Help! Aang has gone missing outside!

[fullofgummibears]

Last night I brought Aang in the living room with me, because usually his play time is in the bed room but he has been over eager to explore so I thought i could trust him. I turn my back to him for five mins and next thing i know he has chewed through the screen back door and escaped!! I spent all night searching for him with help from my neighbors hunting dog but no luck. I spent ll morning and afternoon looking as well with making flyers. Is there any way to improve my findings or to lure him back home??

 

[Olallie]

I'm sorry for the loss of your chinchilla. Im not sure if you can ever get him back.

 

[tunes]

Unfortunately no. The odds of you finding him are pretty slim, if at all. When a chin gets loose, they run. They aren't going to stick around your house waiting to be taken back inside. They are free and they are going to go as far and as fast as they can. If you've already searched the area around your house thoroughly, then my guess is he's long gone.

If you have dogs nearby, traffic, whatever, his chances of survival are not very good, especially if you guys are having an Indian summer with higher heat. The flyers are a good idea. Maybe contact local vets and the humane society or animal shelters. You could put an add in the local paper, and go door to door locally as well to see if anyone found your chin, but I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope.

 

[mishellyshel]

the chances are very slim that you will ever see him again. all you can do is put a dust bath out and hope he stayed nearby. but with the rain and all the wildlife in jersey, lets just hope he had a painless passing. so sorry.

 

[CJR]

Good luck... although, like others have said already, there isn't much luck to be found in this situation.

Not to pour salt on a wound, but situations like this are why chinchillas should always be supervised during playtime. Five minutes may not seem like a long time, but it's more than enough for a chinchilla to escape. They're very intelligent in that way (and many others).

I'm sorry for your (probable) loss. The most you can do is learn from this experience and take the knowledge with you in the future.

:heart5:

 

[eroomlorac]

This isn't a good situation but hopefully someone will find him and be able to catch him. I wouldn't give up yet. The flyers are a good idea and so is letting everyone who can help, police, vets, humane societies, know he is missing, as mentioned in a previous post. Is the hunting dog a tracking dog? I'd try that again, personally. I think a member here (maybe Laurie) had a chinchilla get outside and did get it back. I wish you luck.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

wow that scary! i would suggest you follow the above advice. i feel for you, i would be a wreck if any of my animals got out.

 

[Brittany]

In addition to the above advice I'd also suggest contacting the local petco/ petsmart. There was a chin who was found outside in a graveyard in our area last summer, whoever found him turned him in to petsmart instead of a vet or shelter (crazy, but yes), he was eventually adopted out. Good luck finding your baby.

 

[addictedtochins]

Years ago, my son's ex friend let my chin out on purpose, we found her in a corner of the garage hours later. She was ok

 

[Tillygizmo]

i know chances are the chin is far far away but i would still put anything he ate in the yard where he got loose or around your house like alfalfa and timmy hay and pellets just in case.. one time this happened with my hamster and i got lucky and he came back to the pile of food.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

I caught a guinea pig that had escaped into a large, large forest for 2 days. We had a wire fence that backed up into a forest, and he ran right through the fence and we thought he was long gone. But we put his cage close to the fence at night, and left all sorts of guinea pig treats in the cage for him. The next morning there were no carrots or anything, so we knew he'd come back. That day we left more, and we sat and waited inside, where we could see him--meanwhile, a neighbor climbed over their fence and waited for our signal. When we saw him, the neighbor approached the cage, as did we--he ran back into the forest, towards the neighbor, so he herded the piggie into our back yard and we caught him. Don't give up hope...but make a serious plan of action if you want him back. Dedicate some time to rounding up help and looking for him. Good luck.

 

[kathiva]

Once I had a hamster that escaped at night, and my father in law told me to leave the cage on the floor with the door open, and the next day she went back in her cage, but she had escaped in the basement, not outside of the house, that's why I rather use a playpen for my chins, and sit there and watch them at all times, when they escape in the basement, they go all over the place and they are usually hard to catch, hopefully you can find your chin soon

 

[Laurie]

Just to let everyone know, Bobo had done the same thing a few years ago. She was found about 5-6 miles from my house. She was found the very day she escaped luckily as she would not have survived the Wisconsin summer. Chins are VERY fast! I'm sure this chinchilla was long gone and nowhere near the house that it escaped from.

 

[Jenn]

I'm getting a bit nervous about the welfare of this chin since we haven't heard anything yet, one way or the other. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though, for a happy outcome.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

sadly i dont think he made it if she found him i would think she would have given us an update. it has been so hot out. poop chin

 

[Essentia]

It really hasn't been that hot, and even then I took in a 5 yr old chin that was housed outside for 5 Miami summers and made it. I wouldn't give up just yet.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

Another thing the OP can do is check the local stores that allow notices to be posted. See if someone found the chin and is looking for the owner

 

[fullofgummibears]

Aang is back home!

omg great news!! well first sorry i havent responded to any of the messages.. i was just too darn sad too. but Aang was found and i just picked him up today! crazy part is he crossed a highway and was found curled up by the curb on the other side. the man who found him was a custodian at a near by middle school who gave him to a teacher who kept him as a pet for the class. The daughter who went to that class noticed my flyer at the vets office and the mother called me. i think that is a miracle right there!

 

[fullofgummibears]

and i just wanted to thank everyone for their support and wishes it really meant a lot to me

 

[lauralynne]

Definitely a miracle! Glad he's alive and well!