This is how petco says to take care of chins

[Cola89]

some of it kinda made me chuckle. One part says they like to cuddle and be carried

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/small animals/Chinchilla.pdf

 

[lauralynne]

Spot clean?!?! Geesh...they aren't furniture...

 

[Sherry Elaine]

I actually learned "everything" about the proper way to care for a chinchilla from this site and the original site this board was created from. I learned nothing from the pet store or their vets (which had no exotic knowledge). We purchased our first chinchilla from a pet store, and they told us to feed fruits and veggies daily and to use tap water. When we noticed that the chin was terrified of us, we were told to ignore the chin for weeks and then try again. They also sold us an overpriced, useless plastic cage. Also, when we decided to purchase a second chin, I had no idea that you had to quarrantine. No one told us that either.

Now when we go to the pet store to purchase bedding, if we see someone looking at the chins, we make sure we tell them the proper way to care for a chin and that they may consider buying from a breeder instead.

Thank God I found this site.
That reminds me, thank you again to everyone for caring so much and for sharing all your knowledge! Without you, I would still know nothing!

 

[Cola89]

i think we all had bad pet store expieriences. I posted this cause it just reminded me of when i got my first chin and all the BS info they gave. Like i said it also makes me chuckle about some of the things they said.

 

[starleomach]

I can't get passed the really ugly photo of the chinchilla

 

[Sandi]

Yes, that is a sad looking chin . I also chuckled and shook my head when I saw the preprinted pamphlets in front of the small animal cages.

 

[Chinniechantel]

I can't get passed the really ugly photo of the chinchilla

That is a terrible looking chin!

 

[VolunteerChin22]

You mean I'm not suposed to give my chins chocolate and wine? Sheesh *rolls eyes*

 

[Mystic]

You mean I'm not suposed to give my chins chocolate and wine? Sheesh *rolls eyes*

:laughitup:

 

[Chinchichi]

Petco is trying to change, alot of stores are not selling chins anymore (i'm hoping soon that will be all of them), the one i got from my store had been there for 6 months or so, after that we stopped selling them. We are going to have new managers like, a small animal manager, bird manager, fish manager etc. which should help.
There are some really great knowlagable employees at petcos, and then there are some idiots. but they are trying to change. and alot of us really do care.

 

[blue_soda025]

What annoys me about pet stores is how much they charge for chins.. and obviously not very high quality ones either! I've seen $175 for a standard grey around here, and if it was a common mutation, I bet it would be at LEAST $300 something.. I think I have seen a mosaic for over $300 at a pet store nearby. But then, pet stores (around here, at least) are known to charge about double for what you could get from a breeder anyways.

 

[ticklechin]

What annoys me about pet stores is how much they charge for chins.. and obviously not very high quality ones either! I've seen $175 for a standard grey around here, and if it was a common mutation, I bet it would be at LEAST $300 something.. I think I have seen a mosaic for over $300 at a pet store nearby. But then, pet stores (around here, at least) are known to charge about double for what you could get from a breeder anyways.

I am sure lots of people will disagree with me but I could not be happier that pet stores charge that much, I hope the price makes people think twice on a impulse buy. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kendra]

I am sure lots of people will disagree with me but I could not be happier that pet stores charge that much, I hope the price makes people think twice on a impulse buy. Just my 2 cents.

Interesting point actually, never thought of that. I could also see it being what spurs people into thinking they can make a bunch from selling them too.

 

[Sandi]

Petco is trying to change, alot of stores are not selling chins anymore (i'm hoping soon that will be all of them), the one i got from my store had been there for 6 months or so, after that we stopped selling them. We are going to have new managers like, a small animal manager, bird manager, fish manager etc. which should help.
There are some really great knowlagable employees at petcos, and then there are some idiots. but they are trying to change. and alot of us really do care.

I do agree for the most part that the employees care but at least with the Petcos, Petsmarts, Petlands and the small mom-n-pop petshops by where I live, the knowledgeable employees are very few and far between. I know I've been to all of them before I found this forum.

 

[MsBrizzle]

Our local petco... at least they're taking a bit more care of their chins... no tiny, horrible no air cages.... and no too many chins to a cage...
I've been sad to hear the horror stories of chins at pet stores here... but i'm thankful to see that the chins in my area are not as badly treated as other chins...

 

[Euphoric]

I quit working at petsmart after numerous incidents with bad pet care with no help from my district manager.

I got Valentine (White mosaic) from the same petsmart I used to work at.
I was in a different store when I over heard these parents with two young children (Under 10, one looked 8 the other 7 ish) talking about the white mosaic that was sold.
I was like, Oh, I think I bought that one and sure enough they were talking about Valentine. But sure enough they had no clue what they were doing taking in a chinchilla, and was talking to a associate who didn't know either. They started asking me questions about how I took care of mine (Which I received a mean glare from the worker)
When I was pet lead, I never sold a chin to a person under 12 because I feel unless with diligent parents the chin is mistreated. I told them that the chins are not meant to be cuddled like a puppy, which the worker told me I was wrong, and that chinchillas loved to be held and will cuddle with you and stay on the bed with you.
I was like, well I don't know what chin you have but thats not common. Sure enough the kids go to hold the chinchilla and can't even grasp, and the poor thing slipped fur and everything.
The parents believed me and decided not to get the chinchilla, and continued talking about chinchillas and what I thought would be a good pet for their kids.
I was never rude to the worker at all, but apparently she was angry that she called the manager to try to get me out of the store (I was only talking to these parents..not like I was taking over the darn store) and when the manager recognized me (I went through pet care management training, started my two weeks and then quit) because I trained with him.

anyways, long post short, its 50/50 if you get a good pet care worker.
Petsmart in arizona says they will no longer be selling chinchillas, but I know of some stores who still do.

 

[naturegirl240]

I went to petco for some fish items and I was shocked at the chin/small animal isle. The only descent thing I saw was lava bites and wooden blocks to chew and they were all ridiculously overpriced. It's really sad I have to order mostly everything for my chins online.

 

[whiskers387]

Petsmart's chinchilla brochure says they like fresh veggies like carrots

 

[Classic Chinchillas]

I actually learned "everything" about the proper way to care for a chinchilla from this site and the original site this board was created from. I learned nothing from the pet store or their vets (which had no exotic knowledge). We purchased our first chinchilla from a pet store, and they told us to feed fruits and veggies daily and to use tap water. When we noticed that the chin was terrified of us, we were told to ignore the chin for weeks and then try again. They also sold us an overpriced, useless plastic cage. Also, when we decided to purchase a second chin, I had no idea that you had to quarrantine. No one told us that either.

Hate to break it to you but there is not really a "proper way" to care for chinchillas. There are many different ways to care for a chinchilla. The only "proper way" is to feed, water, dust, and clean the cage. There are a variety of people on here that do things differently but the majority do not post, it's usually all the newer pet people who are posting these "rules" and jumping all over the latest and greatest "you must have this product" that repeats over and over. I know several large breeders that do not quarantine, it's a good practice and doesn't hurt to do it but I'm willing to bet there are not nearly as many people who do this as you think. The advise on your scared chin is actually good, he needs to get used to the environment first. Some people use tap, it depends where you live and the quality of the water. Just because it's not tap doesn't mean it's better; depends on the filter or process and probably the source as well.

I went to petco for some fish items and I was shocked at the chin/small animal isle. The only descent thing I saw was lava bites and wooden blocks to chew and they were all ridiculously overpriced. It's really sad I have to order mostly everything for my chins online.

What is wrong with lava bites and wood blocks? I found some clearance bird toys last time I was there and the chins loved them.

Petsmart's chinchilla brochure says they like fresh veggies like carrots

They probably do, in the uk I believe feeding fresh vegetables is popular or at least accepted practice.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

I really worry about how many people get chins and then mistreat them simply out of ignorance of the proper care.

A friend of mine used to work at our local PetSmart and she said that it wasn't uncommon for the chins in the store to die from heart attacks and being over-stressed because of the stupid kids that bang on the cages (Mini-rant: Every time I see a kid bang on a cage or a fish tank I want to sock their idiot parent in the face for never teaching them the most basic rule of animal respect.)

Also, one day while shopping at a local petstore, we saw a family looking at a chinchilla. The petstore is mainly fish and hampsters with an exotic small mammal here and there. The sales clerk knew nothing about chins. I overheard the family asking him how long they live, with which he replies "I think it's about as long as a hampster. Probably three years if you take care of it correctly." I just had to interrupt. This family was seriously considering buying the chin for their five year old and I couldn't stand by to let this poor chinchilla be squeezed to death or dressed up in doll dresses.

Let's not forget that it's not only chins that petstores give misinformation on but tons of other exotics. I really wish they would keep exotic animals out of petstores altogether unless there is an expert in the store.

that's the end of my rant... haha