Jezus!

[Euphoric]

So I am excited to get this little guy. I am assuming he is a Velvet, but what is with the white stomach?
He is really hold-friendly but shy. I am confident he will warm up.
And can someone tell me why is tail is so short?

 

[alli713]

What do you mean what is with the white stomach? Black velvets have white stomachs.

And it looks like his tail fur was trimmed. Maybe he was shown?

 

[Euphoric]

Oh ok. Sorry, I never seen a velvet in person I guess I never noticed.
No, he is from a petsmart. so I don't think anyone would do that. Just compared to Valentines (my mosaic) its really short.


I should also elaborate on the name. I got Valentine two weeks before Valentines day so it fit, and it being the week after Easter I decided to name this little guy Jezus lol

 

[Sasha]

Beautiful black velvet. Tails vary in sizes. I agree, it looks like his tail was trimmed. I do have a chin that has a shortened tail because part of it as bitten off at birth.

 

[tunes]

If he was in with other chins, his tail could have been chewed down by a cagemate. From the pictures it looks like it was helped along, not a natural occurence.

 

[Euphoric]

Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. Petsmart breeders are not the best.
He is now giving me back off noises when I go by the cage (He has had no dust baths since arriving at petsmart over a month ago, so I was trying to give him one)
But I have no doubt he will be a good boy.

 

[LovableFuzziezandCrawliez]

Either way he is a lovely black velvet! Congrats!

 

[EveningChin]

He hasn't had a bath in a month? Why?

Very handsome though. Cute face!

 

[Euphoric]

He hasn't had a bath in a month? Why?

Very handsome though. Cute face!

Get this. The petsmart people said they didn't have the supplies.
I used to be a pet lead, so I asked why they didn't take it off the shelf and write it off. They said they can't do that and "It doesnt matter they dont need them that often"
So I talked to the manager, and they gave the other chinchilla (A very jumpy beige) a dust bath.
He didn't have hay either. It was the first thing he went to when I got him home.
Its actually the petsmart I used to work for (But its been 2yrs so no one I know is longer there) but I talked to the store manager (Who knew nothing of how to take care of them, or I assume any other of the animals) about thier care and the piggies who also had no hay or viatamin C in thier water.
He fixed it right away.
Thank god Petsmart is no longer selling chins (Or so I was told)
I try not to buy animals from major stores, but I wanted this guy so bad.
I am going to go back into the store and if its still bad, I am going to my ex-manager who is now a district supervisor to complain.

 

[Euphoric]

Also I take all my animals to the vet every six months, and the next one is next month (great because I dont have to pay for a extra visit for Jezus, again I always send a new animal to the vet) So I will see what my vet has to say about his tail too.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

I've seen tails trimmed all the way down the sides like that for shows.

 

[Chinniechantel]

I would not take him to the vet for no reason, it is just more stress and what is the vet going to do? Unless you are going to speak with them to try and find a good, chin savvy vet, I would not go for a random vet visit with a chin, most people do not. The tail is not a health concern, and I agree, it looks like it was cut down for a show. Maybe it didn't do well and ended up there? Or very likely it could have been him chewing or another chin chewing him. Who knows. Adorable little guy though! Congrats! Learn how to do hair ring checks now, if you have not!

 

[Euphoric]

I do it because I don't know his background, and you never know hidden health problems. I have been going to the same exotic vet for a long time, and he knows a lot about chinchillas. I know most people don't take thier animals to the vet for checkups, but thats the reason why you get threads "I had no clue.." "Died unexpectantly.."
I found out through a random vet check that my hamster had developed a cancerous tumor and I was able to remove it before it killed him.
Even if I didn't do the six months, I would still still always take a new animal to a vet, especially one from a pet store.
This animal was not in a show, I can almost guarantee that. They go from breeder to store, and the breeder also is the same that brings the birds and other small animals. But it was not the lenght of the hair I was worried it was just the size of the tail. Its very short.

And yes I know how to do hair ring checks

 

[alli713]

Generally animals that go to the big pet stores are going through brokers, not the breeder. And the chinchilla breeder wouldn't breed the birds and small pets, so I think you're thinking of a broker.

If his tail is shorter, it may have just been injured when he was born, there's nothing wrong with that and it won't hurt him in the long run.

 

[Riven]

Petsmart breeders are not the best

I agree with Alli. There are brokers who buy from tons of people, that chin might have come from a small breeder, or a large breeder you never can tell. People trim their tails for show and to check for quality under lights, it could have been checked, or evaluated before it was sold. It does not look chewed to me because it's even.

 

[Euphoric]

Oh ok. I was told by the man who delivered them they were a breeder.
I was just concerned how short it was in retrospect to my white mosaic.
My mosaics tail even curls a little bit.
I will still be taking him to the vet however

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Good for you, Euphoric!!!

I agree that you should always take ANY new animal (not just a chin) to the vet for what I have always called "A well baby checkup". This accomplishes several things. The vet can give them the once over, listen to their heart, check for fungus under the black light, do a quick fecal and check their teeth/bite.

But, most importantly, this initial checkup (for which MY vet, [who I am ALWAYS proud to mention is the world famous Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald from Animal Planet's Emergency Vets series!!!] doesn't charge) allows you to ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP with a vet, so that in the event of an emergency, you are already an "established patient" and will be more likely to be seen quickly, since you have a history with them.

In any case, you have a lovely little black velvet. Enjoy him...:hearts:

 

[Mystic]

He is very beautiful! I really want a black velvet. *sigh...maybe one day lol

 

[Euphoric]

Thanks Lynn
I like the fact that I also get discounts (Its $50 per 5 animals for a check up instead of each for me) and my vet knows how I take care of my animals, so if one of them was to be sick, we could diagnose it right away.
Plus quarantine time is meant for the same reasons as vet checks.



Thanks for everyones comments!

I am just worried how bonded me and my white mosaic valentine are...I bet he will be the dominant one. It makes me nervous. He is spoiled most def but really attached to me. I hope he accepts Jezus and still keeps our bond and allows me and Jezus to bond without jealousy.