What else do i need? + advice?

[maximomixam]

just want other opinions, im getting a chinchilla hopefully in the next month or so, and was wondering what else i need. i already have things in mind like
-a cage(what would you suggest? i was thinking ferret nation or a prevue hendryx?)
-aspen bedding
-hay
-pellets(mixed or doesnt matter?)
-hidey houses
-some treats to give on occasion
-chew toys
- dust bathhouse with dust (probably gonna be blue sparkle i think its called.)
-some chin chillers( just in case the heat gets a little uncomfortable since i live in Hawaii)
-a fan (i cant really afford A/C)
-wheel the really big one(would you suggest the flying saucer?)
-water bottle (probably gonna make or buy a guard for it since i read that they can bite holes in em)

did i miss anything? and feel free to give me any advice on owning a chinchilla and what to expect. and be as detailed as possible.

and i know i said i ive in Hawaii, but where i live, its known to be the cooler part of the island so yea. plus i have checked the humidity and temperature, using that 150 rule of thumb, and for a couple of weeks, its been good.

and if you live in Hawaii too, where do you get your food and hay and stuff? i dont really want to go to petco, trying to go to a locally owned feed shop.

so yea any help?

 

[Pikaia]

You are gonna need A/C. If the temps in your house can get above 70 degrees, you will need something to cool him off. Chinchillas can't sweat like us, so a fan will do nothing. I keep my chinchilla room at around 68 degrees in the summer.

Make sure you give safe treats to your chinchilla- rose hips, apple sticks, plain shredded wheats and etc. You can find information if you search "safe treats" in the forum. Also, there are specific woods chinchillas can and can't have. Search "Safe woods".

Flying saucer found on Quality Cage is an excellent choice. The wheels on chinchillas.com have also become quite popular. I bought two and love them!

Quality pellets are Tradition, Mazuri, Oxbow and others. These are just examples. You can search the forum for more good brands. You can purchase pellets and hay online, but since you live in Hawaii I'm not sure how shipping would be.

Also, Chinchillas are odd little creatures, they take time to warm up to you. They can be quite skittish at first, but they will become awesome pets if you have the time and patience to devote to them. Most are not cuddly and snuggly. Most people see their cuteness and expect them to be this way and in reality they are not. I'm sure other members will have more advice!

Good luck!

 

[ticklechin]

The 150 rule has be debunked years ago, if you have 90 degrees and 15% humidity its all good according to that "rule" and I use that term lightly. You need a/c, there is no way around it, the weather is too unpredictable now not to have at least a window unit it one room to be used when needed.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

I would get a window unit. You can get one for less that $100 and it's not that expensive to pay for it monthly. Honesty if you can't afford $100 for a unit plus monthly bills then you shouldn't get a chinchilla. What will you do when he/she gets sick and has to be taken to the vet? That can easily be a few hundred dollars.

 

[maximomixam]

Great info so far guys.

And thanks about the A/C stuff. I will take all of this into consideration. Meaning if I can actually have a chinchilla or not also...which I really do. I mean I can offer just about everything else, but the A/c thing I'm pretty worried about that.. -__-

 

[damanta]

From experience...if you don't have or can't get A/C don't get a chin. I lost my first to heat stroke and it still hurts almost 4 years later because it was so preventable. I now have ac and 2 chinnies.

 

[ChinnyMom]

as others have said, air conditioning is a must with chins. if you can't get an a/c unit, then don't get a chin, and consider a different caged pet that will be comfortable in the warm climate of Hawaii.

 

[maximomixam]

Looks like I'm gonna have a talk with my maddur about A/C lol. Let's hope this goes well.

 

[Airyn]

I'm curious... is it the AC bill or the unit itself that you're concerned with? I only ask because my electric company has an option for budget billing, so I pay a flat rate year round to accommodate for the 4 ridiculously hot months that we have each year. It might be an option worth looking into.

If you do decide to get AC (and a chinchilla), make sure that you find a vet that really KNOWS chins. It'll save you a world of heartache in case of an emergency. No one's mentioned it yet, but it's also been recommended that you have $1,000-$2,000 available for emergency vet bills. Chins can go years without any issue at all, but once they have a problem, the bills can and do add up really quickly. Credit cards, cash and generous family members are all viable options. ) Just make sure you have a plan.

 

[danilinn]

Laurie raises a good question--we are running window units in the living room and the bedroom this year and managing just fine on working-class income, and we don't have an awesome flat-rate option.
also, don't panic yourself--note that she said emergency vet bills on that 1-2K. my female degu made a lot of trips to the exotic vet at $100-300/visit. (nonetheless, we will keep putting away some emergency $, and i'm not bummed out that i'm my animal-loving parents' favorite!)

 

[danilinn]

afterthought:
my big concern is not summertime, but chicago winter when the heat kicks on every ten minutes. of course, our girl will be nowhere near a vent, and we have a cooling plate on the way, but our heat temp control is for the whole ap't., and usually if it isn't set to 72-74, the cold makes its way inside fast.
anyone have advice on this? (aside from wearing wool socks in the house)

 

[maximomixam]

Yea the A/C bill and the unit itself was what I was worried about. But if I can't pay that monthly then imma die because of the bills huh? But that flat rate is something I would be interested into lokking at.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

Where is your chinchilla located? Maybe you can put her in a room you don't use as much and block off the vents there?

 

[maximomixam]

The only place I can think of is my room.I dont mind the noise really.probably slept through worse haha.

 

[Pikaia]

Buy an A/C unit with a temperature control. I set mine to 68 and it kicks on and off when needed. My landlords pay all the utilities and they don't mind my a/c unit at all. I told them I would pay the difference, but they said it wasn't a big deal. Can't imagine it being that much..

 

[ChinnyMom]

afterthought:
my big concern is not summertime, but chicago winter when the heat kicks on every ten minutes. of course, our girl will be nowhere near a vent, and we have a cooling plate on the way, but our heat temp control is for the whole ap't., and usually if it isn't set to 72-74, the cold makes its way inside fast.
anyone have advice on this? (aside from wearing wool socks in the house)

i live in an apartment with hot water heating pipes that run the perimeter of the rooms (near the floor), and what i did in winter (well, end of February onwards but winter here can encroach into May!) was close the flanges on the heat pipe structure in the bedroom Rhino is in (i don't sleep in there), close the door, and crack the window ever so slightly. kept it nice and cool in there without freezing out the rest of my place, and i was able to keep the heat up fairly high to keep us humans warm enough without having to bundle up indoors. the only thing you have to make sure of is that your window isn't close to your heat pipes, because if the heat pipes freeze they can burst and it's a horrible mess!

we get down to -30 celsius here in the winter on occasion, with most winter days no warmer than -15 or so.

 

[danilinn]

btw, i had a crush on the prevue hendryx, but i've heard that they aren't very good quality. QC cages are right on, but the price is...WOW. if you call them and talk to Linda R, she'll fill you in on the materials you need to build your own cage up to their specs. otherwise, everyone on here seems to love the ferret nation.
and your kit doesn't need that wheel right away--my Dusty is getting hers for Christmas, which will be 2 weeks past her 6-month birthday (the same age that a shredded wheat treat is okay). Love Bug told me she found the chin spin a bit cheaper than the QC price, also. she's going to regoogle when she has a chance and find it, so ask her to let you know, too.

 

[Airyn]

Yea the A/C bill and the unit itself was what I was worried about. But if I can't pay that monthly then imma die because of the bills huh? But that flat rate is something I would be interested into lokking at.

Well, if things are tight now, you'll definitely want to carefully consider whether a chinchilla is the best pet for you. Financial preparation is a necessity with any pet but even more so with exotics since they have such specific environmental requirements. The monthly costs for food, wood, dust and bedding really aren't bad at all. It's the obscene electric bills coupled with the compulsive need to buy them everything chin-safe under the sun that'll hurt your bank account.

Researching electric bills in your area a bit more thoroughly would probably help as well. If you have any neighbors that run their AC constantly, I would recommend asking them what their highest bill was during the summer months. With the right approach, people are usually more than happy to whine about an outrageous bill. If they have central air, it's a fairly safe assumption that your window unit will cost less than that. Also, if you haven't lived at your residence long, you could ask the electric company what the highest bill on record is for your address. I asked nicely and my electric company gave me the highest bills for others in my complex without name or address info so that I knew what I was in for when I moved in. Just some more ideas for you. )

 

[liewwan]

Check craigslist to see if anyone is selling used window ac units.
As already said a fan will not work.
Overall if you're concern on the price of an ac unit and the utilities, that's nothing compare to the cost of care for the chin. The increase of my electric was only $20-30 a month when I turn on the ac for my chins. I spend much much more than that on their monthly care.

 

[ChinnyMom]

i had my first big electric bill lately since Rhino came home. usually my power runs around 50-60 each month and my last bill was 83 bucks with the a/c running just about every day and night. it was a hot month here in August!