allformylittleguy
New member
I have been watching this site for over five years, before I took home my first chinchilla. I named him Chubbs because many of the pet stores around here do not take care of their chinnies well, and when I brought him home, he was too out of shape to even balance on my arm. I spent hundreds of dollars giving he and a friend that he did not get along with fully-accessorized, safe, separate cages.
Years later, he and I had been through a lot. I guess you could say that I never expected to bond so closely to my chinchilla, although that seems almost impossible to me, now. He was loved by all of my friends, family, coworkers, and my boyfriend.
Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, my mother tried to go behind my cleaning of the floor behind his cage. He reached through the bars and chewed the majority of the insulation and completely severed an unplugged electrical cord in half. I fought hard everyday for a week to keep him alive. I stayed up until 4 AM feeding him critical care, handing him pieces of hay, and crushing up his pellets with water. My boyfriend and I even took him to the vet and brought home medications and tried treatment there.
He was making progress and was acting almost completely normal, drinking and eating, normal sized poos again. The day after my birthday, my boyfriend and I came home to a suffering chinchilla. We took him to the vet, but hours after he came home, I knew I wasn't setting him back in his cage. I stayed up with him laying on my chest until he passed the next morning. It honestly was one of the saddest things that I have ever experienced.
It took me a week to be able to even talk or think too much about it without crying, and I had decided to try to wait until the end of the year to even think about trying to give another chinchilla a home. Well.. I was given the opportunity to take home a pair of male 5 months olds who seem very close, healthy, and interested in people. I'm not sure what to do. I know I would be saving these two from the quality of life that they don't have, now. They are currently on the same food (Oxbow chinchilla) that my baby had an unopened bag of, and I had already found a bigger cage that I could partition off, if they were ever to become aggressive towards each other.
I want opinions... Is it too soon? I know it would not be fair to take on a pet that I wasn't fully committed or ready for, but they have stolen our hearts. I was afraid of maybe overcommitting with more than one chinnie, but I have never seen a pair like this. I want them to stay together. Honestly, another huge thing for me is how quickly such a loving animal can be taken away from you. I called the vet to see if he had noticed any other problems with my baby, and he repeatedly told me no. After looking up different things to try to help my baby outside of hundreds of dollars in vet bills, I am even more reminded of all the things that can go wrong. I know what is inevitable, but I am worried. Any stories or words would be greatly appreciated.
Years later, he and I had been through a lot. I guess you could say that I never expected to bond so closely to my chinchilla, although that seems almost impossible to me, now. He was loved by all of my friends, family, coworkers, and my boyfriend.
Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, my mother tried to go behind my cleaning of the floor behind his cage. He reached through the bars and chewed the majority of the insulation and completely severed an unplugged electrical cord in half. I fought hard everyday for a week to keep him alive. I stayed up until 4 AM feeding him critical care, handing him pieces of hay, and crushing up his pellets with water. My boyfriend and I even took him to the vet and brought home medications and tried treatment there.
He was making progress and was acting almost completely normal, drinking and eating, normal sized poos again. The day after my birthday, my boyfriend and I came home to a suffering chinchilla. We took him to the vet, but hours after he came home, I knew I wasn't setting him back in his cage. I stayed up with him laying on my chest until he passed the next morning. It honestly was one of the saddest things that I have ever experienced.
It took me a week to be able to even talk or think too much about it without crying, and I had decided to try to wait until the end of the year to even think about trying to give another chinchilla a home. Well.. I was given the opportunity to take home a pair of male 5 months olds who seem very close, healthy, and interested in people. I'm not sure what to do. I know I would be saving these two from the quality of life that they don't have, now. They are currently on the same food (Oxbow chinchilla) that my baby had an unopened bag of, and I had already found a bigger cage that I could partition off, if they were ever to become aggressive towards each other.
I want opinions... Is it too soon? I know it would not be fair to take on a pet that I wasn't fully committed or ready for, but they have stolen our hearts. I was afraid of maybe overcommitting with more than one chinnie, but I have never seen a pair like this. I want them to stay together. Honestly, another huge thing for me is how quickly such a loving animal can be taken away from you. I called the vet to see if he had noticed any other problems with my baby, and he repeatedly told me no. After looking up different things to try to help my baby outside of hundreds of dollars in vet bills, I am even more reminded of all the things that can go wrong. I know what is inevitable, but I am worried. Any stories or words would be greatly appreciated.
These little guys really do have a tight grip on our hearts. People don't understand unless they have one of their own. Only you can decide when is the right time to get another chin(s). Taking care of two vs one isn't really a big deal. Pretty much the same amount of work.
