rehoming? adoption? selling? :(

[jessonehundred]

I have had two chins for almost a year now. I love them both sooo much, as im sure everyone who has a chin does.
I love spoiling them, buying them special things, keeping them happy.
I even love sweeping up their poop a hundred times a day because i like seeing them clean and cute in their cage.
But.. My boyfriend hasnt been able to find work for a while now and my job really is only paying our basic bills. I have never run out of supplies for the chins, but i dont want it to get to the point where its going to be
"chin food or electricity bill"

i dont want to keep exotic animals irresponsibly without the means to bring them to a vet if theres an emergency or something.

I also just keep telling myself that things will get better soon so I should just wait it out..

I guess I am just wondering what the best solution WOULD be if it came to having to get rid of my poor babies.

I see people rehoming constantly on craigslist, but I dont want my chins to go to some family who thinks they are like hamsters and just a trendy pet.

I know there are people who take in adoptions, who would properly take care of them.. but then what will happen to them? i dont know.

I just know these chins have moved quite a few times already, I cant see putting them through that!!!

any advice??

 

[tams]

You could put them on craigslist, but state that you want them to go to a good knowledable home. Ask the owners questions, such as what things are and aren't safe for a chin inside their cage. Where they plan on getting their food from, What treats they are planning on feeding them, ect. All these things can be found online, but at the same time, most online resources have misleading/wrong information. (like plastic in the cage and raisins are just a few examples)

 

[Stackie]

I would never ever put my chins on craigslist..if I ever had to get rid of them for whatever reason, I would be sure they were going to someone on here that I knew was knowledgeable and take care of their chins correctly. There are so many nuts on CL and people will lie through their teeth.

 

[Bam.Bam]

I agree with Stackie.. It's too much of a risk putting them on CL. You can ask the person questions but I'd feel MUCH safer putting them for sale on here. There are also members on here that take in rescues and rehome them to qualified homes

 

[mishellyshel]

I would never ever put my chins on craigslist..if I ever had to get rid of them for whatever reason, I would be sure they were going to someone on here that I knew was knowledgeable and take care of their chins correctly. There are so many nuts on CL and people will lie through their teeth.

Double Ditto!!!

My honest opionion would be to post where you live and set up an option if you were to be in that situation.
There may be someone here who can temporarily foster them until you can get situated or there are definitely people here who will foster or rehome them to a responsbile owner.

 

[Carol~Anne]

Where do you live? How old are the chins? Male or female or both? If you give more information maybe someone here or elsewhere on the chin forums will be interested in adopting them. The more info the better.

 

[Tagna]

You could also see if anyone would take in your chins until you were back on your feet.

 

[moon]

I don't want to sound like the party pooper here, but you really don't need to "spoil" them. If money is tight, all they really need is fresh food, hay and water. For chew toys you could buy a 2x4 for $4, and ask the lumber yard to cut it into 2 inch blocks for you. It really is not expensive to maintain two chinchillas. If you really love them, maybe cut back on a couple cups of coffee or something, and stick it out.

If not, then definitely post them on here and find someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[tunes]

Ditto what Moon said. No chin has ever died from not having new fleece beds every week, or hammocks, or a chube, or leap'n ledges. They don't die if they don't have treats or super duper supplements. Give them the basics and leave it at that. Chin food is cheap. You can get several months worth on here for $20.00, and that includes shipping. With two chins, food needs are very minimal. You can cut back on dusting. If your chins get dusted 3 times a week, cut back to 2 or even 2 one week, 1 the next. Again, they will not die without dusting 3 times a week, but their fur may not look super fluffy.

The vet issue? Yeah, everybody feels your pain on that. In this economy, people are lucky to be able to put gas in their cars to GET to the vet, let alone take their animal in. On that one, you just have to pray nothing happens until you guys are back on your feet.

Neither Moon nor I are discouraging you from rehoming them if you need to, we're just trying to give you some alternatives if you would really hate to give them up, which sounds like is the case here.

 

[Brittany]

I know there are people who take in adoptions, who would properly take care of them.. but then what will happen to them? i dont know.

I just know these chins have moved quite a few times already, I cant see putting them through that!!!

any advice??

I agree 100% with everything that has been said. I just want to point out that even if you take them to a good rescue or a foster, they will be out of your hands after that. Even if the rescue tries to find them a good home there are just no gurantees. Even if the foster parents are VERY experienced the chins could get sick or an accident could happen (same as if they were with you).

As far as the chins moving several times, I'd like to point out that several people on this forum tote there chins across country to various shows and new environments all the time. As long as the situation is handled properly the chins should adjust in no time.

I'm sorry that you're going through this, hopefully things will turn around soon. I hope that with all the suggestions you've received that you can make a decision that is best for you and your little guys.

 

[saphire]

I agree with many words said.

Since these little ones have seen more than 1 home, maybe it be best if they are kept and given their basics needs. This would not make one a bad parent.

Their is no garantee that a new home would be any better along the line, since we never know what the futur holds. Dosen't mean that things will get worst, but may get only better.

As Tunes mentionned, you seem to not want to let them go.

I myself am fostering a little girl for a young lady till things are better for her. How long will it take, I don't know but I know she will be reunited with her mom someday.

This being said, either way you choose to go, it is yours to decide and ours to respect.

Good luck

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

And if worrying about the possibility of a vet bill is your main concern, you should know that your veterinarian will probably be able to work out a payment plan for you if something expensive should happen.

You can also apply for CareCredit which could be used to pay the bill: http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/

You have what appears to be a difficult decision to make, but with all of the options put forth here, it looks like you should be able to keep your babies. :thumbsup:

 

[caiti]

I agree with moon as well. If you're a bit imaginative and spend some time thinking about it, you really can cut a lot of money out of chin toys. Wood is really cheap and great for chins (safe wood, of course). Making playpens out of cardboard is also cheap. Finding a feed store saves money, too. They have huge bags of KD pine or aspen bedding and may have the food you usually get there. Now, I have no idea whether you already do those things but my advice would be just to research and think of any ways you'd be able to save money, not only on the chin bills but yours as well.

I love craigslist for getting used things to save money. Also, freecycle (a yahoo group) and making your own stuff helps, too (check out instructables.com). Lynn brought up a very good point about the vet bills. Some vets can truly empathize with you and really try to help. I haven't met a vet who doesn't offer payment plans. I have heard of carecredit, but have no experience with it.

I got my chin off of craigslist and I was willing to answer any questions or do anything to prove that I am a responsible pet owner. SO, if you do end up rehoming them on CL or something similar, know that someone who will truly take care of your animals will be willing to be interviewed and convince you of their abilties.

 

[3CsMommy]

What Lynne said about Care Credit. Since I've had to live off of my savings and pay for all the animals' needs out of it for the past 8 mo., that's my go-to if something goes vet worthy haywire. Thankfully I haven't needed it yet. The nice thing about it, though, is that the higher the bill, the longer they give you to pay it back.

But of the 3 critters that I've given my word to care for and protect, the least expensive one (now that I have his cage and his wheel) is the chin. I'd look at your household finances and see where you could cut back on luxury items (switch to store brand cola instead of Coke/Pepsi if you can't cut it out all together, make your own cookies instead of buying Keebler, few/no pre-prepared foods, etc.). Then, look at your spending on the chins. If you're still getting *any* supplies from a pet store (other than shavings), stop and find a seller on here that's not going to rip you off. Depending on what your highest expenses for them are, there are ways to lower pretty much *any* cost simply by switching suppliers or tweaking the process (like Tunes said about dusting less). i.e.: Switching to fleece liners cut my shavings bill more than I've bothered to figure out, but I think I'm down to spending about $15/year on kd pine chips, just by teaching him to use a litter pan. Since I sew, the liners only cost me the $7.99/yd for the fleece and a little bit of cursing when the corners wouldn't turn right.

Giving up your furkids is really a last resort, and it doesn't sound like it's one you need to worry about quite yet. If you want to kick around cost-cutting ideas, I'd be happy to talk you through it since I've done the budgeting thing a time or 3 before.

 

[Tillygizmo]

When I am really broke, I go steal chopsticks from shoprites sushi section by the handful! It isn't really stealing I suppose. Anyway, they are prepared and such and safe and free

 

[QnMidnight]

I can definitely relate to your situation. My fiancé and I have both been on unemployment in the past year (we both worked for the same company, and got laid off several months apart). He's since found a job, but he only makes just enough to cover rent - no other bills. We've already had to knock out a large chunk of what we had in savings due to unexpected bills, etc. I hope it doesn't make me an irresponsible owner, but I would never consider giving my chin up. Heaven forbid, if he should end up needing vet treatment right now, we'd likely have to make some sort of payment plan with our vet (which most vets do seem to have). Monthly upkeep really isn't that bad for them; I make one purchase a month of chin supplies, and don't usually spend more than $20 (including shipping, and that's dust, hay, feed, and wood). I use fleece liners and order from folks on here, and it's so much cheaper than in stores! Anyway, the point of my long rambling post is that if you really want to keep them, hang in there. It might be tough for a bit, but you'll find a way to work things out.

Oh, I forgot to mention: if your boyfriend hasn't checked out unemployment yet, that could be helpful as well. At least in my state, it's really easy to apply for, and it helps a lot. I wouldn't be able to cover bills with just my unemployment benefits, but between that and my fiancé's job, we just barely get everything covered. It's definitely worth trying!

 

[Carol~Anne]

Once you get the initial setup for a chinchilla(s) such as the cage and accessories then the maintenance is relatively cheap as mentioned. We pay more money per month to feed two cats than we do seven chinchillas. Most of my chinchilla expense comes from 'luxury' items such as specialty handmade toys, fleece things and wheels etc. It's so hard not to spoil them b/c there's so many cool things out there but if you have the basics already then feeding two chinchillas really is quite inexpensive.

So, in the end if you feel you can keep your two chins then that's great b/c as others have already said, there are no guarantees that they will go to someone else who might or might not care for them as well as you can. However, if you do decide to rehome them, then definitely stick to the chinchilla community and seek out a new home for them through that route rather than just listing them online through other means b/c there are a lot of very knowledgeable chin people out there who would provide a very good home for your chins if need be.

 

[jessonehundred]

wow I really appreciate all of the feedback I got so quickly. I definately agree with everything that was said. I clearly want them to stay with me, and I have to admit the first few months I was ignorant and bought tons of stuff from petco, (no not treats or plastic or anything like that) but i wasted money on chewing wood and hay and dust and bedding. I found a site through this website and bought all of those things for much cheaper.
As for cutting out my own luxuries to save money, I have to admit that I have put my animals first this entire time, without spending an extra penny on myself, especially for something like a cup of coffee. It is a completely great idea though to make your own toys from cheaper wood.
Its true that I could set something up on this site instead of Craigslist, which is brilliant. I actually already got a PM about someone a few states over who seems VERY qualified and capable- if it comes to that.


I feel a lot better!!!!!!! and im looking forward to learning some better chin budgeting ways.

 

[Sandi]

I'm glad you feel better about it all. This forum is great place to be when you find yourself in a situation such as this. Good luck with everything and I hope things work out for you and your boyfriend and the chins.

 

[Carol~Anne]

I'm so glad that you are feeling more positive about keeping your chinchillas especially if it's mostly a financial worry rather than you've lost interest in them or don't have time for them etc. b/c the cost thing is definitely easier to deal with than other issues.

I've wasted so much money buying chin stuff and ended up tossing it in the garbage or when I had my gerbils I'd give them the things instead. Once you have the basics then there are cheap and easy alternatives for toys and there's a lot of people out there who sell really nice safe chin things online.

Actually, the reason why my chin expenses have been through the roof lately is b/c I keep bringing new boys home which means new cage, new wheel, toys etc. but most of the stuff my chins have, they've had them for years. Pip still has the ladybug hammock that I bought from someone here about three years ago when I first found this site. The matching tube has been moved to my Grey Boys' cage and it's still in really good condition.

Out of seven chinchillas, I really only have one that absolutely loves his toys and the rest will nibble at them but mostly they chew on their pine shelves or hidey house.