ChinChilla Lovers!!!!!
- Thread starter Edwin
- Start date
Dr Joe;1489742; said:Congrats. If you keep it more than a week it's your forever...they get to you.
Very personable.
I acquired my two when my daughter got married, sweet of her huh?
Keep it on whatever kind of food it is familiar with, they don't do well with drastic dietary changes (changing foods should take several weeks). Food pellets, alfalfa hay (watch for mold) and lots of fresh water.
Treats should be healthy ones, mine liked apple slices and raisins. Feed these sparingly.
And chew blocks! definitely chew blocks! There are ones made of pumice and special wood ones too (do not use just any wood as it can be poisonous to them).
A large cage is a must as they love to climb and jump. Chcek out some of the online cages to get an idea.
Keep it out of drafts also, they can get sick from it.
Don't let it roam loose in the room as it will chew on everything\ and anything.
Remember they're nocturnal so they get a little grumpy if you wake them up during the day. Keep the cage in a quiet place away from people traffic, yet so it can see you if it wants too. They do need companionship and may die from loneliness.
Keep it away from other animals as they are frail and can get hurt/scared easily.
My male one loved to sit in my shirt pocket when I was on the computer or watching TV. I was also the only one in the family that could actually handle the female (she bit everyone else, not hard tho (just to show she was boss)).
Best of luck with it. There way better than a cat.
Dr Joe
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Die of loneliness?? . . . are you sure about that
also apples are a horrible treat, they do love them, bad treat none the less.
ewurm;1490000; said:
It's simply not true that their fur will fall out, but you still want to prevent them from getting wet.
If a chinchilla gets wet they should be dried immediately because their fur is so thick they will take a very long time to dry. If they are allowed to stay wet too long they can grow fungus or get sick.
From what I've read you need to dry them off as thoroughly as possible with a towel and then use a blow dryer on low heat at most (holding it a couple of feet away so they don't get too hot) to dry them off the rest of the way.
Dr Joe;1490295; said:Can't believe I forgot the dust bath! Ack!
Like everyone said it's a fine powder, you get it from a pet store. Don't get the course stuff it doesn't work well on them.
Don't use an aquarium for this as the dust is so fine that the little critters breath it in an it causes health problems. I used a 'bird cage' for their dust baths, which gave them good ventilation. Kinda funny looking but works.
Oh, another thing, keep some kind of lock/clip on all doors as they are smart and understand doors.
Dr Joe
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Mine's stupid. She has no clue how doors work, or what gravity is. She got her head stuck in a toilet paper roll too, it was hilarious!!!!!! We tried to get it of of her, but she kept running around her cage and we were laughing to hard to grab her.
