New chinchilla to love and spoil

[Amethyst]

I was scrolling through kijiji yesterday afternoon and was surprised to see a chin for sale not far from me. I wasn't really expecting to find another chin anytime soon, they are not common around here so even though the old cage isn't ready for a chin yet I jumped at the chance. After a few back and forth messages with the seller I met her in town to get my new little boy. He is around 6 years old and named Pikachu, it's the name they gave him but he seems to know is name so I might keep it (not to mention the carrier he came in even kind of looks like a poké ball too, lol). He is actually pretty friendly though (he actually likes being petted!), just understandably a bit unsure of the new home, but he happliy ate last night so that is a good sign. Aside from the carrier he came with a cage, but it's not the best or even in the best shape so he will be getting moved to the Ferret Nation cage as soon as I get it ready (needs to be cleaned, have some minor repairs, and set back up). He didn't come with much in the cage though, just food bowl, water bottle, cooling tile, and a hanging house, along with basic supplies like the food, hay, and shavings, but that's it. He seems overjoyed with me adding some toys and a couple more items to the cage so far though.

 

[Lissy]

OMG! I'm so happy you found a new little guy.

 

[Amethyst]

OMG! I'm so happy you found a new little guy.

Me too, I was so surprised to see a listing for a chin close by, I actually had to look at the post a couple times to see if I was seeing it right. I was able to meet up with the person selling him when they were on their way through town, so it was only about a 20 minute drive each way.

I feel bad he had no toys, the person said they had sticks for him (came with a small bag of "mixed sticks" made in China) The cage is dirty (not too too bad I've seen far worse), but the water bottle was green inside (I threw it out, it was made out of an old plastic liquor bottle anyway), and the cage had nothing for him to do in it, makes me sad to know he lived years like that. I just have to focus on the fact that he is here now, in a home with someone that knows how to properly care for him, and his life is about to vastly improve once I get the ferret nation set up. Also at least they were feeding him Oxbow Essentials food (he came with a big bag that still has over 6lb left in it) and timothy hay, even if he did come with "treats" as well that included pumpkin seeds and a chewed up grocery bag full of dried mystery plants.

This is his cage right now, I added the wood shelves, wood perch, a lava ledge, a hanging toy, tunnel, the metal bowl, and the glass water bottle. The front wheel of the cage is just taped on so I propped it up with a piece of wood to keep the cage level.



The wild roses are in bloom right now around my property (perfect timing) so I was so excited to go out foraging for rose petals while I took the dogs for a walk yesterday. He'll have to wait for rose hips, but I'll get some other things picked today and get the dehydrator going to dry up some other treats for him, see what he likes. I tossed all the treats I had since I didn't think I would be able to find another chin so soon so I need to make up some new ones.

 

[Amethyst]

A short video of Pikachu having a little playtime. He is still skittish, so he was only out for a few minutes before retreating back to his cage to hide.

View attachment 20240618_130232_1[1].mp4

 

[Lissy]

A short video of Pikachu having a little playtime. He is still skittish, so he was only out for a few minutes before retreating back to his cage to hide.

View attachment 22285

He's adorable! And probably really confused with his new found freedoms.

 

[Lissy]

Me too, I was so surprised to see a listing for a chin close by, I actually had to look at the post a couple times to see if I was seeing it right. I was able to meet up with the person selling him when they were on their way through town, so it was only about a 20 minute drive each way.

I feel bad he had no toys, the person said they had sticks for him (came with a small bag of "mixed sticks" made in China) The cage is dirty (not too too bad I've seen far worse), but the water bottle was green inside (I threw it out, it was made out of an old plastic liquor bottle anyway), and the cage had nothing for him to do in it, makes me sad to know he lived years like that. I just have to focus on the fact that he is here now, in a home with someone that knows how to properly care for him, and his life is about to vastly improve once I get the ferret nation set up. Also at least they were feeding him Oxbow Essentials food (he came with a big bag that still has over 6lb left in it) and timothy hay, even if he did come with "treats" as well that included pumpkin seeds and a chewed up grocery bag full of dried mystery plants.

This is his cage right now, I added the wood shelves, wood perch, a lava ledge, a hanging toy, tunnel, the metal bowl, and the glass water bottle. The front wheel of the cage is just taped on so I propped it up with a piece of wood to keep the cage level.

View attachment 22284

The wild roses are in bloom right now around my property (perfect timing) so I was so excited to go out foraging for rose petals while I took the dogs for a walk yesterday. He'll have to wait for rose hips, but I'll get some other things picked today and get the dehydrator going to dry up some other treats for him, see what he likes. I tossed all the treats I had since I didn't think I would be able to find another chin so soon so I need to make up some new ones.

I'm just really glad you found him. You'll give him a wonderful exciting new life

 

[Nerk]

What a cutie! Congrats to you and him.

 

[Amethyst]

He's adorable! And probably really confused with his new found freedoms.

He is a cutie
I think he is more confused by being in a quiet house, lol. The person I got him from had a couple young kids, so I'm sure he is use to a much more active household. The reason she said she was rehoming him was because they moved to a new house and don't have the time and space to let him out anymore. So he did use to have at least some out of cage time in the past, just hasn't for awhile. She had apparently been trying to rehome since January, but kept getting the run around from people, so maybe he was just meant to be mine.

I've covered the cage bottom with fleece and tile now, the floor was worrying me. I seem to be going between getting this cage improved for now and trying to get the ferret nation set up, lol.

 

[Mel]

I was scrolling through kijiji yesterday afternoon and was surprised to see a chin for sale not far from me. I wasn't really expecting to find another chin anytime soon, they are not common around here so even though the old cage isn't ready for a chin yet I jumped at the chance. After a few back and forth messages with the seller I met her in town to get my new little boy. He is around 6 years old and named Pikachu, it's the name they gave him but he seems to know is name so I might keep it (not to mention the carrier he came in even kind of looks like a poké ball too, lol). He is actually pretty friendly though (he actually likes being petted!), just understandably a bit unsure of the new home, but he happliy ate last night so that is a good sign. Aside from the carrier he came with a cage, but it's not the best or even in the best shape so he will be getting moved to the Ferret Nation cage as soon as I get it ready (needs to be cleaned, have some minor repairs, and set back up). He didn't come with much in the cage though, just food bowl, water bottle, cooling tile, and a hanging house, along with basic supplies like the food, hay, and shavings, but that's it. He seems overjoyed with me adding some toys and a couple more items to the cage so far though.

He is beautiful! I adore the big ears. Congrats!

 

[Lissy]

He is a cutie
I think he is more confused by being in a quiet house, lol. The person I got him from had a couple young kids, so I'm sure he is use to a much more active household. The reason she said she was rehoming him was because they moved to a new house and don't have the time and space to let him out anymore. So he did use to have at least some out of cage time in the past, just hasn't for awhile. She had apparently been trying to rehome since January, but kept getting the run around from people, so maybe he was just meant to be mine.

I've covered the cage bottom with fleece and tile now, the floor was worrying me. I seem to be going between getting this cage improved for now and trying to get the ferret nation set up, lol.

What was worrying you about the floor?

 

[Amethyst]

What was worrying you about the floor?

If you look closely at the cage floor it's covered in holes (the idea is pee and poop will fall through) which are prefect size to fit a little chin foot. I have seen many cases of people's chins getting a foot caught and in some cases injured in cages with floors like that, or the chin decides to chew the holes and gets their teeth and nose stuck. Just because it may not have happened yet doesn't mean it wont or can't. I would rather be overly safe then sorry, and a solid floor is much safer, not to mention easier to keep clean.

 

[Skiklutz]

He's so cute !!! I love his ears and his colour. It was meant to be for you to find him and give him a wonderful home .

 

[Lissy]

If you look closely at the cage floor it's covered in holes (the idea is pee and poop will fall through) which are prefect size to fit a little chin foot. I have seen many cases of people's chins getting a foot caught and in some cases injured in cages with floors like that, or the chin decides to chew the holes and gets their teeth and nose stuck. Just because it may not have happened yet doesn't mean it wont or can't. I would rather be overly safe then sorry, and a solid floor is much safer, not to mention easier to keep clean.

I'm an idiot I thought you were talking about the floor to the room Yeah no... those grate cage floors are horrible and can also cause bumble foot.

 

[tunes]

Congratulations!!!

 

[Amethyst]

I got Pikachu moved over to the ferret nation cage this evening. I'll add more perches later when they are processed, along with a few other things. So far he seemed excited to explore the new cage, he just doesn't understand the wheel but hopefully he'll figure it out. Also I didn't put his hanging hide in because he chewed up the inside of it, I'm hoping since it's a whole new cage to him he wont get mad that it's gone. Possibly wishful thinking though, and I haven't thrown his hanging house away yet, just in case. I may need to see if I can repair it and make it safe somehow or make a new one.

 

[Lissy]

It looks FANTASTIC!

 

[Cole1987]

I got Pikachu moved over to the ferret nation cage this evening. I'll add more perches later when they are processed, along with a few other things. So far he seemed excited to explore the new cage, he just doesn't understand the wheel but hopefully he'll figure it out. Also I didn't put his hanging hide in because he chewed up the inside of it, I'm hoping since it's a whole new cage to him he wont get mad that it's gone. Possibly wishful thinking though, and I haven't thrown his hanging house away yet, just in case. I may need to see if I can repair it and make it safe somehow or make a new one.

View attachment 22288

 

[Cole1987]

Congratulations on your new addition . Out of curiosity where did you get the wood bridge toy and the hanging wood toy in the top left of his cage?

 

[Amethyst]

Congratulations on your new addition . Out of curiosity where did you get the wood bridge toy and the hanging wood toy in the top left of his cage?

The bridge is the Living World Treehouse logs, I got at a pet store.


The hanging toy is one I put together using a mix of wood from my property and wood I got from an online chinchilla vendor here in Canada and a refillable bird toy skewer I bought from an online bird store https://www.thingsforwings.ca (Canadian store as well). You can get the skewers in the bird section of pet stores though, as well as on Amazon, they come in all different sizes. There are several chinchilla supply vendors (https://rondaschins.com/ for example in the US) sell toy parts including the pre-drilled wood "twirlies" and "coins" I used to make that toy.

 

[Cole1987]

Awesome. Thanks