Chins/degus Anyone?

[lindaO]

Thanks Sarah, and thank you for being there for advice too, you've been amazing.

 

Can I ask a bit more of the chin folks here now then? Now she's in and safe, can I have some tips on what she needs in the long run (that hasn't already been covered)? At the moment I have very little knowledge of their seasons/reproductive health (eg. risks of mammary issues, spaying etc), so any info on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on company etc. Are neutered male chins rare in rescue? Will she take to another female?

 

Thanks

 

Kathy

xx

 

I dont know of many owners who would recommend spaying a female because it is a high risk procedure and should only be considered if it is necessary for the health of the chin

Any introduction be it to a castrated male or a single female will involve having 2 cages side by side for a number of weeks/ months ( leave at least in inch gap so no fingers toes bitten) . You can also offer them both the same sandbath so making sure they both have the same scent

 

After a couple of weeks of this your chins are ready to meet! Let them out on a neutral territory for the first meeting. Put a sandbath on the floor and plenty of toys for distraction. They may ignore each other to begin with but eventually they will notice that there is another chinchilla nosing around! Watch them very carefully to ensure they aren’t fighting. You will see some mounting this is perfectly normal as they are working out who will be the dominant chin. Some fur pulling is acceptable but make sure it doesn’t get out of hand! If they start fighting put them back in their cages and try again in a few days. Keep on with this routine until they are grooming and playing with each other.

Once they have become friends (this can take weeks so please don’t assume that after a few days they can be housed together) you can try putting them in a cage together during the day and see how it goes. If they cuddle up and go to sleep this is a very good sign! However please don’t leave them in the cage longer than a couple of hours as you are gradually getting them used to each other. Keep on doing this every day for a week or so and leaving them in for longer periods (but not overnight just yet!) After a few weeks of this (assuming there are no fights) they are ready to try to spend a night together! Make sure that they have plenty of hiding holes to get away from the other chin if they so desire. Hopefully by this point your chins will be friends and can live together!

[KathyM]

I tried to respond to this yesterday evening and the forum wouldn't work for me (similar experience trying to respond to PMs, so will reply to them in a min).

 

Sarah - again, you're a diamond. If you hear of any potentials, could you let me know? I'll have to get the big cage bought and sorted, so we'll give it a fortnight, then we'll be looking I think.

 

Claire, you completely rock, thank you so much for the advice and the support.

 

I tried to post some pics of the cages I'm considering so here goes again:

 

My favourite:

 

http://www.petworlddirect.co.uk/acatalog/info_8501.html (If I can get this 2nd hand I might die from happiness)

 

http://www.petworlddirect.co.uk/acatalog/info_8440NEW.html

 

I also love the Explorer cages, but they're smaller than what she's in now and I'd rather go bigger if possible. Obviously if we go for a parrot cage we'll have to resolve the barred floor issue. I'm going to have a trip down to Jollye's today to look at theirs - they'll be far more expensive but it'll be handy to see them in the flesh so as to plan what to do. On some parrot cages the barred floor slides out, BUT a lot leave a big gap down to the tray, so I'm going to have to think of this more. If any of you have used parrot cages for chins I would much appreciate any tips.

 

Linda - thank you very much for the tips on intros. If I manage to find a suitable playmate for her, they'll come in really handy.

[willowisp]

They look great cages Kathy

 

Another place you may want to look is: John Hopewell He is reknowned for his cages and most of mine have come from him. Theyre really well built and perfect for chinnies. The general concensus is get the biggest cage you can afford to allow them to have lots of room to run around in when theyre in there. You dont want a cage crammed with chins who cant move!!

 

Good low price toys too, if you go to your local carpet shop and ask for the tubes that the carpet come on theyre generally very nice and happy to help, and the chins love them. Wooden spoons are great for nibbling too

[KathyM]

We have (aint we lucky) Stell's Paper Tubes or whatever they're called up the road, it's a mill wot makes carpet tubing I think - might be worth an ask.

 

As for the cage, hope you won't hate me for saying this but I'm not keen on mesh cages (it's just me, sorry sorry sorry ). I've used them for the rats and they inevitably end up oxidised looking and rusted (must be how I clean them), and I figured if I'm going to splash out this time I would go for something I really love (that is still suitable for her of course as that's the priority).

 

I have seen a few people that keep chins and/or goos in parrot cages, so I thought it might be a good plan.

 

See I feel bad for saying that now. I don't mean anything bad about anyone else's choices. I'll get me coat.

[willowisp]

As for the cage, hope you won't hate me for saying this but I'm not keen on mesh cages (it's just me, sorry sorry sorry ). I've used them for the rats and they inevitably end up oxidised looking and rusted (must be how I clean them), and I figured if I'm going to splash out this time I would go for something I really love (that is still suitable for her of course as that's the priority).

 

I have seen a few people that keep chins and/or goos in parrot cages, so I thought it might be a good plan.

 

See I feel bad for saying that now. I don't mean anything bad about anyone else's choices. I'll get me coat.

 

Dont be daft, its just personal preference . Ive seen chinnies kept in parrot cages aswell, as long as they have shelves to hop on to on the way up, youll be grand

 

Dont feel bad for saying your opnion

[sproggie14]

If I were you Kathy I'd stick with the Sara and just replace the shelves with wooden ones (you can buy cheap untreated pine shelves from B&Q which work well). Although it has a plastic base there are no edges on it so there's not really anywhere for them to get hold of and start chewing. The plastic bases on my Tommy are totally untouched even though there's 4 chins and 6 (well, 5 now ) degus in them.

 

Otherwise I like that corner one ;)

 

I agree with you about the mesh cages. I do have 5 of them cos I need them for the rescue goos really but I loath them. No matter what I do they always look dirty. If they made critter cages a bit bigger then I'd replace them all with those cos the mesh on those is much nicer.

[KathyM]

Thanks both of you!

 

Sarah - she hasn't even attempted to chew the plastic shelves (although they will come out) so I think we've been quite lucky there. Sadly I really could do with having the Samo back for the rats soon, or at least that was the plan. Maybe I'll buy an Explorer for the rats and keep Cilla in the Samo. Choices choices!

 

I forgot to tell you - we caught her eating her first hay last night (she likes). I was going to ask you - what's the general consensus on hay cakes/cubes? I'm thinking of ways to keep the hay dust down (got a kid wot gets hayfever). I was thinking of an air purifier too.

 

I'm waffling now.........

[willowisp]

Ive only ever used alfalfa hay in cubes, but know that some people do use them. As long as its good quality hay, youre laughing

 

Have you seen her in the bath yet? I still find it utterly adorable, and the pleasure on their face is mega cute!

[KathyM]

LOL we put it in for her as soon as she arrived and she was in it about 8 times within the hour. She's had it each day and loves it, although I made the mistake of leaving it in overnight and she weed and pooed in it.

 

She does still have a couple of tufts sticking out of her fur, but they don't look matted and are only thin. On her back she also has a 50p coin sized area where her hair is slightly shorter than the rest, so I assume she's barbered/been barbered in the past?

 

She gave me a flash of her norty bits last night when attempting to poo at me through the bars (?!) - I'm pretty sure from looking online that she's definitely Cilla rather than "Fella".

[sproggie14]

Yeah I think it's generally alfalfa you find in the cubes which as I recall is just for occassional rather than daily consumption. Can't remember why now.

 

I shall google....

 

ETA ah yes, that's it. Alfalfa is a legume hay rather than a grass hay so is much higher in protein and lower in fibre (which is the main reason for feeding hay).

 

You can get various different types of hay from somewhere like www.thehayexperts.co.uk - maybe something like oat hay would trigger hayfever less?

Edited May 10, 2008 by sproggie14

[KathyM]

Thanks Sarah, I'll have a look for different hays then!

 

I picked up a 99p bag of Science Selective yesterday - I've read it's a really good food and I thought she might like it as healthy treats (she doesn't like veggie pillows it seems). She loves it. I had a thought about her selective feeding and thought I'd run it by you. Given choice seems to be the most influential factor, I wondered if it was worth (when it's time) weaning her onto a mix of Science Selective AND a good pellet. That way she thinks she's still getting a variety, but each bit is complete.

 

Is that a stupid idea?

[willowisp]

Chins are very selective eaters, so theyre best off on pellets to ensure they get all their nutrients. If you put both into a bowl they will pick out the nice bits and leave the pellets and will stubbornly wait for the mix . Chances are if theyve been on a mix they will snub theyre noses up at it (like going from McDonalds to Salads! ) but they *will* get used to it eventually

 

The best thought of hay is called Timothy hay (especially when its fresh) and they love a product called Redigrass as a nice treat too. I get my hay from a local farm. As long as its fresh and not mouldy and as dust free as possible you'll be fine

[KathyM]

I knew I'd typed it out wrong Science Selective is a pellet too - so both elements in the bowl would be complete, meaning if she picked and chose, she'd still be getting a complete diet.

 

I know what you mean about the mix though - she's on Charlie Chinchilla (because that's what she was on in her old home and we're wanting to wean her off it) and she's finicky as anything with it. She loves the Science Selective though - I think we'll be weaning her onto that (maybe mixed with other pellets for the choice). I do wonder if it's better that we do that sooner rather than later given how little of the CC she's eating. I've been picking bits out of that too, the raisins for example. I know it's her usual diet, but I'm not happy about her having them at all. Luckily her favourite bit of it seems to be the grass pellets!

 

Thanks for the tips on hay - I might try the woman that sells us horse bedding for the rats (bizarre as that sounds). Maybe she can supply some.

Edited May 11, 2008 by KathyM

[willowisp]

Oh i think i know the one you mean, sorry my fault! It works out expensive when you have a few chins which is why ive never gone on to it! P@H do a 12.5kg bag of pellets called Henry Bell pellets for £7 and thats what mine are on (they were on Charnwoods, but as i moved to NI the delivery is stupidly priced so had to change them)

 

From the farmers i get half bale of hay for about £3 (which is great for 13 chinnies!) btu i dont know if it might be too much for just the one. When i had less i used to buy the prepacked stuff or from the shop below and they were happy on that.

 

Theres a great little online store that sells toys as well as hay here:Chinnie Shop so hope that helps a wee bit

[sproggie14]

I have heard good things about science selective but I've not tried it myself. The readigrass is great! Mine now have Excel Herbage (timothy hay with aded herbs) available all the time and then a mix of readigrass, Henry Bell chin pellets and Gertie Guinea pig morning and evening. The readigrass comes in a massive bale although they are now doing something called (I think) friendly grass which is smaller bags aimed at rodents. Mine go absolutely mad for it! Henry Bell is a great one to get her on if you're thinking of adding goos as it's molasses free. I have a feeling the science selective might be ok for goos to but I'm not certain.