Hello!

[ThorChin]

Hi! I came to this site looking for some information about chinchillas, and I'm sure I will find out everything there is to know. My brother has a chinchilla named Thor, but he doesn't really take god care of him. I am hoping I can get some tips here on how to make Thor's life better.

 

[tunes]

Welcome! Hopefully you'll find all that you need here.

That's a cute brown velvet you have there. Is he a chewer? It looks like in the one picture he's been doing some barbering.

 

[ThorChin]

He's definitely a chewer. We had a cloth backdrop hanging behind his cage. It is now in shreds.

 

[addictedtochins]

Welcome to CnH, glad you're here. Thor looks very sweet.

 

[Sandi]

Aw, what a cute little guy. Welcome and I know you will get great info here just ask. )

 

[Jenn]

Hi, how great of you to help Thor out! This is a great place to learn and share! Thor is adorable!

 

[starleomach]

Hello and welcome

 

[ABBY W.]

Is he chewing his fur? It looks like it to me. That's a stress behavior. It's good of you to try to help the little guy out. It's a shame your brother isn't taking very good care of him. I hope you find this place helpful.

 

[alli713]

Welcome to CnH! )

And I agree, I think Peggy was talking about his fur, it looks like he's chewing it off. Sometimes it's due to stress, sometimes boredom, and some chins just do it no matter what. I hope you can help your brother out with Thor and make his life better!

 

[ThorChin]

Is he supposed to have the same fur thickness all the way around? Because his sides are shorter than the top of his back (probably because of chewing) like a mohawk. I never knew this was because of boredom or stress.

 

[ThorChin]

I told my brother about Thor chewing his fur, and he suggested we get him a wheel or some toys. Maybe it will be easier than I thought to get my brother to take better care of Thor.

 

[alli713]

Yeah, he should be an even fluffy all the way around. Some chins just fur chew, there's not really anything that causes it. But, if he hasn't been taken care of really well, it could very well be from boredom. I think getting him some chew toys is a great idea. Chin wheels that are safe (15" diameter, solid metal running surface) can't be found in pet stores and are generally pretty expensive. So toys right now are probably the easiest to get your brother to agree to.
If you can only get to the pet store, I would suggest lava bites, lava dots or any of the other Super Pet lava items. My chins love those. Or some of the loofah items that Super Pet carries. Otherwise you can look at the bird section and get some all wood (no rope, rawhide, cotton etc) hanging toys. Most of the small animal wood toys are okay, but do not get the peach twigs, peach is toxic to chinchillas.

 

[eroomlorac]

:hi2:

Thank you for taking better care of Thor. He deserves it. You'll find lots of information here.

 

[Dragonflye]

:welcome5:

 

[Caitlin]

Welcome!

 

[lauralynne]

Welcome to CnH!
You definitely came to the right spot to find good information on how to improve Thor's life. Don't hesitate to ask questions if you can't find what you're looking for. The people here are super nice and SO helpful!

 

[Claire D]

:wave: Hi and welcome to CnH.

It is great that you are finding out about the best way to care for Thor - he looks like a sweet little chap.