Providence, RI chinchilla help, impending vacation!

[yyou824]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new chinchilla owner. I got Oscar from someone who could no longer care for him just this November, I only attend school in RI but my family lives in Texas and my mom booked my flight home back in September. I've need some advice about what would be best for Oscar when I go away on my trip.

My roommate can take him but she lives in MA and also has a terrior (who is very playful and would probably freak oscar out) and he would have to stay in the basement (the coldest area of her house) which is very cluttered.

I was hoping someone lived nearby in Rhode Island and I could pay them to look in on him.

If not some suggestions about a place to board him would be great, preferably with people who are experienced in caring for chins (most of the pet boarding services i found online were mainly for cats and dogs)


thanks for your help in advance!!

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

do you have a vet you could keep him with? when we cant find someone to watch our dogs we find a trusted vet to board them.

 

[Stackie]

If you post your more specific location and how far you are willing to drive to meet/drop him off, there may be some breeders/pet owners/rescues that could care for Oscar while you're away. Several smaller breeders often watch people's chins while they are away. I would leave him with an experienced breeder/owner before resorting to a boarding service.

 

[yyou824]

Im in Providence RI, my roommate lives about an hour away
we could drive 2-3 hours max to nearby MA or Conn but we would prefer RI so the drive could be shorter for him.

 

[yyou824]

Oh and Oscar hasn't needed a vet yet but I do know of two vets in Providence that see exotics, one at Ocean State and one at Cranston Animal Hospital. I could call them to see if they could board him but in that case it would just be better to leave him with my roommate because they would be sure to be boarding lots of other animals as well.

 

[soysauce]

If he hasn't 'needed' a vet visit yet than you should take him. Not only for the fact that you just got him from someone else and probably dont have his medical history, but its also a good chance to get his medical history started and have something to go off of in case he develops further trouble down the line. Not to mention that you will find a chinchilla competent vet in your area now and not in the future when something does go wrong and your scrambling to find a vet. I can speak from experience.

But, yes find someone close to you on the forum a breeder or a rescue that can take care of him and not a kennel. That way if anything goes wrong while you are away someone with a little more chin experience can handle the situation better.

 

[yyou824]

i see, i will go set up a check up for him then.

Actually the whole point of this thread was to find someone nearby competent in chinchilla care to possibly take care of him, I don't know anyone on here yet- this is the 2nd thread I've posted in..

 

[yyou824]

OOps. misread your post, I thought you meant close as in friendly, i reread it and you just mean distance wise- sorry!

 

[rainey]

Soysauce is the cutest name! he should be friends with my chin, Chicken

Anyway, how long do you need your chin taken care of? I live in Boston and know a person here who boards chinchillas specifically for only $5 a day. Would you like her name/number? I'm going away for Christmas too and she's taking care of my babies.

 

[yyou824]

Ahh!

Ahh! stopped checking the boards a couple of days ago so my roommate is taking care of him over break. I would love her contact info for future reference though since she is a professional.


She just left with him, her rats and my hamster, I miss them sooo much already...