New Chin owner

[Amie87]

I don't own a Chin yet, but I will be getting one in October and I am trying to set up it's cage. Here is everything I have or know I need to get:

Wheel
cooling stone
a hide away
food bowl
watr bottle
dust
dust container
wood chew sticks
and of course pellets and hay for food.

Is there anything else I am missing?

 

[Ash]

The brands/materials Certain types/brands of those items aren't good for chinchillas.

 

[tunes]

Air conditioning and a good vet.

 

[Amie87]

I have th brands under control my breeder gave me a whole list of what are the good & bad brands to buy. I have air conditioning my husband and I like the house on the cool side so she will be very comfortable as far as that goes and I also researched vets too and found a few ones that specilize in exotics/small animals near me. Anything else anyone can think of?

 

[ErinsChins]

Care to name of the brands?

 

[ticklechin]

Hanging chew toys, fleece items such as hammocks, tubes and pillows, bedding, first aid items, hay holder, 2nd water bottle, ledges, carrier for travel, pet sitter, emergency vet along with regular vet, contingency plan in case of power outage in summer...

 

[mommyslittlechins2010]

i'd take that wheel out.. even though some msy sugget to use one. but i was told never to use one cause chins can over heat ... with a wheel .. just put a few hanging chews in her cage and enough reg chews in ans she'll be fine

 

[Stackie]

i'd take that wheel out.. even though some msy sugget to use one. but i was told never to use one cause chins can over heat ... with a wheel .. just put a few hanging chews in her cage and enough reg chews in ans she'll be fine

All of my chins have had wheels for years and they have never overheated. It's the same with tons of other chinchilla owners. They don't need wheels, but chins really enjoy them and mine will always have them in their cages. As long as you keep your home cool, they will not overheat. It also provides them with a source of exercise if you can not let them out of the cage a lot.

To the OP, welcome to CnH. Keep in mind that most things that come from pet stores are not safe for chinchillas, even though they are marketed for them. We have many suppliers on here that sell safe things for chins.

 

[starleomach]

i'd take that wheel out.. even though some msy sugget to use one. but i was told never to use one cause chins can over heat ... with a wheel .. just put a few hanging chews in her cage and enough reg chews in ans she'll be fine

I think you may be thinking of death balls a proper wheel is a good safe investment

 

[ticklechin]

Chins use wheels and do not overheat.

 

[mommyslittlechins2010]

when i got my chins from my breeder she told me not o use a wheel cuase chins don't need them and tht they can over heat while using them. i know no the balls casue thier a death trap waiting to happen

I think you may be thinking of death balls a proper wheel is a good safe investment

 

[ticklechin]

Chins all over the world use wheels, never heard of one overheating. Your breeder must keep the chins in too hot of temps if that happened to her.

 

[Amie87]

oxbow timothy hay, mizuri pellets, the wheel is called a flying saucer, blue cloud dust, I can't remember the bedding she told me, I'll have to ask her about it again, but any suggestions?

I didn't really think about a power outage and no AC... What can I do? I guess I could always take her to a friend or family members house for the night, but is there anything I can have at home?

 

[Dewdrop]

Just make sure you ask friends/family about watching your chin in an emergency before one happens.

We had a situation last month where a nasty storm came through and knocked out the power. We were pretty SOL on taking the chins anywhere because the whole town was without power...we ended up driving around in the car for a few hours with the AC to help out, then i filled a metal thermos with ice and put it in the cage so they'd have something to snuggle up to.

Luckily the storm cooled everything down (And was late enough in the day) so the basement didn't heat up like I feared.

 

[Sandi]

Aspen, kd pine shavings or fleece liners are the recommended bedding material for chins.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

also if you wanna try, you can potty train them. not all will though so dont get your hopes too high.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I would say most chin do not potty train especially where they poop. They can NOT control the poops

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

no chins dont NEED wheels but they still should have them. they allow them to excercise when no one is able to take them out for playtime.

I would say most chin do not potty train especially where they poop. They can NOT control the poops

thanks i forgot to say that. no many do not, and no they will never be poop trained. lol they would have to go down to the litter pan then the second they got to the top shelf they would have to go back down again. yeah poop is uncontrolable for them.

this is a list i made for when i get my chinchilla (more than a year :cry3
- sleep and ledges (as many as possible)
-chin spin (no powder coating)
-lixit glass water bottle (superpet works to but you have to have it adjusted a certain way for the water to be able to come out)
-ferret nation cage (model 142)
-chinchiller/granite slab
-bass pans for ferret nation (only the bottom because im taking out the middle divider and putting a bunch of wood shelves)
-leap and ledges (as many as possible)
-book about chinchillas (no sure which book because i dont want one with false information that will get me confused)
-window ac unit (strong enough to keep my room at about 65 degrees at all time)
-fleece hammocks
-fleece tubes
-fleece toy (for the chinchilla to play with)
-wooden shelves (going to have my dad help me make custom ones for my cage, already have a set up sorta planned out in my head lol)
-anything from candorchins.com (love that website)
-a vet (still doing research on that one)
-blue cloud dust
-pnr (has a new name but i cant remember it from the top of my head)
-dust bath house
-oxbox timothy hay
-aspen or pine bedding

im sure im forgetting something. this is actually my christmas list, (still months away i know but im thinking for the future) minus the food, hay, bedding, and dust because it will go bad.
if im forgetting something dont be afraid to tell me :thumbsup:

 

[ChinNewbie]

Aspen, kd pine shavings or fleece liners are the recommended bedding material for chins.

I would recommed KD pine shavings over the Aspen. I found when my boys would pee on the Aspen it would smell really really bad, but the pine doesn't.

 

[ahappycamper]

Welcome. Take the time to find a good vet. You've got a lot of people in this thread telling you what you may need, but I would also recommend that you document the places and locations that you can purchase these items from. A lot of pet stores like Petco and Petsmart overcharge, so try looking around for smaller businesses and if you're using KD Pine bedding as your choice, then you can usually find big bags for really great prices at feed stores.

Also, there are some really great sites on this forum that can help you out with supplies. I prefer to buy from sellers suggested on here rather than big local stores because everyone here has good intentions in the well being of chinchillas and I think it's good to support that.