Preparing for a Chin

[lynnengreatdanes]

Howdy everyone! Hopefully you all can bear with me as I have OODLES of questions regarding chins, and despite buying a few books and lots of web research I would feel better getting info from people who actually own chins
I went out and bought supplies today, a welcome home multi level chin/ferret cage by superpet, dust for bathing, dust bowl, glass watering bottle, 2 little nesting boxes labeled for chins, a lava swing ( thought this was cute! ) timothy hay, some feed by mazuri, and a few chews. I also have a heavy small pet crock pot for food and one for hay since I saw that it may be easier to feed hay in small portions in bowls?
Most of my concern is cage placement. I dont want to scare the poor baby with the noise of household activity yet hate the idea of banishing him or her to the bedroom ( thankfully the cage is on wheels so I can move it, once hubby puts it together that is! ) is there an optimal place to put it so that my little one can be part of the family yet not too upset ? would a small animal enclosure for play work for outside the cage time or would just gating off a room be the best? as for those giant plastic wheels that go outside the cage, typically do chins like them? can I buy soft bedding and that fleecy stuff I see for small pets to add to the nesting box or should I just leave it at Carefresh on the bottom of the cage?
Thanks sooo much in advance, Im sure I will have a million more questions when I bring my baby home next weekend!

 

[CerLynn]

Welcome! And kudos for doing all the research ahead of time!

For placement, it depends how noisy/busy the area is. They certainly don't mind some noise - especially consistent noises like a TV or music... even vacuuming is fine with most. It's the sudden loud noises that can scare them... so if your living room etc isn't going to be subject to random crashes or explosions, you're probably fine )

For playtime, there are several options. A lot of people just take their chins into the bathroom, where there generally aren't any electrical cords or anything dangerous to chew on. You can also either gate off a room/hallway, or get a playpen to set up in the middle of a room. Either way, just make sure it's chin proof... and no matter where you do it, they'll need to be supervised the whole time (but that's the fun part!)

Not sure what you mean by giant wheels. If you're referring to the run-around balls, those are very dangerous for chins - they can overheat very easily and it doesn't let them hop around naturally. As far as an exercise wheel, your best bet is either a Flying Saucer or a Chin Spin - both great products. Don't get the nesting material either - that will only be an ingestion hazard. We use Carefresh as well, and they're perfectly happy with it. One thing to watch for with the Carefresh though - some chins seem to think it's food rather than bedding, so if you notice they're trying to ingest a fair amount of it (a few nibbles are fine, but actual eating is not), you might need to switch to either shavings or fleece liners.

Good luck with your new chinnie and feel free to ask any other questions you have! )

 

[addictedtochins]

Welcome to CnH, glad you're here. My chins are in a north east corner of the living room where they are out of direct sunlight. Do you know about keeping them cool with air cond? So have you found your chin? It is always a good idea to get one from a rescue or a good chin breeder rather than a pet store. You should consider getting a same sex pair.

 

[alli713]

Welcome to CnH and glad you decided to read up about them online versus buying outdated books!

I agree with what has been said, I've had mine in my living room and there were no issues. Granted I don't have kids or anything, but they've lived through the tv, vacuuming etc and some people even have had chins around loud birds, so really they aren't that fragile, they just adapt to the noise.

I agree no extra fluffy bedding type things for the houses, chins will eat it and it can cause an impaction. And like stated, watch out for your chin eating carefresh. I use kiln dried pine bedding since it's cheaper and is safer in most cases.

Good choice on the Mazuri, you want feed with no treats! )

No on the plastic wheel in either case, you need a wheel with atleast a 15" running diameter so as not to hurt their backs. No plastic wheel is large enough. And chins like to chew apart plastic.

And another thing to watch with your cage.. I assume it has a plastic bottom? Some chins can and will chew a hole through that plastic and escape. So if you see any chew marks starting to wear through the plastic, get a different (all wire) cage.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

You've already gotten some great advice, I just want to add that the Flying Saucer that was mentioned is NOT the plastic one at pet stores.

Quality Cage is the best place to get a nice wheel that will last the lifetime of your pet. Here's the direct link to the proper size Chin Spin: http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_143_144&products_id=1802
and a flying saucer can be found here:
http://www.chinworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?store_code=CW&screen=PROD&product_code=CW030010

Have a quick read through my website www.petchinchillas.info and it will probably answer most of your questions, and help you feel that much more prepared.

Congratulations!

 

[lynnengreatdanes]

Thanks so much! Im looking for chin breeders and rescues in my area but not having much luck ( I am near Cincy Ohio if anyone knows of a rescue near here? I havent even found any on petfinder.. )
I was thinking of placing the cage in the kitchen where its calmer and cooler, and there is a perfect spot there right where the kitchen meets the living room where the cage will be closed in on 3 sides so as to hopefully help keep our chiny feel secure. we have central air and my husband likes it COLD ( around 67 ) so Im sure the climate will be ok temperature wise .
Yes I did get a cage with a plastic bottom, thanks for that suggestion to watch for chewing!! I was just thinking of the poor baby getting feet stuck in the wires so I steered away from wire cages.
as for wheels, I was wondering about those runabout balls. I dont really like them so I think I will just steer clear . I havent picked out a nice cage wheel yet though *ponders* Just havent seen any I like. and thanks again soo much on the anti plastic heads up! I read that chins might chew plastic water bottles, bowls etc so I had gotten all glass and ceramics but didnt even stop to think, hey, wheel! *DUR* lol.
EEP on carefresh being eaten, I didnt even stop to consider that! I just know I have my daugthers GP Pepper with carefresh and it seems to work very very well so I had jumped and assumed that carefresh would be great for chins too.. hmm.. I will have to keep an eye on teh baby, not that I mind

 

[alli713]

I know Cleveland is a ways from Cincinnati, but Carise of ForCHINate Chins runs a chinchilla rescue, and she was just saying how she is over full right now, that she has a wait list to get in and can't take them all.
You may want to try emailing her and see if you can work something out, or if she knows of any chins in your area looking for a new home.
http://www.geocities.com/forchinatechins/

 

[lynnengreatdanes]

thanks sooo much alli! I will email her and see if she would mind homing a chin to a *very* inexperienced but eager new mommy

 

[Nancy S]

Hello! and Welcome! Very good you're researching info "first" before getting your new baby. With the books; just enjoy the cute pics---get all your pet care info right here! Get a wheel from Quality Cage.com--then you won't have to buy two. I have a chewer that i had to get rid of all the plastic in the cage/wheel etc., ..Also, Lynne, you won't be inexperienced for long...Once you know you want one---right around the corner. Be sure to read--"new owner mistakes" post! Good Luck--keep us posted...

 

[shubbles]

Yeah unless you work at home and are a stereo tester for heavy metal music and stationed in the same room as the chin, he or she will be fine. my chin whenever i vaccuum runs up to a specific shelf and watches me. Obviously they are nocturnal so most of the time, unless as i said work at home, will be away from home and it will have a peaceful sleep.

 

[Bethany2386]

I have my three boys in the living room. They are perfectly fine with us being there or the t.v. etc... They are used to the schedule of my husband and I by now. We both work during the day, so they are able to sleep whenever they want. Also, I use kiln dried pine shavings for my chins. It's rather inexpensive. One thing with the carefresh bedding, I know that they have the scented kind... Those are not good for the chins. The plain non-scented kind is alright though. Also, Carise makes wheels. Hers are more noisey than a flying saucer, but I have one that would be like hers and I don't mind it. Also, anything you buy from her goes back to the rescue. She is very kind and helpful. I know that she would help you with anything that you needed. Good luck and good job on doing research before getting a chin.

 

[brittiny]

I have the same cage as you (the tall ferret one from superpet?) and I'd watch for the shelves. My first chin didn't chew plastic, but the second one started to so I looked around on the sites from the people on the forum for wooden shelves. I even had some custom made. They're amazing.

I also just ordered a new house for my chins, because chins will destroy those hidey huts from the pet store. It's dangerous because they use nails in them and that can chip a chins tooth.

Just something to think about.

 

[schweppes]

I have a superpet, but I'm saving up for a ferret nation, too bad the car repairs have to come first.

My girls started chewing on the ramps before I knew that they didn't even need them, but they leave the shelves and the base alone so I haven't had the need to replace the shelves in it.

 

[starleomach]

Ohio has a lot of breeders. Shoots, Ryerson, Lange, Hummel, Ritterspach are some of the Ohio breeders that are not on the forum. You can look them up on mutationchinchillas.com

 

[alpayton]

Ummm....guys? This thread is from June.