New member from the desert

[DesertChin]

Hi all….Just joined this community hoping to find good information on my new project in life: Chinchilla ownership.
I am actually “jumping the gun” a bit, and am planning to get my chin from a very experienced breeder in September, or October, as she will have more chinchillas to choose from when show season starts. I have had many animals, but have zero experience with chinchillas. Hoping, to do this “right”.

 

[Amethyst]

Welcome, and it's great that you are doing research before getting a chin, way too many people get a chin then have to scrabble to provide correct care. One big thing is there is a ton of misinformation out there about chinchillas, so when researching info, try to keep in mind if things being suggested make sense. Also feel free to ask questions if you are unsure of something.

For example one very common misconception regarding diet, chins are from a dry climate with a natural diet of mostly dried herbs and grasses, does it really make sense to give them things like fruits and veggies? Here is a good rundown of a study of the natural diet of chins. https://www.chincare.com/what-do-wild-chinchillas-eat-research/ The idea of giving chins fruits and veggies is outdated info from when chins first hit the pet market several decades ago and people assumed chins are like rabbits and guinea pigs. A chin's diet really only needs to be a good quality pellet only food, hay, and water. They can have treats too, but they should be limited to mostly just certain herbs and flowers that they can actually properly digest. Sadly even many vets still lump chinchillas in with rabbits and guinea pigs since they don't learn much in vet school.

That brings me to my next important advise, find a vet that can and will treat chinchillas now. Not all vets will even see chinchillas let alone know how to treat chinchillas. Ideally also find the closest place that will see them after hours in emergencies as well, in addition to your regular vet just in case.

 

[DesertChin]

Thanks for all of the information. Your comments are very useful. To make friends with a chinchilla can I offer a small rose petal (fresh)? My roses are not sprayed, or treated, with ANYTHING.

 

[Amethyst]

You don't want to give any thing fresh, it can upset their gut, but dried rose petals are a great treat. Just keep in mind treats should be just that, treats, not too many and only a few times a week. Since a chin's stomach is only about the size of the tip of your pinky finger, or roughly 1/8 ts when empty, I go by that to gauge treat size/amount at a time. If you let the roses go and form rose hips those are also a good treat and popular treat among chins, once dried, some like them whole but others prefer you take the seeds out.

 

[DesertChin]

Thanks for your further comments. I have read online that “fresh anything” is not good for chins. Good to get a confirmation (I don’t believe a lot of stuff posted on the WWW).