Hello Hello :)

[Gemma]

I know some of you seen me on here, but I don't think I introduced myself formally, and just wanted to introduce myself and my chinchillas!

I'm Meagan, I live in the wonderful state of New Jersey. I love animals, mostly been a bird person all my life.
On the spur of the moment, I adopted 3 chinchillas from PETCO who had them in a tiny glass cage in the back, my heart went out to them and i HAD to adopt them. Previously they were all boys, now with a proper education on chinchillas I found out I got myself two girls and a boy!
Cheech, is a standard and hes the boy of the bunch,
Gemma, is the lighter of the beiges (I beleive their beige?)
Aleea is the other beige female.

I am so grateful for this site, it helped me alot at understanding chinchillas so much better and how to give them healthier and safer lives!

Here are a few pictures of the little guys (pre-seperation) x(
They are 6 months old in these pictures,

(gemma left, aleea right)

(Gemma)

(Gemma & Cheech)

 

[lauralynne]

Hello & Welcome!

I'm not able to see the pictures.

 

[Siany]

Welcome

 

[alli713]

Welcome!

 

[cindyv3737]

Welcome.

 

[Gemma]

Pictures!! x( sorry!
Gemma Left, Aleea Right

Gemma & Cheech

Gemma

 

[Jenn]

Hi and welcome!

Do you have the male house seperately from the females? It seems petstores have no idea how to properly sex the animals they sell!

Your chins are adorable! Congrats!

 

[Tanya]

:welcome6: to the forum! Your chinnies are beautiful )

 

[tunes]

Welcome to CnH.

 

[Mikayla]

Hi and welcome!

Do you have the male house seperately from the females? It seems petstores have no idea how to properly sex the animals they sell!

Your chins are adorable! Congrats!

I actually talked to a girl at petsmart yesterday (The poor chins were the worst I've seen before) They don't even sex their own animals, they just get them shipped in as male or female and then put them up for sale as whatever they are. It's sad.

 

[Brittany]

Welcome!

 

[Gemma]

Yes, they are separated now.. However I fear the damage might already be done. I can't take care of kits - let alone I’m a new Chinchilla owner, so I’m crossing my fingers nothing happened. PETCO does not sell chinchillas, someone dropped these fellas off, and for 6 weeks they left all three of them in a small fish tank next to the shipped in animals that could be sick/unable to sell.
The only reason I was showed the chinchillas was because I was interested in ferrets, but couldn’t decide what kind of animal to care for. The employee, only good-hearted one I met, showed me to the three chinchillas and yup, I was sold!
I only bought all three because they got along so well and thought they were all males.

 

[mishellyshel]

welcome. im in jersey too. if you need anything just ask! i am also in central jersey, i live in mercer county.

the gestation period is 111 days so be on the lookout for preganancy signs. hopefully that isnt the case and you can contine on being mommy to just 3 chinnies.

 

[Brittany]

You may want to start reading the breeding FAQ's to prepare yourself. You'll definitely want to have a baby proof cage ready and waiting. You'll need to mark the calendar for 111 days after they were separated, and that'll be your window for when babies can appear. Yes, there are a lot of horror stories about births gone wrong, but there are also a lot of successful births that happen every day. Hopefully if either of your girls has kits it'll be smooth sailing, and mom can raise them. Good luck, we're always here to answer questions.

 

[Stackie]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Gemma]

I'm going to look into kit-proofing my new cage. I'm just so worried I'll have to give up on my new girls, I'll feel like a failure

 

[Jenn]

Yes, they are separated now.. However I fear the damage might already be done. I can't take care of kits - let alone I’m a new Chinchilla owner, so I’m crossing my fingers nothing happened. PETCO does not sell chinchillas, someone dropped these fellas off, and for 6 weeks they left all three of them in a small fish tank next to the shipped in animals that could be sick/unable to sell.
The only reason I was showed the chinchillas was because I was interested in ferrets, but couldn’t decide what kind of animal to care for. The employee, only good-hearted one I met, showed me to the three chinchillas and yup, I was sold!
I only bought all three because they got along so well and thought they were all males.

I think it is great that you took in all of them and are giving them a better life!

 

[Brittany]

Why do you feel you'll have to give up on them? If you end up with kits it's always possible to re-home them. It's not your fault that this happened.

I'm going to look into kit-proofing my new cage. I'm just so worried I'll have to give up on my new girls, I'll feel like a failure

 

[Jenn]

Why do you feel you'll have to give up on them? If you end up with kits it's always possible to re-home them. It's not your fault that this happened.

I agree. I'm not sure why you feel this way, especially when you were mislead into their genders when you got them. You just have to make the best of the situation now. If no one is preggo, then that is cause for celebration. If you do end up with kits, you learn how to care for them (beforehand) and then you can rehome them when they are old enough. But I wouldn't stress out too much right now. Just enjoy your new chinnie friends!

 

[saphire]

Hi and Welcome to CnH