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Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
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8:18 pm - Very oily chinchilla
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vyl8
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I just bought a new wheel for one of my chins. I left town for a few days and while I was gone, the wheel was excessively squeeky, so my roommate decided to oil it. I usually use a little spay cooking oil on the back, however, my roommate couldn't find it and dumped regular cooking oil all over the back and inside the wheel.
Well, I came back home to a very oily chinchilla. I gave him a dustbath but it wasn't enough to take all the oil out and he is still matted. I read you can remove mats by dusting the problem areas with cornstarch before the dustbath-- and I did this, however, he still looks a bit like a sea bird saved from an oil spill. Any advice?
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
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2:50 pm - Special concerns about my special chin...
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| Saturday, July 31st, 2010
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10:21 pm - Mod Post
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delennamachoo
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Silver Surfer wheels are back in stock at Chinchillas.com. They're a big pricey, but they're such great wheels (very quiet). They come in silver, pink, and purple.
I know we all love our flying saucers, but I love the reduced noise from the Surfer!
current mood:  accomplished
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
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3:27 am - My baby is Pet of the Day. :D
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| Thursday, June 10th, 2010
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2:00 am - How can one make someone make change?
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| Monday, May 3rd, 2010
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9:30 pm - Natural Thermostat for Chins
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purpurealuna
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Hey Ya'll!
We all know chins need AC in the summer, but not everyone has reliable thermostats, especially near a chin-cage. Plus, the more we adapt to heat, the less likely we are to feel it.
My husband came up with this nifty trick for finding out if the chin-cage temperature might be getting too toasty.
Get a small condiment cup and fill halfway with Virgin (Non-hydrogenated!) coconut oil, and stick it to the cage, or an area near it. Coconut oil melts at about 76 degrees. It gets "slushy" at about 73-74. Just check on the oil, and if it's becoming liquid, time to get the AC going!
-L
(Crossposted to other Chin Communities)
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Thursday, March 11th, 2010
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10:06 pm - A couple of questions
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lotrgenius_gen
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Hello! I haven't posted here before, but I'd like some opinions about the behaviour of my chin, Tommy.
When I came home on break (I'm a uni student, so the care of my chin while I'm at school is up to my parents- who are the ones he belongs to, but I won't get into that) I noticed that he was missing two patches of fur- one on his front left leg and one on his tail. He's never missed any fur before, and I haven't seen him chew off any. So, I'm not sure if he's doing this out of boredom, or what. I'm on a more recent break from school and he isn't missing any more patches of fur, but the two spots still haven't grown in. Am I right in thinking this is boredom? I provide him with plenty of chew toys, etc, although he isn't always keen on chewing on wood. I'm also in the process of ordering a bunch of things from FortunateChins for him.
Another thing- I've noticed his eyes seem to have some milky white liquid on the lower lids. It's not enough to spill over his eyelids. I've searched around chinchilla health sites and haven't really found anything that would say if this is normal or not. At first I thought he might be getting malocclusion. I've checked his teech and they are yellow; he also doesn't seem to be in tooth pain because he more than happily nibbled my fingers and hair while I was trying to get a look at his teeth. I also felt his jaw and he didn't show any signs of pain. I don't believe he is drooling because his chin and chest area is dry; however, there are some spots on his back and sides that look as if they have been wet. This may be from brushing up against his water bottle.
I appreciate your time reading this!
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
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12:39 pm - Adorableness
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sylvercheetah
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We have both a chinchilla and a rabbit. They get along and we let them play together. Recently, as of last weekend, we decided to take out the split between their cage and house them together since our chinchilla gets lonely and barks in the middle of the night sometimes.
They are so adorable when they chase each other, playing "tag," or sit next to each other to eat out of their hay dish, and even when they "disagree" who should get to drink out of the large water bottle. Our rabbit, Clover, will drink nonstop (and eat nonstop, I'm afraid she'll get to be Paul Bunion sized), and when Gizmo wants to drink he'll climb on her back, or try to push her out of the way. There is no barking or biting or anything else - she usually let's him win. But once or twice if he's hogging the water bottle she gives him the same treatment (right now she's smaller than him).
But the most adorable thing, he has the bunny trained already. She was grooming him yesterday and he was just soaking up the attention and the grooming, absolutely loving every moment of it and moving so she would be better able to get this side then that. When he was done allowing her to groom him, she ducked her head underneath his front paws as if to say "Here, now my turn." He put one paw on her head/between her eyes as if to say "Good job, you may go now." And after a forlorn look of "Where is MY grooming!?" she went to devour whatever edible items she could find in the cage.
Their ability to communicate without speaking is just amazing. And really there is not much more adorable than a tiny rabbit grooming a chinchilla twice her size.
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(12 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, March 6th, 2010
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10:04 pm - Chinchilla song!
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paincushion
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I've had this song on my playlists for YEARS... I don't know why I haven't shared it with you folks yet!
The music video's a little weird, but the lyrics are great :D
Satan sucks, but you're the best
Holy smokes, you past the test
When I'm with you I feel blessed
My chinchilla
Satan sucks, but you're okay
Since you came, things go my way
Here tomorrow, here today
My chinchilla
One day I woke up and everything was beautiful
My troubles had all fallen out the window
Satan sucks, but you're divine
Sitting pretty by my side
oh my oh my, my chinchilla
current mood:  amused
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, March 4th, 2010
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9:29 pm - Alternative Treating?
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paincushion
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Hello, everyone out there in critter land! I'm cross-posting this between the Ratties community, and Chinchilla_love, Chinchillin, 'coz I'm looking to see if these snacks are suitable for my snugglebums.
There are three types of berries that have cropped up in my local organic health-food grocery store, and since beginning to consume some myself, I have begun to wonder if they're viable options for treats for my critters. These berries are: Goldenberries, Goji/wolf berries, and Mulberries. (I know Wiki's not the most credible of sources, but it's an easy place to start)...
I've been looking for a comparison of the sugar content of Goji or Goldenberries or Mulberries VS Raisins, but have had no luck as of yet. I know that there's a lot of crazytalk out there, especially about the magical powerz of Goji berries, and I was wondering more along the lines of “will these work as treats”, and secondarily: “do these have any health benefits/detriments for my critters”?
Have you any thoughts? Experience?
Thanks in advance!
Xoxo
-Carly
current mood:  curious
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Friday, February 12th, 2010
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4:06 pm - Advice
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sylvercheetah
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I would love to hear if anyone has any advice as to how to better bond with a chinchilla? We let him out to run around and he usually comes up to us, snuggles for second, and then is off again. If we pick him up he will crawl all over us. He is not a fan of being pet, but will tolerate it. Still, lately he seems a bit more independent than "part of the family." If that's just his personality, well we all love him regardless, but we would like to try to better bond with him. Suggestions and stories welcome.
Although it is possible he bonds with us in ways we don't really notice, or don't pay much attention to. His cage is in the living/dining room, so we can see him from the table as if he was sitting at an invisible fifth seat. Every time we sit down to dinner he grabs some hay and climbs on his perch to eat and watch us while we eat, which is adorable.
But when we first got him he would come to check out whatever we were saying or doing when we spoke to him to opened his cage. Now he ignores us unless he is out running around or unless he has decreed we are worthy of his attention at that moment.
Also, how in the world can we convince him to go back in his cage when we want him to and not when he decides he is done playing/trying to eat everything in our apartment including the walls (which would be next to never).
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, January 25th, 2010
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5:12 pm - Another Chinchilla Question
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sylvercheetah
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Our boy Gizmo seems to be scratching a lot lately, and I'm wondering why. He is about 10 months old so I understand that this should be about the time of his first shed. We took him home the day after Christmas and this is new behavior. But his coat seems to be just fine, so I'm wondering if it is just the impending shed or is there something else we should check out?
Thanks in advance for any and all input.
current mood:  worried
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, January 22nd, 2010
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6:43 pm - Peat Moss as Bedding
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purpurealuna
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Something I was musing about.
Would organic peat moss be a potentially suitable chin bedding? I use it for my arachnids and reptiles, and it is much cheaper than carefresh (Which is almost at 30$ for a large bag locally). I know it can be kept pretty darn dry, I know some people instantly think muddy when thinking of it. I know it's often used for horses as well. I know if dry and given a good toss and shake, it becomes pretty-much dust free. I know it could mold and such if left too long, but theoretically if very well maintained, could it work?
The only problem I see is that if it got wet, and the chin in turn rolled in it, though that could be solved with a few good dust baths.
Wondering if anyone else has heard of it used for chins, rabbits, ect. Don't worry, I won't try it on the little guy without some input first.
X-posted to chinchillin
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(comment on this)
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9:00 am - Flying Saucer Wheels
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silsbycarr
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Hey everyone, I think I belonged to this community a long time ago and left and now I've rejoined because I have a problem (of course).
About 4 months ago I purchased 2 flying saucer wheels. (I have two large cages, one with 3 females and one with 3 males.) While the chins happily used the old style, basic wheels NONE of them have figured out the flying saucers. Not one. I am, needless to say, SHOCKED.
We're tried putting some of their chew sticks above the saucers (they still climb up and chew them so I don't think they're "afraid") and we've tried putting hay on the saucers to encourage them to get on them and perhaps clue in... but nothing.
Does anyone have any tips on how to get the kids to use these? They were expensive and I really would like it to work, I know they're great wheels. Honestly, I'm having trouble believing that between the 6 of them NONE of them have gotten it.
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, January 16th, 2010
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2:05 pm - Chins And Cats
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lai_lai_ranma
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crossposted
I'd like to know who has other animals outside of fellow chinchillas that interact with your little guys.
We just recently got a cat, a black 3 year old male Manx. My mother was a bit afraid of what would happen with my 12 year old male chinchilla and them meeting, so he was moved back into my room.
Amusingly, Smudge (my chin) is a bit of an aggressor and the cat is actually afraid of him. Whenever he comes too close to his cage, he makes those angry squeaks and hops and scares him off. Binx is a bit of a chicken as it is. Smudge has had two mates over the course of his life and was always more docile with them, so I wonder if it's simply gender or just because of species.
Anyone else have experiences like this?
And of course, a picture of my little goofy boy.
( Read more... )
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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12:47 pm - Possibly wanting a lil' buddy for my lil' man.
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a_wynters_rose
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A couple years ago I had up to three chinny's at a time. I tried to get my males to bond, but my one wasn't having it. He sadly passed away, along with my female. So over the last while my poor little boy doesn't have a cage mate. I'm not sure if he would deal well with another male, and I certainly don't want a female in the cage who is able to mate... so I'm not sure exactly what to do. He gets good exercise, plenty of playtime, but for times when I'm not around, I'd like for him to have another friend. He is actually the result of this same issue. I purchased him in hopes that my previous male, Squeak, would warm up to him. Didn't happen... so I was thinking that if someone in the surrounding area was pondering the idea of giving their male another forever home, that I could possibly see if my Sifl and your kid would get along? Yes, I know it's a timely process, but it might be worth the time and effort. This is just a small idea, floating around in my head, and I'm not sure where it is going to lead me. I live in Delaware, southern Kent County area. I'm willing to work with about a 50 mile radius.   |
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(10 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
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10:08 pm - help!
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isabellawhateva
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A friend from chins-n-hedgies.com just showed me this Craigslist ad in Nashville. It's for a chinchilla and a ferret that need a few home. One thing horrified me: they're being housed in the SAME cage!!
There are so many things wrong with this and it makes me so sad. Not to mention that they both look really thin and scraggly in the picture.
nashville.craigslist.org/pet/1535422351.html
If you are or know of anyone in the area, please try to find a good home for these two. Also please spread the word to any other chinchilla communities you know of!
(x-posted to chinchillin)
current mood:  angry
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, November 21st, 2009
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6:05 pm - Black Velvet Chinchillas Fanlisting
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| Thursday, November 5th, 2009
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2:53 am - Umm.... help?
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oblivious_frog
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We all know that Chins are notorious for chewing everything in site.
Well apparently my new leather boots managed to get a biiiit too close to my Chin, Pepper's, cage. And I just noticed that he chewed through the back of the boots. I checked his cage and I don't see any bits of the shoe in there at all. For all I know this could have happened a day or two ago, but I'm not sure.
I'm fairly worried, even though he is acting fine and seems to be going to the bathroom fine and I also made sure he wasn't in any stomach pain. I want to monitor him but I have to go out of town for 2 days.
Have any of you had similar experience with your Chins eating something crazy?
Were they ok?
And do you have any suggestions on what I should do?
I'm a very responsible chin/ pet owner, I should just keep my room in order :/
Thanks for any help!
current mood: worried
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, October 5th, 2009
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7:53 pm - Critter Nation
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delennamachoo
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FYI for anyone who is interested, there's an Ebay seller with Critter Nation cages for 240 including shipping. Just do a search for "Critter Nation" and you'll find it. This isn't much more than Ferret.com is charging for the Ferret Nation, and the shipping is fast. Granted, there's no addition for the CN yet, but having just gotten mine and put it together over the weekend, I like the CN a lot more than I like the FN for chinchillas.
The installation is much easier, too. The CN is designed to go together without tools...no screws or screw drivers needed. The finish is darker (more pewter than gun metal), and the powder coating is considerably thicker (Buddy has chewed several of his FN bars down to the metal). It's a prettier cage.
I'll post pics when I get the wood shelves in!
current mood: accomplished
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(comment on this)
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