Help me to fix mistakes

[3CsMommy]

Okay, since he's sort of confined while he's hurt, what chew toys have you let him have to keep him busy? Generally, people don't put an 8 year old with the chicken pox in their room with nothing to do, so I wouldn't suggest it for chins either. The pumice bites are good, and there's a thread on here somewhere with a huge list of safe woods and other types of chews that chins can enjoy. Check around your area too for some of the trees on the safe woods list. I know apple and pear are scarce in CO, but you might have aspen or cholla somewhere close by that have never been sprayed, which can save you money on something that's just going to be gnawed to oblivion anyway. There's a thread on how to process your own wood chews somewhere around here too. In general, though, the parrot section of a pet store will present a couple of good ideas. I just got a chain + bell + sand blasted grapevine toy (conure/quaker sized) for about $3.00 the other day, and another toy that's essentially a big keyring loop with bitty bagels threaded on it for the same price. When I get stuff like that I tend to take it apart and split it up with willow and grape vine shapes and drilled natural woods for 3 or 4 toys, but make sure the good stuff is harder to get at. Keeps my smart one occupied instead of chewing on his brother's rear end.

I'm sorry to hear your guy got hurt, but can I just say how jealous I am that you get to go to Dr. Fitz? I'm a fan of the show and think he has the most amazing way with both animals *and* their people, which is rare among the vets I've used. (/crazy fangirl moment)

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I would also toss the scented dust because i have read previously it can contribute to fur chewing...I agree that his coat condition would improve with some blue cloud and getting him off the charlie crap will help his coat as well. Try to pick out the treat chunks in the meantime until you can switch over. I have a pur faucet filter and I only paid about 24$ but that was on post so I am not sure how much they cost elsewhere. If you use the dust bath everyday to catch him after play time, consider emptying the dust and tricking him to get in so that you don't dust everyday. Rosehips or no sugar/unfrosted shredded wheats would be better than the raisins.

 

[soqrbrad]

I do feed Pachuka-dookie :winkers: hay and he seems to like the kaytee stuff just fine for now. I might stick to that because all though it is hit or miss I haven't had a problem and I have no place to store a bulk shipment of hay in my little apartment.

Working in the water group for an engineering firm here in colorado, the water BETTER be good...

As for the distilled water not containing minerals, I thought the Mazuri was all I needed for a stable diet of minerals... I didn't think minerals in the water were a necessity...

I will probably switch to the blue cloud dust here soon, with his leg being the way it is, we have been putting his dust on a dinner plate because he can't really climb in and out of his bath bin. So there has been a lot of waste dust falling into the bedding and we are running low on dust anyway. The matting is probably from the cheaper dust, so I'll give the blue cloud a try.

As for the chew toys, he has his hay, he has a lava chew or whatever those are called and then a little clip dangly thing that has a bell on the bottom and 3 different shapes of wood above it. Plus a ledge to rest on as seen in the picture where he is passed out sleeping. I think he is having tons of fun running around the cage too and trying to keep his balance.

Ok so now for the shopping list. As a graduation gift from college I am getting a new mazda 6 this weekend from my dad so I have to pay registration on that bad boy ~$700 and insurance ~$600 and pay off a good sized credit card bill which has pachuco's med bills on it. I need to find these items cheap. If anyone has them used in good shape I'll gladly take them too.

15" Chin Spin
Mazuri supplier for cheap (assuming he takes a liking to the food, its due to arrive on monday)
Blue Cloud Dust
Rose hips treats (again assuming he likes them once the shipment arrives)

The sinfulchins site kittysae recommended has pretty good deals.

12lbs of mazuri for $18.50
12lbs of blue cloud for $24
8 lbs to timothy hay cubes for $14

First question, are the hay cubes just as good as the strands? Second question, are there better deals than this out there? Third question, can I easily store 12 pounds of food and dust and will it go bad if I don't use it all for a few months?

I think that covers my responses and questions for now. I'll probably have more once the stuff arrives. Well I guess one more.

I noticed in this picture:

http://www.freewebs.com/sinfulchins/new cage pic.JPG

Those cages are huge and amazing. My cage is pretty rinky-dinky small compared to those... Am I fine with the cage size I have for a single chinchilla? Is that cage like luxury living and way over done or is that about what everyone has? My cage is 17" deep, 30" wide and about 27" tall. With the 15" chin spin will there be enough room? And if not, how do I go about finding a cheap option for a bigger cage?

Thanks! :cute:

 

[soqrbrad]

I will post this last part in the classified wanted as well so as to save the mods time if they decide to move my post. :thumbsup:

 

[CerLynn]

For the water, yes, the pellets are supposedly a "complete" diet, but that doesn't mean other things aren't beneficial - if it were a truly complete diet, they wouldn't need hay, but they do. It's entirely up to you, but a filter setup is quite cheap and easy in the long run.

Have you checked Camphor Chins for Mazuri and Blue Cloud? She has some good prices on both... and she sells smaller bags of Oxbow hay as well, if you are considering switching. In terms of shelf life, the dust will last forever if you keep moisture out, but the pellets can go stale after some time - most will toss it around 4-6 months after the mill date (the seller could probably tell you the mill date of the batch you are receiving).

As far as the cage, that size should be fine for now - we have essentially the same one for quarantine, and it works just fine, even with the Chin Spin.

 

[tunes]

First question, are the hay cubes just as good as the strands? Second question, are there better deals than this out there? Third question, can I easily store 12 pounds of food and dust and will it go bad if I don't use it all for a few months?

More so than one being better than the other, some chins just don't like one over the other. My chins will take loose hay hands down over cubed, but they will play with cubes every now and again. So, I keep a limited supply of cubeds on hand, but plenty of loose.

The only way to know if there are better deals out there is to check the classifieds and the internet. Most of the people who sell on here are really reasonable, even figuring in shipping.

As mentioned above, as long as you keep it dry, dust won't go bad. Get a rubbermaid container that locks on the top (or something similar) and store your dust in there and get one for your food as well. Oxbow sells smaller bags of hay at Petco and Petsmart. They are larger than the Kaytee bags, but we're not talking HUGE BULK BOXES either. They are like $10.00 a bag. I usually stop and grab one when I'm travelling with the chins any distance because it's easier than pulling flakes off the bales and stuffing it into plastic Wal-Mart bags )).

 

[Rickman]

Keep your eyes open on craigslist or whatever, out your way - used cages are relatively cheap, and you can build your own wooden shelves, easily, or there are people on here with perches and all the hardware, reasonably priced! I don't like any wire shelves, unless they've been covered by 1/4 x 1/4 hardware screen, as I once had a problem with broken toes. The screen can be "wrapped" at the edges, and I've never had a problem, but I usually have a wooden section on every shelf, to avoid foot fatigue. I've also had good luck with a one gallon glass jar for dusting - keeps the dust down, and they use less of it, since it doesn't go anywhere - little waste!
I'd also pick-up a pumice block for chewing, as it'll help save the wood shelves.
Sounds like you're wanting to get the hang of being a well-informed owner, and you've found the right place, early! Took me 5 years of trial and error before I found a decent forum, and access to a computer! Good luck!

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I agree with Peggy some of my chins don't like the hay cubes but everyone likes the loose hay. It also is good for them to have loose hay to help wear down their molars (hay cubes work the incisors). The dimensions on your cage sound fine, I am sure everyone starts with one cage and then gets another one when they realize they don't like things about it. I would focus on getting everything else in line before you switch cages. Many people here ship food by the pound so you wouldn't need to order 12lbs but it may be cheaper to ship food that way. They sell Oxbow hay at petsmart so you could easily switch hay if you have one of those close by.

 

[JennyBug]

My chins usually just pee on the hay cubes (I don't know why, but I think they are showing their displeasure). We only feed loose Oxbow hay now, and all of our girls are hay hogs! They sell both big bags and small bags of Oxbow at Petsmart, along with Oxbow pellets. I recommend both!

 

[soqrbrad]

I'll keep my eye out for the Oxbow stuff.

After browsing some of the cage posts my girlfriend and I have decided we are going to build a new cage sometime. I'm thinking we can hollow out an old chest of drawers or something and go from there. We'll see what I can find on the free section of craigslist in the coming weeks. :thinking:

 

[tunes]

Be careful of the wood you use if you plan to use an old dresser or cupboard. Unless you line it with melamine, they are going to gnaw on the wood. You can't use any kind of finished wood on the inside, and you need to be sure it's on the safe list.

 

[soqrbrad]

I was planning on sanding it down to get off all the varnish and chemicals and junk they finish it with. It's just in the thought stages now, but I did consider that. I might use that other good idea of using those elfa shelves from the container store seeing as my girlfriend's mom works there and can get a killer deal. That's an option too, maybe a bit of both. So many ideas!!

I also thought of wowing everyone and finding a way to convert an old coke/pepsi vending machine into a chinchilla cage.:dance3:

 

[soqrbrad]

Ok so I officially call dibs. if you are anywhere near the Colorado area and you take my shelves before this weekend I will be angry and will send Pachuco after you.

Here is the base of my new chinchilla cage 100% chrome and Melamine:

http://denver.craigslist.org/for/1038192479.html

All for $25.

Gonna slap some elfa shelves or something on that and cut some holes that he can crawl through and add accessories. Tis going to be SWEET!!!

 

[Cinder and Me]

Saying that makes people think they can't use tap water at all, which isn't true. Just get a Pur3 on faucet filter and you can use tap water all day long.

Ok, that's true. That is what I do anyways.

 

[Cinder and Me]

First question, are the hay cubes just as good as the strands? Second question, are there better deals than this out there? Third question, can I easily store 12 pounds of food and dust and will it go bad if I don't use it all for a few months?

Most people still give loose hay, and have cubes as more of an extra. Some also only give cubes if they are very allergic to loose hay (the cube isn't as bad for them). My girl doesn't care too much for the cubes, but LOVES the loose hay. She'll sit there all day and eat it, but the cube will just get kicked to the floor or out of the cage (where my dachshund then eats it lol).

I keep my bulk or extra pellets in the fridge (as recommended to me from the rancher I get Cinder's food from).

 

[soqrbrad]

Hmm refrigerate the pellets... not a bad idea. I think since Pachuco likes the strand hay so much I might as well stick to that and try the oxbow stuff once I head to the pet store again.

 

[whimmus]

If you're thinking of wrapping wire around that shelving unit to make a cage out of, it may be bad, mmmkay?

If its melamine over particle board and you hole-saw a buncha portholes so buddy chin can play mario bros all day, he may stop to nom on the super-juicy and awesome-smelling glue-impregnated wood fiber sammich that makes up each hole.

Maybe... just saying. I'm a horrible chin person because I feed raisins to my chins once in a blue moon, but even I wouldn't want them nomming on particle board.

If you were just showing us pictures of a really funky shelving unit that had nothing to do with your chin setup, then cool.

Lastly... you sold the evil ball of death? If I was irrational and prone to flaming people behind my Interwebs safety blanket, I'd accuse you of killing someone elses' chin. But I'm not. I do get mad when I see them in the pet stores, tho.

Glad you're fixing your stuff. Who thought pet stores could sell junk that was so counter to the animals' good health.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Hmm that shelf is cool but I agree with Whimmus - unless you found a way to chew proof the holes you cut in the melamine it could be extremely toxic for your chin to chew, and by extremely toxic I mean death. Melamine is good for cages ONLY when the chin cannot chew on the edges of it (it contains formaldehyde).

Now if you replaced the shelves with kd pine... then you might have something and you could cut holes without concern...

My next question is how you would get the wire to stay attached to the shelves....

 

[soqrbrad]

I was thinking of lining it with something. That thought crossed my mind too. I was thinking I could put some sort of rubber grip on it or at least something that isn't toxic and can give an indication of knawing. I might also line the hole with the KD pine around the edges so that if he chews that, it's fine. Kind of like a thimble around every edge. It shouldn't be too hard to do. I'll keep the holes square and then put a 1/2 inch thick or so "U" shaped piece of KD pine around each of the edges if you can imagine that.

As for the killing someone else's chin... You do realize that there are other small mammals out there that use the same exercise balls that won't over heat? Those balls are good for mice and rats and guinea pigs.... So thanks for the positive comment, I appreciate being labeled a killer of someone else's chin.

As for the wire getting on there I was looking in to the prospects of welding the cage to the chrome. If not I might try some sort of attachment system. I'm definitely not using any sort of chemical solvent or glue. I also might build a frame of wood around the outside and support it with that. I'll have to see how this thing looks upon closer inspection.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

That might work to put kd pine around the edge but they will quickly remove it - I made cages that called for ramps (i know but I kept them because otherwise there would have been a large open space that might have been dangerous) and I put pine dowels that were flat on one side about 1/2 x 1" or so on the wood ramp to give them traction. Those were the first to succumb to the chewing. A better solution might be to use some kind of thin metal that could cover the edges...