Hi there
a couple of days ago, out of the blue, our limited english neighbors gave us their unwanted chinchilla. about a year ago we noticed that no-one was really looking after it, and it was kept in a garage which would of been hot and noisy and hazardous to it's health, so we offered to take it off their hands but they assured us that their daughter (who was away at uni) still wanted it. Now they have finally given up and given him (dodo) to us.
They gave us the cage as well, which looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a year, we tried to replace the cage lining with fresh bedding, but lo and behold the pull out tray had actually half either rotted or chewed away. we were going to keep him in his cage as to minimise stress and sudden environment change, but it was so filthy we couldn't have it in the house, so we ended up using out much cleaner back up chin cage.
I have a preexisting chin in about the largest chin cage available, I've had her for abut three years now and she is happy and healthy, although quite destructive (no toy lasts longer than a week.) I always wondered about whether she would be lonely or not but my parents aren't keen on expanding the menagerie as its more hassle for holidays etc, (even though there would be no less considering i would hope to have them in the same cage,) so this is the first time I've been able to consider a friend for her, as my mum always wants to make sure animals get the best treatment/care possible.
Ive read some horror stories on neutering, but was wondering whether it would be a viable option? is it usually very expensive? the risk is paying all that money for a potentially dangerous operation, and then finding out that they aren't suited to each other and having to rehome this poor distressed chinchilla into a home where he might get lesser care. I'm thinking my plan of action should be to wait a couple of months until he's properly settled into his new lifestyle, and then get him neutered. then wait a couple more months until trying to introduce the two. Is this the right way to go about it?
dodo is very shy and only really comes out at night, and doesn't really do very much. he just sort of sits around. my existing chinchilla is making the weirdest noises, probably because she's not seen another chin since she was 6 weeks old.
Also I'm not entirely sure what i should be doing to make his rehabilitation as comfortable as possible, what are the steps i should take with a rescue chinchilla? (he hasn't been abused or anything, just neglected a bit. fur, feet, eyes etc are all fine.) what are other people's recommendations and advice for this situation? what do you think would be the best thing to do?
any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much
a couple of days ago, out of the blue, our limited english neighbors gave us their unwanted chinchilla. about a year ago we noticed that no-one was really looking after it, and it was kept in a garage which would of been hot and noisy and hazardous to it's health, so we offered to take it off their hands but they assured us that their daughter (who was away at uni) still wanted it. Now they have finally given up and given him (dodo) to us.
They gave us the cage as well, which looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a year, we tried to replace the cage lining with fresh bedding, but lo and behold the pull out tray had actually half either rotted or chewed away. we were going to keep him in his cage as to minimise stress and sudden environment change, but it was so filthy we couldn't have it in the house, so we ended up using out much cleaner back up chin cage.
I have a preexisting chin in about the largest chin cage available, I've had her for abut three years now and she is happy and healthy, although quite destructive (no toy lasts longer than a week.) I always wondered about whether she would be lonely or not but my parents aren't keen on expanding the menagerie as its more hassle for holidays etc, (even though there would be no less considering i would hope to have them in the same cage,) so this is the first time I've been able to consider a friend for her, as my mum always wants to make sure animals get the best treatment/care possible.
Ive read some horror stories on neutering, but was wondering whether it would be a viable option? is it usually very expensive? the risk is paying all that money for a potentially dangerous operation, and then finding out that they aren't suited to each other and having to rehome this poor distressed chinchilla into a home where he might get lesser care. I'm thinking my plan of action should be to wait a couple of months until he's properly settled into his new lifestyle, and then get him neutered. then wait a couple more months until trying to introduce the two. Is this the right way to go about it?
dodo is very shy and only really comes out at night, and doesn't really do very much. he just sort of sits around. my existing chinchilla is making the weirdest noises, probably because she's not seen another chin since she was 6 weeks old.
Also I'm not entirely sure what i should be doing to make his rehabilitation as comfortable as possible, what are the steps i should take with a rescue chinchilla? (he hasn't been abused or anything, just neglected a bit. fur, feet, eyes etc are all fine.) what are other people's recommendations and advice for this situation? what do you think would be the best thing to do?
any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much
