please answer ASAP

[Claire D]

My chin enjoys going places. I don't know if it's because I don't believe in cages and he has free to roam so he's more tame or what. Out of my three chins he has the most personality and is quite unusual. He has been out and about in his carrying case many times before, i'm not worried about him being stressed over it he likes it.

You know this how exactly? He likes it - how do you know?
This is anthropomorphic garbage. You are putting human emotions onto your chinchilla and it is totally unfair on him.

Also, he is a crepuscular prey animal, not a dog - he does not need to be taken for a walk especially during the day when he should be asleep.

He would be more stressed if I went on this hike and left him her alone for a few hours, honestly he get's mad at me when i'm not around for a while.

More anthropomorphic nonsense.

I did think over you advice that I didn't even ask for. I said thank you for your help, but all I wanted to know was about temperature. My chin comes with me everywhere, and believe me he is not stressed. I know he's not a little person in a fur coat or a cat or dog. That's why I joined the CHINCHILLA forum.

Do you know why people have bothered to respond to your posts in this thread even though they know you are not listening?
It's because this is a chinchilla forum - because we care about the health, welfare, and treatment of chinchillas.
If you know he's not a small person and you know he's not a dog then stop treating him like he is! Treat him like a chinchilla - no walks outside because you think it's fun for him.

 

[Sesame]

I was under the impression that the ideal temperature range for chins was around 55 to high 60s, 70 degrees at the utmost max.

I wouldn't feel very comfortable with my chin being in 44 degrees. Also, if there is windchill, sunlight/lack of sun, humidity, etc., that also affects the temperature.

 

[Tanya]

I think that sudden temperature change is very dangerous and your chin can get sick.

 

[Jen and the Hooligans]

KennyFace there are certain things that the vast majority of the many people on the forum are going to agree on....No unnecessary trips outdoors, no snack shaks, no visiting with critters of a different species,..etc. etc. It wasn't too long ago that I was new to chins and had to open my mind and fix my mistakes. Nobody judges when someone makes a mistake, realizes it and tries to remedy the situation. Just something to think about.

 

[TheNobleFight]

Hold on for a minute...:hmm:
I know you just cant wait to throw another abridged Yale dictionary at this girl Claire, but what she is saying sort of makes sense... In a crazy crackhead, Andy Warhol sort of way.

I got it!!! You understand chinchillas!

You have no idea how long we have been waiting for you to show up.
If you would please post your phone number... I would love if you could talk to my Dexter, and find out why he humps his brother and throws his toys out of the cage. :hilarious:

 

[AZChins]

I can tell you why Dexter does that...

He has a screw loose somewhere in his little head.

Seriously, it isn't even about the temperature, Kennyface. Think about what it is like to be carried around in a carrier...it's pretty bouncy and it makes the chins nervous enough just with that. Coupled with being outside, which is out of the chin's comfort zone, it can be very stressful. Have someone put you in a big box with some open air holes and take you through a place that you are instinctively terrified of and see how unstressed you are.

This is ridiculous. Why did you even ask if you weren't going to listen to people? You asked about temperature, but you also mentioned WHY. In the future maybe you should be more vague so that you don't get answers that you don't want to hear.

 

[TheNobleFight]

I can tell you why Dexter does that...

He has a screw loose somewhere in his little head.

Nobody asked you crazy chin lady! LOL :tease:

Just because you eat their food... Does not make you psychic. :rofl:

 

[AZChins]

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Great job...we're totally off topic now.

 

[Claire D]

Hold on for a minute...:hmm:
I know you just cant wait to throw another abridged Yale dictionary at this girl Claire,

Unabridged Cambridge or Oxford Dictionary my dear boy. One is British after all.

 

[TheNobleFight]

I know Claire.... Honestly, I wanted to see if you would take the time to correct that.

 

[AZChins]

LOL Zinnnnnng!

I was thinking the same thing... Maybe Yale has a dictionary? I must look it up! hehehehe

http://www.amazon.com/Yale-Dictionary-Artists-Nota-Bene/dp/0300064586

That IS a dictionary.

 

[Claire D]

I know Claire.... Honestly, I wanted to see if you would take the time to correct that.

But of course - I am on this forum to educate. :neener:
I have taught the Mods & Admins lots of useful British words. :laughitup:

 

[tunes]

So, yes, 44 degrees is too cold. It would be very hard for him to regulate his body temperature as you bounce and jounce and swing him all over the place.

Kennyface, was it not you who commented how mean it was for a chin to have it's whiskers clipped? You know that little about chinchillas, and yet you are going to get snappy and throw good advice back into the faces of the people trying to help your chin.

I would never willingly allow my chinchillas to have free range in my home because I don't believe in cages. If you don't believe in cages, take your chin to the Andes mountains and set him free. Because trust me, they don't have carpet, furniture, or carriers in the Andes. They aren't forced to live indoors and dust in a little box. They have the entire world to roam in.

What we as owners should be offering them is a safe place to live, a good diet, and proper care. Proper care includes not dragging your chin around like a dog on hikes and such. What would you do if the carrier happened to open? Do you think you have a chance of catching a loose chins on a hike? Do you think that chin would survive in the wild if it got loose?

The members of this forum care about chins, not so much about the chins owners feelings. You'll get over it if you get your feelings hurt or feel like you were talked to in an inappropriate way. Your chin, however, doesn't get a do over if you hurt him through ignorance and an unwillingness to listen and learn.

 

[TheNobleFight]

Well.... Allow me to add "Self Professed Cotton Headed Ninny Muggin" to that list.

 

[Sugarmama]

Taking chins outdoors puts a terrible strain on chinchillas.

They are prey animals. That means almost all other animals consider them food. So when they are taken outside, they are bombarded with all sorts of unknown sounds and smells. A chinchilla views all of these as threats.

The entire time they are out there, they will feel vulnerable to attack. This is an extremely stressful situation to put your chin in. And this will lower the immune system's ability to fight off illness.

I'm sorry, but this is a very unwise situation to place your chin in. You are receiving very valuable information from experienced chin owners, and choosing to disregard it is a very foolish decision.

 

[Luci]

i agree 100% with tunes. and with everyone else for that matter.

and sugarmama brings up an amazing point that i dont think has any real counter-argument. your chin is a prey animal. maybe you can contain your chin, maybe you can "make him happy", but can you control other animals?

when you say hike, i picture woody areas...unpaved trails...tree roots growing above ground. why on earth would anyone even carry a carrier while going on a hike like this? im not much of an outdoorsy person but i think i'd like to have both of my hands free if i need to hold onto something or to prevent me from falling. chin carrier in hand + falling = not a good situation for either of you. so why risk it?
or maybe this "hike" is in a city park. people also love to walk their dogs in city parks. i think everyone knows where im going with this.

people on this forum do not answer questions in rude ways, but once you take our advice and say "we'll be on our way", youre on your own. im pretty sure your chin will be just fine without a new scenery. this situation is clearly for your own benefit, not his.

and lastly, get that chin a cage. its unfair to expose them to harm like this. no amount of chin-proofing a room will guarantee that safety is priority. you seem to be a very carefree owner who wants animals to live as they do in the wild, without confinement. but its inevitable that you will be gone at times, umm school? in those instances, anything can go wrong. and its better to be safe than sorry.

 

[NOLA Chins]

I agree with what has been said. However a very minor point: I have chins that love to sit on a window ledge and watch outside, and one who loves to go out on the porch with me holding him- weather permitting. Our chins go on car trips to the vets and spend several days in the car during evacuations and none have shown any cause for alarm. A lot depends on what a chin is used to.

But hikes and free-ranging? I would advise against it, too, for what it's worth.

 

[Claire D]

Agreed - chins do not necessarily get unduly distressed by being in the car or at shows etc.
The key difference here, though, is whether the chins "enjoy" being take out for walks - the OP insists that her chin enjoys being carted about on hikes and is based on attributing human emotions to the animal (totally different to a chin who sits on the window ledge looking out).

 

[shuboyje]

Yes 44 is too cold. Far too cold....that's my answer and I'm sticking too it

 

[Carol~Anne]

It's all been covered already but even if your chin doesn't mind being lugged around then 44F is still WAY too cold for them especially at such a sudden drop in temperature. Leave your chin at home and go enjoy your hike without him; he'll look forward to visiting with you when you return.