How many chinnys does an fn142 work for?

[Rickman]

Lee - I usually don't get involved with newbies, as they'll do what they want anyway, but let me add a few things here!
Are you prepared for a 8 to 18 YEAR commitment? [lifespan of chins]
You seem young! Can you handle that, or are your chins going to appear on C/L?
Money aside, if males fight, they can kill or inflict serious injury on one another, taking quite a bit of time for hand-feeding and the such - ARE YOU READY??

I once had 6 males together in a large cage, from kits born around the same time.
They went through weening together, and I was 'growing them out'.
Sold two, and the others seemed affectionate towards one another, so I never gave it a second thought - WRONG!
Came into the room one morning to find one dead, and another with minor injuries, figuring it was him, [the injured one] I separated him, and tended to his injuries.
The other two seemed O.K. - no chasing or anything, so I left them together.
Now these guys were 15 - 18 months old, and I never thought there'd be a problem!WRONG AGAIN!
Next morning, both were beat-up, minorly, and I had to separate them!
Did find out the aggressor, and sold him quickly, but could never get the others to get along again!
You may NEVER get those 3 to get along - are you prepared for that??

 

[GahhItsLee]

Im ready for an 18 year commitment
I have and do have another term pet
Im also prepared for them to not get along but i am hopeful that they will
If they dont i will leave upgrayedd (my current chin) in his cage and put the other two in the fn cage and if they fight ill split the cage into two
I am prepared for the difficulties of attempting to bond and i could handle the fighting and i can hand feed
I would NEVER just put a pet up on craigslist
I believe i am prepared for this but time will tell
Ill keep everyone updated on how things go

 

[Rickman]

O.K - we'll see!
Good luck!

 

[Nervousings]

I believe i am prepared for this but time will tell

waiting until you KNOW you are prepared would be the best bet.

 

[GahhItsLee]

I never know I always say i think ill try that kind of thing
I never say i know ill do or any of those things really...
Thanks for the encouragement rick its very much appreciated

 

[Carol~Anne]

As long as you have time, energy, space and money to look after the new chins then that's what's important and I wish you all the best.

I started off with one and then went to three and it was definitely an adjustment. Then I went to four and it was okay, the fifth one was a bit tricky and then I took in a rescue pair that had to be separated and I can officially say now that I am totally maxed out with time, energy and space, and these last two boys really did cause a major uproar in my chin room and now three months later things are finally starting to settle down. I'm done with chins. :wacko:

 

[GahhItsLee]

Im only planning on keeping these three because i dont wanna ever have so many that they cant all get there hour of free run daily and get there scratches and pets and all the thing i considering to be bonding and well just nice for them

 

[Carol~Anne]

Like I said, if you have the time, energy, space and money then it shouldn't be a problem. Going from one chin to three was an adjustment for me but it wasn't all that big of a difference than having to care for one. I did manage to get these three to get along bud sadly after about a year they had a big scuffle and I had to separate them.

There is also the possibility that these two are actually male and female and perhaps the female is pregnant? Do you know for a fact they are the same sex? If not, you could have babies to deal with. How long have this pair been together?

 

[GahhItsLee]

Ok so from what ive been told they are both male but im not 100% on that yet until i see and theyve been together for like 2 years or so...
Im entirely ready for the possibility or a missexed female... Ill be ready to have three chins house all seperate from one another

 

[RDZCRanch]

You're going to do what you want but based on your posts, your personal knowledge of chinchillas and how you've replied to the good advice you've been given...you are NOT ready to take on more chinchillas.

Taking those chinchillas out of a home where they are well cared for...but don't get playtime or a large cage is NOT rescuing them. They don't sound like they are in desperate need of a new home. You aren't doing the chinchillas ANY favors by taking them in right before moving or taking them on when you aren't even sure you are prepared.

Saying "I think I'll try that...but I don't know how it'll go" is a HUGE sign of immaturity. I know you are under 18 and I'm not sure if you are living on your own. If you have so much time to spend with the chinchillas as you say...is it because you don't have a job? Your parents pay for the chins? How do you have "plenty of money saved" yet you have "a ton of time" to spend at home with the chinchillas.

There are just too many inconsistencies in what you've written around the board. Yes, you made a mistake...but the problem is that you need to LEARN from that mistake instead of blowing it off and asking everyone to forget it happened. That was a LARGE mistake that could have ended in the death of your chinchilla...people are rightly concerned about it.

You need to take a step back, calm down, stop being so defensive, listen to the advice given and not just the "encouragement" and strongly think about NOT getting these chinchillas. Direct them instead to a nearby breeder/rescuer that can take these chinchillas in and find them a home more capable of handling multiple chinchillas.

 

[GahhItsLee]

I have learned from my mistake and I do work but I work early in the morning till mid afternoon I have most of my day free so i have nothing but time
The cage they are in barely has room for one of them to stand in
That to me isnt just a small cage its too small im not going to leave them in a situation where there not taken out to run and are just left in a cage not suitable for a guinea pig.
Ill be picking them up in a few days so whether abunch of people who have never met me and dont know me think im ready or not i really dont care
I asked a simple question about space in a cage thats what i wanted answered i didnt want to hear all this. Im ready to take care of these two along with my chinny so i know im ready and thats what matters to me
As I said before thank you to people who actually addressed my question

Oh and i forgot this i have a ton of time and plenty saved up because i have a good job and im good with money

 

[tunes]

Lee - Start combining your posts. Posting every 2 minutes is annoying and confusing. You have 10 minute window to edit your previous post. Start adding to the one you already have and make it easier for everybody to follow the thread.

 

[GahhItsLee]

Ok sorry i tend to remember afterwards that i left a little bit out
I cant edit any old posts so i guess now i know if i forget something i can just hit edit and put it in like that
Sorry for the double posts so often

 

[Rickman]

I hope you can print this thread and hang it in your room! Refer back to it when things start changing in your young life!
Things like; Cars, gas, insurance, girls, dating, your own place, rent, utilities, food, - little things that turn into BIG things, not to mention ALL the things that can, and will, go wrong!
But I'm probably wasting my time - youngsters don't listen, anyway! Prove me wrong!
Said before - Good Luck!!

 

[mishellyshel]

if you get the 142 and things dont work out with the 2 new ones than you can split the cage and your existing chin can have his own space & the two new ones can have their own space. this is all after a quarantine period.
if you are looking to save money, check craigslist....they often have cages for sale, usually of pet owners who get in too deep and than ditch their pets.
while aside from vet costs, having 3 isnt much more money that one.
good luck with whatever decision you make. in the event that you feel you can't handle all three of them, please post on this list and maybe a member can take them.

 

[GahhItsLee]

Im sure ill be fine with them
I know about the quarantine and im prepared to separate all of them if need me
Ill be going to get them later today and ill be posting with how everything goes
Ill also show you their current cage just to see if anyone still says its fine its just not as big as a fn


Also to rickman the reason im trying to save with everything is because im saving up for a car right now
I have a really good job im pretty sure i can pay rent and gas and all that stuff as i make more than quite a few adults i know

 

[Carol~Anne]

Since this is all a go now, do post pics when you pick up the pair. I just bet their cage is really itty bitty and waaay too small for two grown chins.

 

[mishellyshel]

lee--not sure if you already did this, but check out this thread:

http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134&highlight=club

you will get lots of idea and see how people separate their cages. hopefully you will be able to get them together as a trio, but with the FN you have a lot of options on separation.

 

[GahhItsLee]

Ok I got them abit ago...
The cage was HORRIBLE
There house was a small childs shoe box not big enough for even one of them to be in they had zero chew toys they didnt even have food in there
I gave them all the spare chews i have and im making a trip tomorrow to get a bunch of apple wood
I gave them both a dust bath but the one doesnt even seem to understand what to do... Not sure maybe hes still just nervous but they seem to be warming up to me quickly they are very attention starved the darker of the two ran right up to me and let me pet him but the lighter one is very cautious which is more than understandable
One month to go lets all hope for a successful trio

 

[Kalandra]

When you get a chance, we'd love to see images. OK, so they may not look great now, but I always find it fascinating to see before and after images of rescued chins.