chinchilla stuff- a chinchilla family

[akane]

Actually she easily jumps on to the 8" high house. I saw her on her dad's favorite look out perch at the top of the 2' high cage but she might have climbed there.

__________ Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:09 pm __________

Another kit born yesterday. Standard grey or light ebony. It's hard to tell cause it's fur is already chewed. The mother has been fur chewing and after trying everything else we gave her a double cage and mate for a very short time. Not only didn't she stop but she chewed him. I was hoping she didn't take but she got rather round a month ago. We are trying to foster her baby to Aime that just had the previous one. I took some quick pics, didn't check it's gender yet, we were in a hurry to get everyone properly scented and introduced.



<br /><br /> __________ Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:09 pm __________ <br /><br /> Katsu insists his foster offspring needs groomed. The little one had it's fur all pulled and chewed hard for it's first day of life and was hiding from it's mom under the cage liner. Katsu is somewhat further traumatizing it by pouncing on it to groom. It was a good sign though that when it made some distressed noises Aime came to check what was going on. It's tail is still sticking out flat though which is a sign they aren't doing well. When they are eating well and happy their tails curl up off the ground.

 

[wamplercathy]

Robos are extra small dwarf hamsters. They aren't much bigger than a dollar coin.

We've had some before but they only have about a 2 year lifespan and are relatively difficult to breed along with being too hyper for most children. Not many adults want to buy hamsters for themselves. It was entertaining to watch them for their short lifespans but that's about it. They tempt me sometimes though because if you do manage to get babies they are these incredibly cute little balls of tan fur that seem to hover over the ground as they dash around so fast.

OMG I had one of these. He was Paco our geriatric dwarf hamster he lived to be 4. :shrug: I only agreed to take him because he was only suppose to live another 6 months. :dig-hole:
Surprise surprise.

 

[akane]

Robos are not your usual dwarf. Usual dwarf hamsters (campbell's and winter whites sold in petstores) live about 2-4years. Robos are also seasonal breeders so they don't breed often without a fully artificial environment.

 

[wamplercathy]

All I know was that Paco was the size of a half dollar and looked just like the one in the picture. My Aunt is always getting critters, spending BIG $$$$ for them and in a year or so they wind up at my place because she's got something else coming. :evil:
It drives me nuts :angry: But I always take her cast offs. Some stay and some are re-homed.
By the way the chins are super cute. Re-homed a cast off one about 2 years ago. Didn't like the sand tossing. :x

 

[akane]

They don't need dust constantly. Once or twice a week is fine. Breeders just get so many they can't do them individually. Chins produce so few offspring you have to have a lot of them to get anywhere showing or to have some to sell year round. We did have them dusting in the bathroom in a cat litter box full of dust so you just had to sweep the little bathroom when they were all done. Then we moved and we did have one of the bedrooms set aside but that didn't work out so they have been dusting in an extra cage in the basement. We started using this 4sq ft, deep rubbermaid container lately. Put chin in, clean cage, take chin out and the only dust is what comes off the chinchillas.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Akane, why do they require dusting at all? I would think it would be a parasite prevention in the wild, but is there some other benefit- aside from it being a natural and enjoyable behavior for them?

 

[akane]

Chinchillas don't get skin and coat pests. Nothing can get through the fur well enough to live off the skin. You normally use a very porous dust mined from volcanic rock. Somewhat like using DE but not that microscopic. The little particles are the only thing that can get through the dense coat to pick up skin oils and loosen skin flakes which get pulled out with the rough dust. Not dusting leads to clumpy fur, poor airflow, and eventually can risk actual mold in the coat. Overseas and some people in the US use a heavier material referred to as sand instead of dust or some even use pdz type products but while they are cheaper, easier to get, and less harmful to the respiratory tract of the humans living with the chins they are not as effective so dusting has to be done more often. Many chin breeders don't make too many decades of chin breeding without having to stop from respiratory problems though. That's why we contain one location for them to each dust every week and carry them there. Then it doesn't spread and we can use the highest quality dust with no respiratory risk and minimal waste. There's just the residual dust falling off the chinchilla and you don't really want to cuddle them right afterward. Every now and then someone makes an escape attempt over the shoulder while going from bath to cage again. I can tell you blue cloud dust is tasteless but I prefer not to breathe in a chinchilla and spend the next hour crunching it in my teeth and blowing it back out my nose. :lol: <br /><br /> __________ Wed Feb 11, 2015 12:16 am __________ <br /><br /> Sadly the kit seems to have just been too young to move. It isn't bold enough to go look for it's foster mom for food. We have kept a close eye on it's weight and it suddenly dropped 4grams so we put it back with it's actual mother immediately. Luckily she accepted her kit back and after being tucked under her for a bit the kit decided this adult was familiar and started doing it's "I'm hungry" chirp. I didn't see her feed it but it not only went up the 4grams it had lost but gained another 2 grams since this morning. It's now at the weight it should be for another day of growth. I guess it will have to stay with Hachiro for at least a few days to be more active and assertive around another chin. Hopefully it's not bald by then and doesn't pick up the fur chewing habit.

I don't know if I can find a good pet home for Hachiro. She's getting more ragged looking each month. I hold out hope that if I find her a good home where she gets more attention and let out of her cage she will improve. It seems no amount of cage size and chewy objects help. Not a companion either. I just don't want to give her to someone who will let her suffer if the fur chewing just keeps getting worse. It's hard to think about it with these very personable critters but it might be better to put her down.

 

[JenerationX]

Interesting. I'm going to have to go read up on chinchillas a little. I didn't know about the dusting.

I hope Hachiro turns around.

 

[wamplercathy]

I only had Halo a couple of months and re-homed her for $10. My Aunt paid almost $200 and that's not counting the cost of up keep, housing, toys. All of which she had in spades. I didn't know enough about them to keep her. Plus I had a small zoo at the time. Well that's what my husband called it. :lol: Some times we only have a dog and other times, well the list can get a mile long. Thanks for all the info on them. Their really neat critters.

 

[akane]

We played legos with the critter nation cages. It can be made in to just one cage but for now the top row is one cage and the bottom row is one cage. The bottom ones are getting a foster child and the top ones are getting a male to hopefully colony breed. Touchy things to do with chins but I want to breed them and I don't want to separate such a bonded pair. That means we are chinchilla watching for the day.

<br /><br /> __________ Wed Feb 25, 2015 12:47 pm __________ <br /><br /> We lost the standard/light ebony kit. First viable kit to die. I can find no reason for it. Maybe it decided to start tasting pellets and choked on one too far back for me to see... maybe it climbed too high and fell on something... I have no idea. Just so long as it isn't a contagious illness. Pasteurella from rabbits is deadly to chins so I now mostly run a closed rabbitry and there is no handling chins after rabbits or housing them next to each other.

 

[JenerationX]

That looks like a ton of work putting together!

 

[akane]

Mostly a lot of banging cause those panels are supposed to all slide together. Not so much sometimes. The newer cages seem to use cheaper manufacturing than the previous cages so knocking them apart, together, and wedging screwdrivers in there to remove sections is required. I have some of the really old ferret nations with screws that I just made in to an upright L shape. 2 bottom and 1 on top of one side. I don't have a whole lot of use for ferret nations because most of my chins are going in to breeding pairs/groups as they reach breeding age and they need the small bar spacing of a critter nation. I might splice the ferret nations in to the same type of rows in the future and put rabbits and guinea pigs in them. They'd be about 12sq ft and 2' high. I just have to find a way to contain bedding better or put in a wire floor. The bass trays don't come higher than 2".

 

[Becky]

I might splice the ferret nations in to the same type of rows in the future and put rabbits and guinea pigs in them. They'd be about 12sq ft and 2' high. I just have to find a way to contain bedding better or put in a wire floor. The bass trays don't come higher than 2".

You can get concrete mixing trays that fit into critter/ferret nations. Those are nearly 8 inches deep.

 

[akane]

Found a little fluffball last night. Me and the camera macro are still having disagreements so I only got 2 pics of it's head




It's got a cute little V across it's butt with the bottom point on it's tail.

 

[JenerationX]

He looks depressed. LOL... what a face!

 

[akane]

They are born with really big heads that are hard to hold up for some reason and they have more trouble learning movement than a guinea pig. Which simply means a couple days instead of hours. :lol: I wonder if they don't need that further development to go into their brains and nervous systems. Guinea pig vs chinchilla intelligence, spatial awareness, physical ability, and social interaction has a very wide difference.

__________ Sun May 24, 2015 12:12 am __________

Katsu and Aime had a falling out and his butt is a little choppy furred now. I think she just said she needed a break after 3 kits in a row and he should go away. Despite it being a big cage there is nowhere for him to permanently get away. I think I will put him with Aisu for awhile and give Aime her break with her new kit for company. Aisu will make brown velvets, pink whites, beige, and I'm not sure what you get if you put all of Katsu's genes with Aisu's genes. Tov pink white... I don't know what it looks like. <br /><br /> __________ Thu Jun 18, 2015 1:12 am __________ <br /><br /> Bouncy bouncy on the bed




After being very irritating Katsu has settled with a new mate. Aime can live with her daughter until we decide whether to breed either one. It will be 6-8months before the new one could be bred.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

And here I am, just trying to get chin hand tame.

 

[akane]

Food and chewy sticks. Lots of them. I have one that got injured and due to the pain and medication she had to go through when we handled her she spent almost 2 years threatening us and then crying whenever we stayed near the cage. Treats and more treats. I wasn't sure she would ever recover psychologically but she no longer cries. She does kack. Their unhappy, go away noise. Which is why she's named Keck. She eagerly comes up for treats and dust baths now though. Time and more treats.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Jimmy the Chinny got a raisin last night. Tonight's raisin will be cut up to make smaller training treats. I asked some one about using Calf Manna pellets as a treat, and was told one a day. I took him from the cage a couple days ago, and the way his rib cage collapsed really frreaked me out. I had not found any info @ holding the tail of the wilder chins....thanks ever so much for that picture! He appears to be molting, and after every dust bath, he drops a lot of fur clumps. They are so soft, I can barely feel them when I pick them up. House got real warm a few days ago, and I was surprised tat he survived.I guess I chose the right corner of the trailer to keep him in. Now, I hope I do not develop the chinchilla version of rabbitosis.

 

[akane]

Chinchillas have floating rib cages. They are not attached so you have to be careful about grabbing the middle of them. That's why many use the base of the tail and then more of the shoulder area. They can dump fur if they feel the need. They slip a follicle and hundreds of hairs come out at once. It's common when they are being handled by someone they don't trust yet. Some just always do it.

I do not do fruit except goji berries which have been deemed safe and I wouldn't touch calf manna with a 10' pole. There is no one currently up to knowledge and hanging around online that still feeds raisins. Grapes and raisins have been tied to deaths and they are pretty much the least healthy thing people feed to a chin except manufactured pet store treats. Oatmeal can be fed for higher fat and low sugar cereals make good treats but just a steady diet of unlimited pellets and hay should produce the correct weight. There are 2 different body types that some think is because our chins are a combination of 2 species that had that difference. You can get long, slender chins and you can get very round chins. Both are healthy. Round tends to be slightly more desired. If a chin is not a healthy weight from just pellets and low sugar, low fat treats they may have parasites or they may have tooth problems. <br /><br /> __________ Tue Aug 04, 2015 12:55 pm __________ <br /><br /> The first Keck baby