PetSmart chinchillas.

[AZChins]

Naw, it's a valid point! The chins get very dirty from the ink. It can make a crisp white bellied chin into what looks like a light ebony in a few days. I don't know what it tastes like. Alecia said something about newspaper mites once that made me really nervous, as well.

 

[corley]

Ill quit being cheap and just start letting him pee in the aspen then... I took the wire bottom out because it's bad for his feet.. so he is just straight up walking on the newspapers, I guess not such a good idea... I bet pine shavings smell a lot better than aspen don't they? Sucks too, because I just bought a huge bag of aspen shavings

 

[AZChins]

The wire is okay for his feet. I use wire floors in my cages...they have the correct spacing. Wire is a problem when the spacing is wrong and the feet can slip through. That cage has the right spacing...the shelves are just not attached well enough and there's that gap all around the edges. The floor is alright to leave in...

Aspen just smells funny to me, but it isn't a bad smell and it's perfectly safe for chins.

 

[tunes]

Aspen smells funny to me too Susan. When I open a bag of pine shavings, it smells really fresh and I like that. Aspen always smelled....dusty maybe? Just different.

 

[corley]

Alright, there's his temporary house for now.. any criticisms, suggests, etc.? He loves his new flying saucer he got 2 days ago, he learned how to do it in under an hour, I was amazed

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Overall, IMO, the set up is okay for now, until you get the new cage that is. The only things I would change are the location ( the outlet in back ) I know my chin can reach through the bars ( I have this exact cage until I get Herby's new one soon ) and likes to explore the outlets ( I have since put the cage on a table ). But other than that, it looks okay. I bet Freddie can not wait for his new home though!

 

[corley]

More like I can't wait for his new home, going to be so much easier to clean, it sucks that I was only able to order a 3 inch tray for it though, seeing as he's probably going to kick all of his bedding out of it.. I'm going to have the bottom tray but not a middle one, just lots of shelves and stuff to prevent long falls.. Also, that outlet is a lot farther than it looks, prolly a good 4 inches, I dont think he could reach it if he tried

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

LOL! I guess in the picture it looks a lot closer. As for the long falls, I know some people have a fleece hammock that runs from the cage's side to the other side, in case the chin should fall. You can find people who make them, on here.

And how did you get him to run on his wheel? I have that exact wheel, and Herby will not run on it, she just sits on it and looks at me like I am an idiot for putting it in her cage.

 

[Mystic]

Congrats on the new chinchilla! He is such a cutie! The cage setup looks good for now. I bet you can't wait to get your ferret nation! Are you going to get the metal bass pans for it to replace the plastic ones?

 

[corley]

Yes Mystic.. I ordered a bottom 3" Bass pan the same day I ordered the FN, 2 days ago... I'm mad though because I guess I ordered from Missouri and supposedly if you ordered from their CA "factory" you can get up to 4", but Missouri only allowed up to 3".. but I didn't find this out until after I ordered them.

 

[musherbob]

petsmart chinchillas

From what I understand Petsmart gets their chins from a reputable wholesaler,who are supplied by some of the larger ranches.Alot of the chins aren't of breeding or show quality or they don't have the cage space so they sell them to wholesaler.Usually when the wholesaler has to fill an order they need chins btwn. 12 & 16 weeks of age.Also they require that the chins meet the weight requirement.This doesn't mean that they are poor quality.Just remember to keep it simple, good feed,hay,&water.Alot of times chin owners will kill their chins with kindness.This is a great place for helpful info.Don't worry about asking to many questions.
Bob

 

[Mystic]

Aw I hate it when that happens. Is it too late to cancel the order?

 

[Wheelz]

I wouldn't buy from Petsmart

Too much money for a std female chin ($150 I think). I can drive the extra mile, go to a breeder, and pay half as much for a better quality animal.

 

[skyesampolski]

actually, each petsmart get their animals from different breeders. i work at a petstore in NJ and i know our local petsmarts get their animals from the same place that we do. i know that the place we get them from is an animal farm that breeds a bunch of different little fuzzy animals. and (at least the petsmarts around here) will NOT take in unwanted animals because bigger animals are harder to sell. unfortunately, we get a decent amount of unwanted animals dropped off at my store (the worst being 4 cats left on our doorstep in a box covered in their own feces, but i wont get into that). i would imagine that your chinchilla is most likely under 6 months, but its hard to say. ive seen baby chinchillas sit in my store for months before being sold.

 

[mishellyshel]

corley--maybe until you get the fn, you can put a small piece of fleece on those wire shelves?? it is a good set up though and freddie is adorable.

 

[TheNobleFight]

Corley.... Its time to channel your "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" power, and sew some liners.
I can do it... But don't tell any one, they might ask me how they look in their dress next. And that's a question you avoid like the plague.

 

[Linda]

actually, each petsmart get their animals from different breeders. i work at a petstore in NJ and i know our local petsmarts get their animals from the same place that we do. i know that the place we get them from is an animal farm that breeds a bunch of different little fuzzy animals.

A few Petsmart do buy from local distributors, but most get animals from the massive Rainbow World facility in Texas. Our California small animals (including chinchillas) get trucked in from Texas even though many are bred in different states and shipped to Texas before getting trucked to California. It's a long, stressful road for these animals and done soon after they're weaned.

Just a couple of years ago, a PETA undercover film hit the national news and was on all of the major networks' evening news. I'm not a PETA fan, but I answer our hamster club e-mail and regularly dealt with the grieving hamster owners who bought Petsmart animals that died within days of purchase and knew there were major problems with the Petsmart distribution facility. The facility is not unlike the facility raided last month in another Texas city (and probably has higher death rates).

Linda

 

[corley]

Corley.... Its time to channel your "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" power, and sew some liners.
I can do it... But don't tell any one, they might ask me how they look in their dress next. And that's a question you avoid like the plague.

Hahaha.. If I wanted liners, I'd buy some from some of the women on here, or well, you.. But I just can not make myself switch to liners, it just seems gross to me for some reason, I just feel like shavings are much cleaner, even though they manage to get all around the cage, I just feel like liners would be too much trouble and would get too smelly too quick.

 

[Aimee & The Chinette's]

Hahaha.. If I wanted liners, I'd buy some from some of the women on here, or well, you.. But I just can not make myself switch to liners, it just seems gross to me for some reason, I just feel like shavings are much cleaner, even though they manage to get all around the cage, I just feel like liners would be too much trouble and would get too smelly too quick.

I MARK your words!! If I have to sew them myself, you WILL end up with liners!! I hate to break it to ya, but SOON you will see...:tease:

 

[tunes]

Please, can we refrain from turning this thread into a PETA flag waving? The majority of folk on this forum think PETA are terrorists and some of us know from first hand experience how biased and "edited" their presentations are, so please, let's not continue this discussion.

Also, once again, this is a thread about chins Linda, not hamsters. Please try and keep it on topic.