Leaving her alone :(

Ellembas · Nov 11, 2013

I am going to London this weekend (Sat morn-Mon evening) and I'm worried about leaving my chinchilla alone. My mum will be able to change her food, hay and water both days, and check she's doing okay, and I'll leave the radio on for some environmental stimulation. I don't think that she'll be confident enough to let my chinnie out for playtime, as it's quite a big room and she's had no experience, but I'll do it Friday and Monday evening, so that's only 2 days missed.

My real concern is that my sister's wedding is in two weeks, similar time frame (2 nights alone) but there will be no one there to check on her, and due to the nature of the building I live in, and the alarms etc, I cannot give a friend or neighbour a key to check up on her.

Would it be better to take her somewhere else for the weekend, or is it better to keep her in a place she is comfortable? Her cage is of similar size to a critter nation, so moving her would require buying a new, smaller cage to home her wherever I took her. Will she be okay on her own for 2 nights, or is it just too much of a risk? Thanks in advance x

AZChins · Nov 11, 2013

If she has enough food and water, she should be fine for two days. It seems like it may be more stress on the chin than is worth it to take her somewhere else. Ideally, someone checking on her once or twice a day would be good, but if it is only over two days it should be fine since it won't get too warm.

Make sure she has enough water and food and everything will be alright. If it were the height of summer, I'd worry so much more about her....she should be alright leaving her alone for a couple of days. With your mom watching her this weekend, it could be a trial run to see how she does!

P.S. Congratulations to your sister on her wedding! I hope that the wedding goes smoothly!!

cindyv3737 · Nov 11, 2013

I recently left my girls alone for two days. I was stressed out more than they were. My girls were fine. They had plenty of food, hay and water. I also gave them a ton of extra toys before leaving. All was ok. Just a little groveling on my part once I returned. Two days is my max. Anything more than that, and I will get a sitter for them.

Congrats on the wedding!

seachin · Nov 12, 2013

They will be fine for two days. In addition to what was said above make sure you leave redundant pellet bowls with two days of pellets in each in case one is tipped over and goes through the floor wire or gets peed on.

Ellembas · Nov 12, 2013

Thank you for the replies. I feel so much better about it now, and won't be spending as much time fretting about her over the weekends. I'll be sure to leave her a back up food bowl and some extra toys. I'm sure I'll have some making up to do though! :')

Oh! And thanks for the wedding wishes!!