Placing a Chinchilla

[kiltbunny]

I've recently begun trying to find an appropriate home for the chinchilla I took in from my local animal shelter. Her and Tifa just will NOT get along and they can't even exist in a room together (yes, opposite sides, corners whatever). Two months of spraying and kekking and not eating aren't much fun. I keep a blanket tossed over one cage to keep them from seeing each other. Unfortunately, moving one to another room isn't feasable because I own cats.

I don't think it's fair to make them live like that when Nova could be someone's little sweetheart. She loves to be picked up and cuddled and is super sweet.

Georgia/Atlanta is not the chinchilla capital of the world. No one I know personally wants a chin. I posted an ad on craiglist and some of the reponses I've received are... well, crazy. One lady let me know she had a large rabbit hutch and a rabbit and that the chin and rabbit would live together in the hutch. Another has a puppy, a kitten and ferretS. One girl just left for college and wants a "dorm room" pet. Another wanted to know if she was in "good breeding shape".

I'm offering her free (with her cage, supplies) to the RIGHT home. I'm not on a timeframe for rehoming her. It has to be her forever home. She deserves that. I'm vetting thoroughly (no small kids, no predatory pets, exotics/chin experience preferred, home check). If anyone knows anyone in my area looking for a sweet fuzzbutt, send me a pm.

How anyone who rescues chins on the regular can find proper homes amazes me.

 

[greychins]

While you definitely have the right idea... I think some of your "vetting thoroughly" might scare people off and somewhat limit your potential homes. As a rescue, we have a care packet the home needs to read and an adoption form they need to fill out - and we have a hard time getting people to do that. Often times we email the adoption form... and never hear back. But we don't require a home check, they can have other pets, and they don't have to have chin experience (cause after all, they have to read our packet on chin care).

Obviously, you care about your chin and want the chin to go to a great home, but I think some of your criteria... no small kids, no predatory pets, chin experience preferred, and most especially the home check... frighten people off. If I didn't adopt to people with predatory pets or small kids... well, I think I'd have most of my rescues from the past 9 years still. A lot of people own dogs/cats/predatory pets, or have kids. A lot of people want a chin... who've never had one but are willing to learn. The grand majority of people who we adopt out chins to have never had one before.

Don't get me wrong --I mean you absolutely no offense, I'm not criticizing you or anything, I'm just saying that IMO, you are so significantly limiting who can adopt...that with that kind of criteria, it will take you awhile to find a home like that. Granted, once you do, the chin will probably be cared for awesome-ly... I just think it's going to take awhile.

Good luck. )

 

[Brittany]

Yeah, not alot of forum members from Georgia. There is a great rescue in Jacksonville, FL. It's run by one of our forum members, Essentia, maybe she can help you out?

 

[squeaker123]

Even if they fit the other criteria (no small kids, no predatory pets, chin experience preferred) I could see them staying away because of the home check. I wouldn't want some random stranger from Craigslist inspecting my home and I know a lot of people who would feel the same.

Maybe if you do contact that rescue in Jacksonville you'll get more luck since you would be more "legit". Good luck!

 

[momenteller]

Agreed with what Greychins said above. I have small children, a dog and a cat, yet I am on this forum constantly, have invested probably thousands in the chins, and they receive excellent care.

 

[kiltbunny]

Just based on having this chin for some time, she cannot handle the stresses of other animals. Maybe she would get used to them, but she hasn't so far? Small kids just seems standard with a chinchilla. I can't imagine letting her go to a home with a mob of toddlers who might injure her.

Oh, by home check I mean that I need to deliver her to confirm they have what they say- not just meet someone in the grocery parking lot and they take her. If they say they have a home/apartment, I just want to make sure they aren't in a college dorm. I wouldn't dare want to go into someone's home and peek around. lol!

I guess I'm being too strict, but I worry for her. I want to make sure where ever she goes is her LAST home.

 

[EMSChins]

When placing a rescue you would like to know that for sure you have placed them in a good home but to want to know that you have placed her in her "last home" is probably asking a bit much. After all, you probably thought that your home was her "last home" and how did that turn out? I'm just saying... there are all kinds of excuses or reasons for re-homing a chinchilla.

I have just recently taken/bought back two chinchillas that I bred, along with the orphaned offspring of one of them after the owner had a terrible mishap thinking they wanted to breed. I now have three chins that I didn't anticipate and am hand feeding one of them. Ultimately when you take a chinchilla in - the responsibility now lies with you. Not trying to be mean but it is a fact and there are never any guarantes that two chinchillas will get along. Even bonded chins can turn on one another at any time.

 

[kiltbunny]

Oh, so it makes more sense, I didn't go out and actively find her. I was actually looking at adopting another chin from a rescue after we had to put down our chin. My vet called me after the shelter contacted them because they had some "strange animal" dropped off that matched a chinchilla description. Apparently I'm the only chin owner they know of. I ended up with mystery chin who turned out to be a female. I'd love to keep her, but her and my other chin can't co-exist in the same bedroom and I honestly think she would be happier in a single-chin home with an experienced chinchilla owner. She craves one-on-one attention.

 

[fbodgrl]

I just wanted to add that just because a home has other pets it doesn't mean the other pets will have any interaction with the Chin. I have had Maci since May and she is kept in a closed rooms. My cats and dog don't see her, go in there, etc. While I do hope that over time I can have the door open when I am there to supervise at some point. I also wouldn't have an issue with having the door shut 24/7.

 

[rem]

My cats have seen my chins, however they aren't allowed to interact with them. I agree with you that placing the chin with the one possible owner who was going to put it inside the same den as a rabbit would have been a horrible idea.

Good luck with finding a good home. I know it can be difficult to make the decision to re-home a fuzzy one.

 

[Chin_Parent]

I think that in most of the situations you brought up (dorm room girl--which many dorms don't have air conditioning or it's not something she can adjust, and beyond that I doubt chins or other pets are even allowed in the dorm, person who wants to breed, person who wants to house the chin in a rabbit hutch) aren't good situations for the chin, and I think it's good to weed through those and say no when it doesn't feel right, especially when you're rehoming her for free. I'm currently rehoming my cat (she's jealous of our small pets, and lets us know by peeing constantly on the bed...I think she literally stares down the rat and chin cages when they get new stuff) and I'm picky and have several stipulations about her home. Of course you can never trully know how someone is going to treat her once they have her, but you can only hope that you can educate them or find someone with experience who is going to give her a great home.

 

[SarahKay]

I do agree that cutting out predatory pets might not be fair if the chinchillas are kept in a separate room. Right now my chinchillas are living in the basement for the summer (temperature is more easily regulated) and when it cools off, they'll be in my room. I have two dogs that love to stalk but the room where the chinchillas are is always closed off well. It's easy to keep cats and dogs away from chinchillas as long as the room that the chinchilla lives in stays closed off. I think a house with young kids might be okay as well as long as the pet was not for those small kids. For example, I was once told by a cashier at target that her daughter likes to walk their chinchilla outside on a ferret leash. I don't think that young children can know how to properly care for a chinchilla but if it's mommy or daddy's pet that the kids are allowed to gawk at in amazement, I would think it would be okay. What would matter most to me is that the person who gets the chinchilla is going to love it, care for it, and learn the most they can about it. Good luck and happy re-homing!

 

[Duhh001]

My cat interact with my Chin, no problems. The cat is more afraid of the Chin than the other way around.
My opinion is many "Rescue" places put down many animals that could go to loving homes due to some of the requirements read like a Mortgage loan statement. I'm not signing my life away and jumping thru hoops because someone can't emotionally let go of their animals.
Also, when I got my Chin, I had zero experience. With just a little research, he's living the good life. It's not that difficult. It sounds like your environment is worse than some of the alternatives if you don't alienate everyone.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

Duhh001- Cats and chinchillas should never mix. 1) Cats are hunter, chins are prey. No matter how trained, scared, or lazy your cat is you can never completely change their nature; they will always have a wild side and that side may show randomly. 2) Cats carry a bacteria (can't remember the name right this moment) that doesn't harm them or us but is deadly to chinchillas. Just because the cat hasn't passed the bacteria doesn't mean it wont. To me this is a matter of when not if. Plus you said your cat is afraid of your chin, what if it feels threatened and the cat scratches your chinchilla? You have a chance of the bacteria being passed, and a wound you now have to take care of. If the scratch is at a place like the face then it might require a vet visit which will cost you your money, time, and not to mention stress to the chinchilla.
I'm not familiar with any chinchilla rescues that put their animals down; that would kinda go against what they are trying to do. (give the chinchillas a second chance at a loving home.) Are you talking about a ASPCA kinda place? The morgage loan statement kinda makes sense to me because they just want to check and make sure you can afford the animal you are taking in. You don't have to sign your life away just prove you can take on the responsability of pet ownership. And it's not that they can't "emotionally let go of their animals." it's that they want them taken care of properly and loved. I don't feel thats too much to ask and personally I would be surprised if the old owner wasn't worried and asking a lot of animals; it means they care. And what are you talking about when you say her "environment is worse than some of the alternatives?" Sounds like she takes good care of her animals to me. So what if she can't spend a lot of extra time with them? Most breeders dont have that much time either and their animals are happy and healthy. To the OP- good luck! Letting go of a pet is a hard decision.

 

[greychins]

I'm not familiar with any chinchilla rescues that put their animals down; that would kinda go against what they are trying to do. (give the chinchillas a second chance at a loving home.) Are you talking about a ASPCA kinda place? The morgage loan statement kinda makes sense to me because they just want to check and make sure you can afford the animal you are taking in. You don't have to sign your life away just prove you can take on the responsability of pet ownership. And it's not that they can't "emotionally let go of their animals." it's that they want them taken care of properly and loved. I don't feel thats too much to ask and personally I would be surprised if the old owner wasn't worried and asking a lot of animals; it means they care. And what are you talking about when you say her "environment is worse than some of the alternatives?" Sounds like she takes good care of her animals to me. So what if she can't spend a lot of extra time with them? Most breeders dont have that much time either and their animals are happy and healthy. To the OP- good luck! Letting go of a pet is a hard decision.

:clap: You said it all, but I wanted to add a bit...

We rescue here and we've never (yet) put down an animal. In the event we will ever have to, it will be for medical/health reasons, not because the animal is unable to find a home. If they have to stay here years, then they stay here years. Some of our rescues are actually sanctuary chins because of their medical/other issues - they will never leave. And that's fine, they'll just live out their lives here. Same goes for all the people I know who run chinchilla rescues.

I really agree with everything that was said here, but there really are people who do feel like they're signing their lives away to a rescue. But you know, as said above.... we just want to make sure the chin is in a good home. We require they fill out an adoption form, which asks what they will feed (pellets) and where they plan to keep the cage and what safe treats are... I've had people tell me that it's none of my business what they feed their chin. If they get their chin elsewhere, then no, it's really not. However, if we're talking about that person wanting to adopt one of MY rescue chins.... well if it's none of my business what MY current rescue chin is going to be fed in the future, then that person is not going to be adopting MY rescue chin.

I get the idea that some people just don't want to mess with writing out forms and would rather hand over the cash and get handed the chinchilla - but we (and all rescues) do what they do because it helps ensure that our chins end up in good homes. Without that... who knows what the chins might be fed or how they might be housed? Yes, I realize that people can lie - everyone could be humoring me and putting down the answers I want to see on my forms - however, at least HAVING the forms and the "hoops" to jump through, as it was so put, requires the person to at least think about what they're going to do regarding their chin. If it's too much to ask to write down a few answers on an adoption form, then that makes me wonder, for those same people, is it too much to take the chin to the vet? Too much to ask for the cage to be cleaned when needed?

 

[squeaker123]

Isn't the mortgage loan just to prove you own a house? Same concept as asking for the lease if you rent to make sure animals are ok.

 

[Duhh001]

My point was that the OP might be passing up on many good homes for her Chin because most people don't want to feel people are being too intrusive in their lives just to help out an animal.
Why would people want to go thru all the headache feeling like a criminal having to prove yourself to strangers, when for less cost or effort you can simply buy a pet without all the trouble.
Yes, I know we all love our animals and want the best for them. I just think asking people to let strangers in their houses for inspections and requiring personal information scares off many good homes.

 

[ticklechin]

My point was that the OP might be passing up on many good homes for her Chin because most people don't want to feel people are being too intrusive in their lives just to help out an animal.
Why would people want to go thru all the headache feeling like a criminal having to prove yourself to strangers, when for less cost or effort you can simply buy a pet without all the trouble.
Yes, I know we all love our animals and want the best for them. I just think asking people to let strangers in their houses for inspections and requiring personal information scares off many good homes.

I agree 100%.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Signing forms and screening does not ensure good homes. If you've been around long enough and had chins come back to you in a round-a-bout way in horrible shape, you realize you have no control once that animal leaves your possession. The only thing all that screening does is scare off potentially good homes and give YOU piece of mind leaving you with the feeling you did something good.

I, personally, will not go through a rescue for any animal. The requirements are ridiculous. Asking me questions is fine, inspecting my backyard for "proper fence height" or the tiniest of holes that the dog could potentially get out of is ridiculous. Yes, people can lie to you but some of the best homes for my chinchillas, foster dogs and foster cats have been found by just trusting people.

 

[Sovay]

I get the idea that some people just don't want to mess with writing out forms and would rather hand over the cash and get handed the chinchilla - but we (and all rescues) do what they do because it helps ensure that our chins end up in good homes. Without that... who knows what the chins might be fed or how they might be housed? Yes, I realize that people can lie - everyone could be humoring me and putting down the answers I want to see on my forms - however, at least HAVING the forms and the "hoops" to jump through, as it was so put, requires the person to at least think about what they're going to do regarding their chin. If it's too much to ask to write down a few answers on an adoption form, then that makes me wonder, for those same people, is it too much to take the chin to the vet? Too much to ask for the cage to be cleaned when needed?

I definitely agree with this. As far as home visits go, I rehomed a few chinchillas and gps back in the day and I asked to do home visits. It wasn't to inspect their home, but more just to meet them and chat with them about the animal's history, requirements, personality, etc. before handing them over. I felt like I got a better gut feeling of whether it was a good home after seeing them in person. Several meetings were in the home, where I got to see the animal's future cage and family as an added bonus. I also had a form, but the questions were posed to get people thinking about the care they would need to give and ' I don't know' was an acceptable answer.