't know what KD pine is when I ask :/) I'm going to try a Lowes which is farther away from my home but I doubt I'll have any luck, as chinchilla DIY supplies seem to be scarce here and I end up getting weird looks for asking for such things..
So anyway, sorry for this long intro. ^^; I'm thrilled to be a part of this community and look forward to sharing some cage pictures and eventually pictures of my chins someday
