New owner questions! :)

[Melissa123]

I just got my ferret nation cage today and the girls are in it. I can't wait to see them both come out of their shell!

I do have a few new owner questions if you all do not mind me asking!

1) What do you have in your chinchilla medical kit? I already have a huge guinea pig medical kit but I do know chins require different things as well.

2) How often do you let your chins have a dust bath? I've read way too many answers that I am now confused. 2-3/week is what I am thinking..

3) What way worked best for your chinchillas when it came to taming them and feeling comfortable with your presence? I know it will take time, and I am perfectly fine with that. I just do not want to go too fast or too slow. Judging by how the mama acts, her last home was NOT the best..

4) What treats do you feed and how often? I have been giving one shredded mini wheat twice a day, along with unlimited pellets and hay.

5) Water- What type do you all personally use? I have been using distilled- they seem to like it so far.


Thanks all for who replies. Truly appreciate it! Any and all info you would like to share with me would be awesome as well! I've been reading up on things but I still haven't even cracked the surface on these cute girls!

 

[Stackie]

1) I have blu-kote, infant's simethicone, critical care, a feeding syringe, Life Line, activated charcoal, and acidophilus that I keep on hand.

2) They take baths 2-3 times a week. Sometimes even once a week when the humidity is really low in the winter.

3) For really skittish ones I spend time sitting by the cage and just letting them watch me. Then I sit my hand in the cage with a bit of oats or rose hips in my palm and let them come to me. Once they are comfortable approaching my hand and eating the treats, they will usually hop into your hand. I scoop them up and get them used to the feeling of being picked up as much as possible.

4) I'm not a big treat person at all. My chins get different types of hay to keep it interesting (2nd & 3rd cut timothy, blue grass, orchard, oat). I also give them a handful of apple twigs every night which they love just as much as edible treats. In the rare instance I give a treat, I give them a pinch of oats or rose hips.

5)I use a PUR 3 stage filter to filter my tap water before the chins get it.

 

[kenko]

I'm sorry if this is wrong, but I think I read somewhere on this forum that because distilled water has had all minerals removed from it, it's not a great water for pets. I may be mistaken though...can anyone confirm this?

 

[Melissa123]

I'm sorry if this is wrong, but I think I read somewhere on this forum that because distilled water has had all minerals removed from it, it's not a great water for pets. I may be mistaken though...can anyone confirm this?

That is the reason I was told to use distilled water. I have read distilled or filtered is the best way to go for chinchilla.

Anyone have something to add to this??

 

[Pikaia]

Yeah. I wouldn't use distilled water. You can get reverse osmosis water from many grocery stores/gas stations and that is good. I used to give my chins that until I got a pur filter for my faucet. The chins drink more water now than before, so they must like it. You can get the pitchers too. Just make sure it is a Pur and not Brita. Only Pur filters out Guardia.

 

[becky12883]

Distilled and filtered are two very different types of water. Distilled water tastes terrible, like if you boil water then cool it off and drink it. Most grocery stores and Wal-mart carry reverse osmosis (R/O) water in a gallon.
As far as the treats they should have one every 2 days not 2 a day. They have tiny tummies and if they fill up on treats they'll eat less of their nutrient dense pellets. I made "cookies" out of hay, and have bought some from people on the forum in the past. My boys also like a variety of hays for a treat. Their absolute favorite is apple sticks though, they each get 3 a night and they go nuts for them.

 

[seachin]

Distilled water is for chemistry experiments and steam irons. Not for human or chin consumption. The above reasons are accurate....the reason it is bad for people is because there are no minerals in the water, the distilled water can actually remove certain minerals from your body to balance out the gradient (remember back to osmosis/diffusion in biology class....minerals diffuse from a high concentration to a low concentration to reach equilibrium). Most would agree that removing minerals from your body is not a good thing. Stick with reverse osmosis water or water put through a good undercounter filter (or some other filter that removes most impurities and most importantly giardia and cryptosporidium. Most agree Brita filters are inadequate but I have heard Pur works, but have not tried it myself.