Shreveport and the deathstore

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brittiny

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this is gonna be long- sorry So today is jeremy and I's 1year (he's working in Natchitoches-4 hours from Houma til dec so I'm camped out with him til then) and we to Shreveport to walk the boardwalk, but we didn't take as long as expected so he started driving randomly to waste the rest of the day. We passed a hole-in-the-wall pet shop. I made the mistake of wanting to go inside. I know from all y'all posts that those types of shops are nothing but horror, but we still went in. It was so HOT in there. I went check all the aquirums, and saw mostly hamsters. Jeremy found a standard chinchilla in a small cage in the corner. The cage had one of those pyrimad ferret hammocks (all chewed up), a water bottle with dirty water, and a large food bowl filled with more rasins, banana chips, and fruit cubes then pellets- oh a wire latter for some reason (WTF?). That was it. The only thing it had to chew on was the hammock's zipper. The lady saw me talking to it so she got it out the cage for me to hold it. She didn't even know if it was male or female. From what Jeremy and I could tell it is male. I made a comment that he was in need of a good dust bath and suddenly she "was just about to give him one". I also told her he should not have THAT MANY treats so she changed his food and gave him "fresh" treats. You have no idea how much it took not to put him in my purse. So we left. I cried as soon as I got in the car. We drove fifteen minutes before I went into a panic attack sobbing at how I couldn't leave him there and I needed to rescue him and that one more chin wouldn't be a problem because we'll be getting a FN soon. Jeremy turned around and we went buy him (and a superpet carrier) for just $115. The lady told the cashier " he's going to a good home. She knows all about chinchillas!" Who are healthy and spoiled I might add. The cashier then tells me " I have 2 regular chinchillas, too." wait what? And you let this guy live like that??!? Seriously? So now in my hotel room I have a chinchilla that apparently has never had a chew toy, has never tasted hay, is confused by his dust bath, and doesn't know what to make of his hut. I feel so bad for him. I was also able to find mazuri pellets at petmart. I'm not sure what he was on before but anything has to be better than that hand full of sugary fruit. I'm so....idk confused. I'm not quite sure what to do with him. Poor guy. Jeremy noticed chips in his ears. This weeken we're supposed to go to houma to pick up dr. D and morgan Freeman from jeremy's mom so they can be with us too. Which is good because I'll have their stuff to help him get better. I'll also be able to bring him to the vet if I can't find one in natchitoches. What should I do til then?
 
Just what you're doing. Good food, lots of hay, keep offering the dust bath. Give him lots of time and patience. The chips in his ears are probably from fighting (I assume you mean notches out of the ear?) when he was at the breeders home, or the death store owner may have had him in with another chin at some point.

If eventually it proves that he doesn't know how to dust, you may have to do it manually. Once you do, they usually get the hang of it and it really feels good to have the dust worked down into their fur. But for now, I would just let him settle and feel safe.

I'm going to tell you though, for all the knocks that Petco and PetSmart take from forum members, almost all of them I have seen have taken at least decent care of their chins. It's the mom and pops that are usually the nasty ones. Stay out of them. You can't afford to buy every chin you see. Your heart is in the right place, but you won't be able to keep that up.
 
Thanks tunes. And I did mean notches, couldn't think of the right word. He got in the bath and rolled once, but nothing more then hopped in and out last I saw (we went eat so I'm using jeremy's iPhone to post). I'll make sure to check his fur. And I knew I should have gone in, but I couldn't leave him there. It was so easy to say "one more won't make a difference."
 
so here some pics of him here in the hotel:
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And calm. He barely squirms at all when jeremy and I handle him. the worst was when I checked for a hair ring and his teeth (just to see what condition the were in with nothing to chew on). He's such a sweetie pie.

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and he actually sits still for pics! unlike the chininjas Dr. D and morgan freeman.


and already an chin&hedgies chin
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I'm on ya forum post'n mah pics
 
we haven't thought of a name yet, we're still getting to know him. we want to see more of his personality blossom.
 
Aww I'm glad you rescued this guy. As Tunes said, give him time.

I have walked into so many of those mom and pop stores and have left feeling worse than I did walking in. I walk in knowing I'm going to look at the chinchillas, knowing it will just make me feel horrible. I agree, large chain pet stores take better care of them. The petco down the road from me actually listened to what I told them. They ditched the plastic igloos and started using wood huts and gave them more chew toys and food without any treats. But some people just don't care and are in it for a buck.

I can't afford to go blow $160 on a chinchilla from a store. I would rather rescue/adopt on from a breeder and that's usually cheaper and you are still rescuing, though, not from a horrible situation.

Just recently I went to a mom and pop shop everyone was bragging about for their animal quality. There were 2 chins that looked like they had just been weaned and place in a tank, one was dead. I was lucky I didn't have any money on me or the other would have gone home with me. My family has agreed to 1 more chinchilla, that's it. So Saturday my chinny addiction comes to an end. Haha. Good luck with the little guy!

Also, ditch the fluff in his hut. It's just asking to be ingested. :)

Does he have a white belly? He looks very dark in those pictures, or maybe it's just my computer.
 
i think if a petstore is going to carry an animal they should at least know the basic needs of the animal that's what so upsetting =(.
He threw out the fluff, so i removed it. He's taken to the top of his hut. I'm not sure if he know huts are for sleep'n ^_^.
And he doesn't have a white belly, behind his ears have a fine (like very fine) white line of fur, but that's all.
As far as I can tell he's a standard, but he seems darker than my other standard. I wish i could offer better pics, but right now, i only have jeremy's iPhone to work with.

on another note: i noticed his ears and feet have alot of dry skin, is there something i can do to maybe help that?
 
oh goodness hes a cutie! its great that youre taking so much care of him! i know hes grateful for it!

hopefully he'll grow up healthy and be a great lil ball of fire!
 
Aw what a cutie pie! He looks friendly! I'm glad you were able to give him a better life!
 
awww what a cutie with his big black eyes.

I'd break down the place if I saw any animal in a condition like that.

Luckily the store i got mine from has proper treatment
 
brittiny said:
And he doesn't have a white belly, behind his ears have a fine (like very fine) white line of fur, but that's all.
As far as I can tell he's a standard, but he seems darker than my other standard. I wish i could offer better pics, but right now, i only have jeremy's iPhone to work with.

on another note: i noticed his ears and feet have alot of dry skin, is there something i can do to maybe help that?
Click to expand...

If he doesn't have a white belly, he's an ebony.

You can use Bag Balm on dry skin.
 
I'd also guess ebony - but check the tummy!
They get "notches" in the ears from fighting - they don't even bleed! I've even had it happen as kits from a large litter.
Congrats on your new aquasition,[sp?] but as Tunes said - you can't save them all!
I refrain from going into new shops just for that reason!
 
He's so cute! I'm so happy you were able to rescue him...you have such a good boyfriend to do that for you!!! :D
I'm really amazed/horrified by these types of stories... The small pet store in the mall here takes pretty good care of their chinnies...they all look pretty healthy, and they're good at sexing them. The only thing is that one time I saw a violet marked as a standard...it took all of my self-control to turn around and walk out without spending $125 that I didn't have. It helps that several of the employees there are Animal Science students up at Cornell. XD
Good luck with your little sweetie!!! I look forward to seeing more pictures!
 
:update:
this little cutie pie has an appointment with a vet in Alexandria, LA at 4 today! :thumbsup: it was the closest one I can find.
He had a really good night from what I can tell. All I heard all night was the bells for the toys I bought him ringing and crashing against the cage. Kept me up all night :wacko:, but jeremy slept right through it-he's the one manjobing all day so i guess it's ok. Glad to know the little thin has figured out that wood is for chew'n not zippers!
Also, Jeremy checked his food this morning-I put very little in it last night so I could monitor food intake-and he gobbled it all up! :thumbs: So now I'm sure he's eating well, but he'll being going without all that nasty fruit! :vomit:
which I really don't think he was eating in the first place. I know the few times I tried to give Dr. Death treats (before I knew better) he was uninterested in what I had to offer.

only thing is he's still confused about sleeping in the hut, so he's made his spot on the corner.
 
he does love the fourm! lol. Jeremy was holding him on the bed while i was posting after a few minutes of being held, he jumped off and ran right up to my laptop. Then ran across it twice. My laptop sounded like R2D2 with all the warning beeps it was making having so many keys pressed at once.
 
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