Rescued Female Chinchilla

[burritothechinchilla]

I rescued a female chinchilla tonight! She is a very cute standard grey, about 3 years old. Her new name is Cheddar:dance3: I was looking on kijiji and found her for free. Her living conditions were horrible. She lived in a large storage bin, with a towel and a child's doll house. She ate horrible food, had no hay, no chew toys, and drank out of a bowl.:hair: The old owner also had a ball for her to play in.:hair: Right now I am keeping her in my old chinchilla cage for the quarentine. After that I will move her in with Burrito.

But I need some help first, I bought her a water bottle, but how am I supposed to teach her how to use it? When I got Burrito, she knew how to right away. But for the time being I still have water available for her in a bowl, so she doesn't go thirsty.

I will post some pictures of her tomorow, I'm too lazy to go look for the camera now.

Thanks.

 

[tunes]

Some chins take right to a water bottle. If she doesn't, try splitting open a raisin and rubbing it all over the nozzle where the water comes out.

 

[Riven]

If you take the bowl out she will look for water, randomly play with the valve ( push the ball around ) a couple times a day and she'll figure it out in no time. If you leave the bowl in, she'll probably just keep using it because it's what she knows.

Congrats on the new girlie!

 

[burritothechinchilla]

Ok, I will take the bowl out. And I have run into another problem. My mom was playing with Burrito on my bed. And she jumped off (1st time ever) and ran into the room that I have Cheddar in. (she left the door open) She jumped up to the cage and rubbed her nose with Cheddar. They were both squeaking happily. But this has runined my whole quarintene process. Does it still matter if they are in seperate rooms? Or can I put their cages in the same room, close to each other. Thanks.

 

[Brittney]

Sounds like what happened to my boys when I was doing quarantine.

If they rubbed noses and had contact, then yes, quarantine for any illness the new one would possibly have is ruined, although, you should still continue with quarantine so the new one can get used to the new surroundings.

I wouldn't start intros until quarantine time is up.

 

[Riven]

I would still wait a bit, you never know if Cheddar might have something that might only be picked up from poo or urine, so instead of treating two chins, you might only have to treat one for say cocci or giardia!

Of course watch the bottle, if she doesn't drink any in a day's time, offer her the bowl to make sure she doesn't dehydrate, usually the figure it out really quick though!

 

[burritothechinchilla]

Ok, I will wait 3-4 weeks untill I introduce them togather! Thanks.

 

[burritothechinchilla]

Pics!

Here are some pictures of her!She looks HUGE compared to Burrito!

She is already doing better with me. At first she was grumpy and didn't want me touching her. And is you touched her back she would kack and run away. But now she will let me touch her back, she just lets out some soft squeaks. But I still can't pick her up. I tried once, and she almost sprayed me! But I dodged it.

But she is still not drinkning from the bottle. I tried rubbing a rasin..... it didn't work. I was scared of her becoming dehydrated so I put in a small bowl of water. I put it right under the water bottle, so in a little bit, once she is used to going to that area for water, I will take it away and maybe she will try to get water from the bottle. And also, she wont take a dust bath. It's like she is not even interested. I don't think her old owners even gave her one before. And sudgestions for getting her to do that?

Thanks.

 

[Brittney]

Just give her some time. It's probably really freaky to her being in a new place with new people, new smells and sounds. She'll get used to things. Her fur looks good in the pictures. If she hasn't had a dust bath, ever, she would be looking quite rough. Maybe just leave it in for her and walk away.

Give her time, she'll come around eventually.

As for the water. Are you marking the bottle to see if she is drinking? They drink very little sometimes, and she could be drinking, but you wouldn't be able to tell unless you are marking her bottle.

 

[Siylvat]

And also, she wont take a dust bath. It's like she is not even interested. I don't think her old owners even gave her one before. And sudgestions for getting her to do that?

Thanks.

Just give her a little time. You can try rubbing the dust on her back a little and see if that gets her instincts to kick in. Or leave it in her cage for like a half hour and leave the room. She could be scared, or shy.

I have a chin that wouldn't dust for a few weeks after we got him, not sure if he had baths before or not. He just would jump in the dust bath to hide, but not roll in it at all, it was like he had no idea what it was for. lol. He still doesn't roll as much as our other boys, usually just a few spins and he is done with it. The others would keep going back until it is gone!

 

[burritothechinchilla]

As for the water. Are you marking the bottle to see if she is drinking? They drink very little sometimes, and she could be drinking, but you wouldn't be able to tell unless you are marking her bottle.

Yeah, I have been marking the bottle and it hasn't moved. I'm hoping that when she is more setteled in, she will start to drink from it.

Just give her a little time. You can try rubbing the dust on her back a little and see if that gets her instincts to kick in. Or leave it in her cage for like a half hour and leave the room. She could be scared, or shy.

Yeah, I havent been able to do that really because she gets upset when I touch her back. But now since she is a little better with me touching her, I will try.