So much conflicting information!

[broderp]

Raisins or no raisins?
Boys paired together easier than girls?
Plastic toys and such vs wood
Males more affectionate than females..

The list goes on and on. WHOS RIGHT? :hmm:

Example, we have one book we bought that says raisins can be given as a treat. (and our chins love them) then I see here and in our other book not to give raisins.

:banghead:

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum!

You are right- there are a lot of inconsistencies about chinchilla information. What we have all found out is that the books that have been published are for the most part completely worthless. They were written by people that have no clue about chinchillas.

You will find that the people on this forum don't all agree on every little thing, but there are some constants. It used to be considered OK for chins to have a raisin a day. We've gotten smarter over the years and figured out that they are not healthy for chins. It is like giving your child a handful of sugar for a snack an then expecting them to eat their veggies. Chins don't need treats at all, but if you are going to give them you can find lists of chin safe treats.

Plastic is not a good choice, because chins love to chew. Find a list of chin safe woods and give all of that you want. Cages need to be made of metal so that the chins can't eat them!

Males and females both make good pets. The difference is that males can't stand up and shoot pee at you! Most females don't, but some think it is the thing to do.

You can find a ton of info on this forum, put there by people that love chinchillas and have done a lot of research on them.

Becky

 

[AZChins]

Raisins aren't worth it, you really don't need to feed them. Use a treat like a shredded wheat or a rosehip.

Boys can be paired together as can girls in same sex pairs. Girls seem to have a little less of a problem, but boys can get along very well together in pairs or even in trios.

Plastic toys? No...go with wood! Plastic can cause intestinal issues such as blockages.

Personality is an individual thing - boys and girls are pretty equal in their affection levels. Go with personality over color or the sex of a chin.

Books aren't always the best places to turn for chin advice. A lot of the books you can buy from the petstores that are about pet chins have a lot of outdated and just plain wrong information in them.

 

[kimbt622]

Welcome to the world of chins! haha. you will find a lotttt of conflicting information about chinchillas. Not many people are too knowledgeable about them and some people that are not will still argue that they are. As for your questions:

I do not give raisins. I used to when i first started out with chins, but most people here would agree they have too much sugar. Usually, the blander the treat the better. The only regular treats I give are non-frosted shredded wheat, cheerios and the occasional oats (old fashioned). All of these have no sugar. Once in a while I give rosehips or rosebuds.

People will argue both sides for which genders get together better in pairs. In the wild, I believe it's large amounts of girls together, but people do have luck with boy pairs. The general rule is, there is no rule with chins in pairs. You never know what you're going to get. Right now, I have a pair of boys, a trio of boys and a single boy. My trio and pair get along great, but thats just for today. Some people don't even bother with introducing chins to each other because it is so unpredictable.

Plastic is NOT recommended here. I'm sure you've realized chins are chewers and they will chew whatever is in their cage, whether its plastic or wood. If the plastic is chewed, it can cause an impaction which means it gets stuck in the intestines... this can lead to many problems. Some chins are not plastic chewers, but it's usually better to just not take the risk. I always use chin-safe wood, the ledges in my cages are kiln-dried pine.

Again, people will argue both sides with this. Both genders have their ups and downs. Girls usually are more likely to spray (pee!) long distances, but i have one boy who does. I just ended up with all boys, but I love them all more than anything. They are all very affectionate, but people who have all girls could argue the same. I hear sometimes that girls are a bit more moody than boys, but isn't that true for humans too? :tease:

Anyway, like I said you'll find different information everywhere. For the most part, I trust the people on here more than anyone else and order my food, hay, toys, etc. from my friends on here. It's been working out in my favor so far
Hope that helps a bit! Good luck!

ETA: Dang, Beck and Susan... you beat me to the punch!

 

[broderp]

Thanks for the input everyone. Looks like I came to the right place. :thumbsup:

Yes, a lot of my conflicts come from the two books I boght from the pet store, one made my the people at Animal planet and the the other a "guide" of some sort. Lots of good reading, but can be frustrating.

The pet stores also don't help as they typically have very nice people, but are very general in thier responces. Also product selection is what it is.....

I bought a wooden home for our chin, (which he quickly remodeled ) but the sell so many plastic stuff such as houses and other accesories that I know he will chew.

I also found a breeder on line that says toilet paper tubes are excellent toys for them to chew on, but then read somewhere that the tubes are made of recycled paper and have glue (to hold the tissue on) as well as other inks or chemicals.

I'd like to use PVC to make a tunnel, but I know they will chew it, and isn't PVC cusk full of chemicals is they eat it?

Well, at least I know where to ask my questions!