Sleeping in sandbath

[TrishD]

Hi, We have just bought a 3 year old Chinchilla from a family that had no time to care for him! We, have had a chinchilla for over 15 years and we lost him last week to old age. Gonzo was kept in a back bedroom so is used to a very very quiet home. He has joined us ...a family of 4 who are all out at work during the day but the house is busy at night...tv chatter etc.
The thing is, Gonzo is used to sleeping in his sand bath which has always been left in his cage (its a plastic house one). He has a nest box, but loves his bath best. As we have only had him a few days I dont want to take it away from him yet as he is not quite used to us all yet. He has moved to such a different enviroment to what he has always been used to, I dont want to take that away too. He does not bath much...just sleeps.
Sherbie, our last chin....loved his bath but only at playtime and I would never leave it in his cage for days! Will Gonzos coat become too dry? I am thinking I may empty the sand out when he goes for his food and put it back empty, then buy another bath for bath time? Then I am worried he will nibble the plastic, and harm himself.

Any advise much appreciated

thanks Trish

 

[Godofgods]

when i took my first chin in, he to always slept in his plastic sand bath house. However i never left the sand itsself in their. Leaving the sand in 24/7 is probably not a good thing.

I eventually made him a nice large hut with more then enough room to stretch out in. And took the sand house out if the cage.

 

[becky12883]

For now I would dump out the sand and leave the container in for him to sleep in. If he is chewing on it at all though, it should be removed immediately. When it is bath time, if you put sand in the bath again he will dust in it, then dump it again.

 

[Zoaea]

He is adjusting to a new environment already, might be better to nip it in the bud as he is already experiencing the new home. So you could always take it out and just give him some extra sleepy places, maybe sprinkle some of the used sand in the bottom of the houses so it 'smells' like home to him?

 

[TrishD]

Thanks everyone, as soon as I can possibly get him out of it I will at least empty the sand.(yes I will maybe sprinkle a little in his nest box) It wont fit through the door, so I will need to take the cage off its bottom to get it out. at the min he is just a bit quiet with us (getting used to us all) so as soon as he has had a little feed he runs back into his bath. He does go in his nest box occasionally but just loves squeezing himself into the bath and laying with his face peeping out at us...he is gorgeous. Soooo different to our Sherbie. Gonzo just seems to want to eat and sleep...his playtime is when we are all in bed...just what he is used to. I know he has a good run around his cage during the night so he is fine. Sherbie was much more active when we all got in from work. Hopefully Gonzo will learn to trust us and look forward to playing outside his cage on an evening.

Thanks again

 

[landrk11]

Congrats on your new addition. He's lucky to have you now.

I know how worrysome the transiton period can be because you want him to feel safe and comfortable.

I was thinking the same thing about putting some of the dust into the nest box. If he likes close quarters to feel safe is it possible to purchase a small wood hide and increase the size of the opening so he can squeeze into it like he like and you can get rid of the plastic bath.

Having the close quarters could be what is making him feel more comfortable. I know when we got our little one, Lola, she would squish into the smallest space in the cage and hide there. We lowered one of her shelves and the space between the shelf and the top of her hide became her new safe spot.

He'll come around in time with love an patience.

Good Luck and keep us up to date with the progress.

Kim

 

[TrishD]

Thanks Kim.

Yes the wooden box with a hole he can squeeze into to snuggle in sounds good. Just been sitting next to his cage having a chat to him and for the first time he came up to the edge of the cage and had a good stretch and a sniff of me! It could be he is getting used to my voice a little now! Slowly but surely......