Quarantine Questions

[mishellyshel]

So I volunteered to take a few of the chins from rick from the spca/texas thing. I have some extra cages and i have plenty of food and hay and wood and fleece, etc.... And now that i finally have my fiance' trained to help me I have the time to handle it until I can get them into new homes.

So my questions:

1. How far from other chins do these guys need to be? The ones I got from Jill are in my basement (finished with heat/air, even a 2nd kitchen & bathroom). My boys are upstairs. My only option is my gym which is in the basement but a separate room with a door, about 30 feet away. Is that far enough, the door would be closed.

2. That room is cold. probably between 55 - 63. Is that too cold??? I wil make sure there are no drafts this weekend, but the heat is slow to get and stay in there.

3. These will be the first chins I have ever gotten that have not really had any social interaction, any tips. (all other rescues have come from homes)
I am assuming aside from changing water, hay & food that I should leave them be for a bit and maybe just talk to them and put my hand in their cage to clean and see how they react.

feel free to PM me with any advice.

 

[saphire]

So I volunteered to take a few of the chins from rick from the spca/texas thing. I have some extra cages and i have plenty of food and hay and wood and fleece, etc.... And now that i finally have my fiance' trained to help me I have the time to handle it until I can get them into new homes.

So my questions:

1. How far from other chins do these guys need to be? The ones I got from Jill are in my basement (finished with heat/air, even a 2nd kitchen & bathroom). My boys are upstairs. My only option is my gym which is in the basement but a separate room with a door, about 30 feet away. Is that far enough, the door would be closed.
A separate room with closed door is fine. 30 feet away, great. They should be the last to be taken care of when feeding and all. Remember to wash your hands before and after everytime you deal with them.

2. That room is cold. probably between 55 - 63. Is that too cold??? I wil make sure there are no drafts this weekend, but the heat is slow to get and stay in there.
That is a little cold, you might want to bring that up to 65-70

3. These will be the first chins I have ever gotten that have not really had any social interaction, any tips. (all other rescues have come from homes)
I am assuming aside from changing water, hay & food that I should leave them be for a bit and maybe just talk to them and put my hand in their cage to clean and see how they react.
You got it, just give it the time, some will warm up faster than others and some just might not. They have and are going thru alot right now so they will certainly be much better off and happier than being in those little crates.

feel free to PM me with any advice.

I am sure more advice will come your way. So don't worry you will do just fine.
Bless you

 

[Rescue Momma]

Those were the same questions I had.
I have a spare room but it is not 30 feet away from the other babies.
Will just keep the door closed to seperate and give them some quiet time to adjust.
The biggest thing will be trying to keep the dogs out. They play with my other Chins and will want to check them out.
Fortunately they don't go in that room anyway.
My oldest dog comes running every time Skitzo squeaks at something. She's the momma dog and wants to make sure all the babies are ok.

I wish everyone luck with their new additions.
Thanks again Rick for making all of this happen.

 

[chinclub]

55-60 degrees is ok as long as you have solid bottom cages. My chin building would get down to the low 50s every winter and I never had a problem even with newborn kits.

 

[saphire]

Just wondering,

I don't know the weather or temperature of where they are coming from, but would it be a good idea for her to gradually bring them to 55-60deg. and not one shot?
And seeing that they are going thru great stress and for a long period, wouldn't it be better if it where warmer so that they don't put their corporal energy on heat but rather on keeping their weight and stress down?

 

[mishellyshel]

thanks for the advice.............specifically about doing their cages last. i am going to get a thermometer for the room to see how cold it actually is. It is in my basement and there are 2 windows that view into my garage, so I am going to make sure they are sealed and see if i can open a heat vent int that room if the temp is too cold. maybe it is just cold to me, i am after all not wearing a fur coat!
Another question..........I use the clorox wipes in my bathroom after "playtime", mostly because at least one of my guys pees!! Are these ok to use in between if I take the rescues out??

 

[chinclub]

Just wondering,

I don't know the weather or temperature of where they are coming from, but would it be a good idea for her to gradually bring them to 55-60deg. and not one shot?
And seeing that they are going thru great stress and for a long period, wouldn't it be better if it where warmer so that they don't put their corporal energy on heat but rather on keeping their weight and stress down?

When in doubt its always best to be cautious. With that said, a good fur quality chinchilla was designed for cold weather and really won't notice a 50 degree room as we would. A poor quality chinchilla, extreme fur biter, or excessive hair-loss chinchilla is another story and might need warmer conditions.

 

[tunes]

My barn is sitting at 52 degrees right now, and has been for about the past 2 weeks. It's -40 outside today and getting it any higher is impossible without running a second heater, then I would have to worry about them being too warm. My chins run all over, cage surf, play and generally seem to really enjoy the cooler temperatures.

Then again, 50 degrees isn't cold to me, it's just cool. Being in the chin barn in a light long sleeved shirt is more than comfy and sometimes even makes me feel a little warm when doing cages or sweeping/feeding/watering.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

If you are worried you can get a small space heater for the area - I have an electric one that has programable temps, timers, and a energy save function. It also turns off instantly if it becomes unbalanced. I got it at Target a couple years ago and its a Honeywell. I use it to keep my room close to 60 degrees.

 

[saphire]

thanks for the advice.............specifically about doing their cages last. i am going to get a thermometer for the room to see how cold it actually is. It is in my basement and there are 2 windows that view into my garage, so I am going to make sure they are sealed and see if i can open a heat vent int that room if the temp is too cold. maybe it is just cold to me, i am after all not wearing a fur coat!
Another question..........I use the clorox wipes in my bathroom after "playtime", mostly because at least one of my guys pees!! Are these ok to use in between if I take the rescues out??

It is best to use water and vinigar to clean up after a chin.