What is safe for my 4 month old chin?

[deliamaj]

So I got a new chin and all my previous research was about mature chins, because my first 'babies' are 10. My new baby is 4 months, according to the people I got him from, and I've been trying to find age specific information and its really hard. How big is a four month old chin supposed to be? I did not expect him to be nearly as big as my adult chins. I want to weigh him, what kind of scale do you use to weigh a chin? (I know I should have this already, but I kept forgetting to ask about it.)

Anyway what I really have been looking for is a sort of list or something that tells you at what age things become appropriate/safe for your chin. Such as,when can I upgrade his cage to something with some height and shelves? When can he be allowed treats? Also is there anything adult chins chew that he shouldn't have yet (for instance any certain types of wood or hay, lava rock, sisal, etc)? If so when can he have those things, etc. I just figured if there is some sort of early life safety timeline or something I wouldn't have to bug you guys every time I thought of another question. The cage thing is the most critical because he seems confined in his kit cage, which I wasn't expecting, partially because I was under the impression he was 2 months and much smaller. I thought I would have some time to get my hands on a bigger cage but if he's already old enough for high ledges then I want him to have them.

Thanks,
Danielle

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

Any digital scale that you can zero/tare will work. Make sure that it allows you to measure in grams. As for appropriate weight range, it differs from chin to chin but I'm sure some of the breeders on here can give some advice on that front.

Treats: None before six months, also no wheel in the cage and limited playtime as well. He needs to be eating his pellets and hay to get his calories and fatten up vs. eating treats.

As for wood: there is a safe wood list on the forum that you can check out as well as lots of threads already created on safe treats, food, chews, etc. Just use the search function at the top of the forum.

Congrats on your new litle guy!

 

[ljiayi]

I currently have a 4 month old chin as well and he's in a two level cage. As he doesn't seem very confident about jumping yet, I didn't upgrade him to my existing 4 level cage. I think you would just have to observe your chin and see if he/she is jumping around comfortably both up and down. When he/she is comfortable, then you could start thinking about upgrading the cage.

 

[javachin]

Just get a kitchen scale for weighing. As for treats, nothing before 6 months of age, but you can give him/her twigs as a "treat" for now. Also no wheels before 6 months of age as previously stated. They can have lava rock, sisal, wood toys, etc right now. For 4 months, I would say around 400g would be good, give or take a few grams.

 

[deliamaj]

He's only on two levels also, and he seems confident enough although his shelf is pretty low and easy to jump to. I just feel like he doesn't have enough room in there. And I've only had him two days so I don't think he's adjusted enough for outside time. It's a moot point really since I don't have a bigger cage at this moment, however I am seriously looking into a ferret nation for Elena and Tseng so Cloud can have their Super Pet cage. Tons of space all to himself! I think Elena could use some extra space anyway.

I'll look into a kitchen scale. How do you get him to stay on it long enough?

Thanks everyone.
Danielle

 

[mknoblich1]

I put my chins in a bowl that fits on my scale and give them a treat to chew on to keep them still. You would need to use a stick or twig since he's under six months. I wouldn't try for any play time for at least a week after he's been in his new home. Let him get comfortable in his cage before you let him out to play outside of the cage.

 

[Godofgods]

the one thing i will add is to be careful with the cage you use for a while. Young chins can slip through 1 inch bars like they are not even there when born. It takes a while to grow enough where they cant do that. But in the mid ground time, where they cant rly fit fully through, they may still try and get stuck. Which can lead to some bad out comes. - Just mentioning this as an in-case. I don't know the size of the chin or the cage being used.

 

[Cuddlebug]

No wheels, treats (except chew toys), and limited playtime until 6 months old. By limited, I mean 5 or 10 minutes at the most. You can begin slowly adding shelves now as he gets used to each new level. To prevent injuries, stretch a hammock across the middle of the cage in case he falls.

 

[deliamaj]

He's about 450 grams so I'm thinking either he's big for his age or he's older than 4 months. The scale I found was wonderful, it fit in his cage and he jumped onto it to investigate, and the number popped right up before he could get bored and run off. I am going to wait at least two months anyway to give him treats or try a wheel, just in case he is 4 months and just huge. He may end up with Elena's wheel, since I don't know if she is going to figure out how to use it!

Thanks for all the advice guys!