Question:
Hey this forum is generally really huge so if you have a sec and care to answer a few questions of mine that'd be fabulous

1) how long do chinchillas live? i hear some die at 5 some live 'till 25 generally i thought they were supposed to live until at least 10 i hoped kuki (my chin) would live till she was 15 but now im sad she wont live half that

2) what kind of hay do you feed ur chin? i use meadowlands which is a kind of mix of timothy and natural field grasses, should i just use timothy mixed with a little bit alfafa? and WRT food changing, do you always completely replace all of your chins pellets and/or hay every night? (main question is with regards to pellets since i usually always replace all hay)

3) my bad, ive been cleaning her cage once a week, scrub everthing down with a soapy cloth and use a disinfectant cloth thing anti-smell type thing from the pet store. (nature's miracle i think...? from superpet). Now, her cage has a tray at the bottom where i put the fresh aspen in but, (i only have the 1 chin..) am i supposed to replace this aspen every DAY or once a WEEK? i thought it was once a week but recently have been thinknig perhaps i misinterpreted everything iread about cage maintenance and replacing this "bedding" (i thought bedding just meant where she slept but she sleeps on towels and never poops/pees on them so i replace only once a week) can anyone help? (on and also, whats the deal with bleach, should i clean it with bleach once a month? how much? is it really necessary?)

4) How long do you let your chins play for? Mine, pretty much every day, gets between 30 min and an hour and EVERY now and then if im superbusy or not home she doesn't get it but im pretty good at giving it to her (sometimes when i get home at 1am!

5) WRT cleaning dish bowls/water bottle i use soap + water, should i use anything else?

thank you SO much!
Kippo

(most of these questions id like to get clarified since they sometimes crossed my mind but didnt seem too serious but with all this 5 year lifespan information im getting sad )


Answer:
It sounds like you are doing a good job.

1) The life span varies greatly for chins. I believe that the general opinion is 10-15 years. A lot has to do with the quality of care and disease. I'm sure that you have heard of malocclusion. This can lead to an early death.

2) I feed local hay. It is a blend of timothy and grass hay. Alfalfa tends to be a bit too rich for everyday feeding. I would stick to what you are doing. As for replacing the pellets, it really is personal preference. Some people fill the bowls when getting low, others replace and fill every day. My chins no longer sit on their bowls so I usually wait until they are low (usually two days) and then refill. If they were pooping in their bowl, I would replace each day. Hay only lasts a few hours so I don't have to worry about replacing.

3) Replacing shavings once a week is typically the norm. My boys' cage has a litter box which I change every couple days. Zoya (the girl) tends to go in the same two places so I usually scoop those places out every few days. It just seems to keep the cage really fresh. A 1 to 10 bleach solution would be fine as long as it is rinsed and dried thoroughly.

4) My chins get out a few times a week. They used to be out more but they prefer to run on their wheels. Even when I let them out, they often run back to their cage and run on the wheel.

5) Soap and water works just fine for dishes and bottles. I run mine through the dishwasher.


Answer:
thanks so much!

Just a few more which occured to me last night as I was playing w/the lil' rascal

How big a cage is sufficient? RIght now hers is 2x2x4 feet. i was going to get her a 3x2x5 ft. one the other day but the pet store employee said 2x2x4 is fine since they like to climb and she gets playtime (so i got her a new fleecy hammock instead )

thanks for bleach advice, but is it absolutely necessary?


I may post a few more, just the longer i have her the more little tid bits of a question(s) seem to cross my mind and this forum is absolutely FABULOUS for chin info! whenever i do research or even ask pet store employees all the information tends to conflict, like how much raisins they should have (some say NO MORE than 3 a week some say no more than 1 a day some say 1-2 a day is fine :s)


Answer:
I don't feel that bleach is absolultely necessary. I generally use vinegar and water or Simple Green.

The cage size is just fine. I used to be of the opinion that bigger is better but if your chin gets lots of playtime or has a wheel something around 2X2X4 is fine. I have two males in a cage that is 3X3X2 and they are very comfortable.

There is a lot of conflicting information when it comes to any pet. I prefer to keep the treats to a minimum...because well, they're treats. Instead of dried fruit, I usually give a few rolled oats or a similar grain. They think they are treats but they are more nutritious than fruit.


Answer:
Thanks!

(just a fewmore...)

how do you store your hay to avoid it getting mouldy? mines in a plastic bag in my cupboard where i keep my clothes and stuff i think its ok it lasts me like 2-3 months! just worried since i never thought it was but im not 100%

also, when your chins make their "grumpy" type sound, you know, the one you might have initially thought (when you first got him/her) that they made because they liked what you were doing? like, do they actually move/do something to avoid it? my chin is laying in her hammock and if you pet her she makes 2 types of squeeky sounds, one is really quiet and i thin kshe likes it but the other (as ive learned through research) is her "i dont like that" sound but she doesnt really do anything, the thing is my brother and sister are constantly petting her like that and she makes the noise and i tell them she doesnt like it but they call me stupid and say "she doesn't move so obviously she likes it" how do i get it through their heads to stop?!

from, a very frustrated chinchilla owner


Answer:
I got some Vitacraft Calcium Kracker Sticks today, i put one in her cage, it says it can be in there all the time and she seems to love it, and everything SEEMS alright, after all they are specific for chinchillas....but is it o.k.to have it in the cage 24/7? is it considered a "treat" to them (i.e. for optimum health) what if she eats this isntead of her hay, which i also replace every night of course?


sorry if im being annoying with all the questions especially if they seem obvious


Answer:
I like to store my hay open in a box,a big box I buy mine by the bale.
Don't let anyone torment your chinchilla, and you need to bond with it first as the owner.
I don't give mine the Vitacraft Calcium Kracker Sticks, too sweet, and I have seen them with corn and peanuts in them, not good for chins.
Give her a calcium chew tablet instead, and a vit. c tablet. Most like them just as much.


Answer:
um, kind of embarassing question lol

my chin is a female...i THINK anyways, she's had me second guessing b/c when I have playtime with her she does this weird thing where she'll grab my arm (around the wrist) and sometimes my foot/ankle and well.....hump it? At first I thought it was a hug, and honestly it might be but she's shaking when she does it, and it doesn't REALLY feel like she's humping it, is that what she's doing or is my hug theory wrong b/c that would be sad lol she's always, at least almost always really excited when she does it and usually JUMPS off it superfast and runs around with a spirt of energy

...she also makes this weird noise when we play "the tissue chasing" game and growls......actually it sounds more like a laugh, like a short burst of grunts that sounds like a laugh all equally spread apart like "ha. ha. ha." almost......minus the ha's lol (but is she actually just annoyed by the tissue?)

thanks!


Answer:
does anyone here have a chin (or know anything about...) heart murmurs? Kuki was diagnosed when I first got her, but I was told she may grow out of it. This morning she was on my shoulder and i rested my head against her and could hear her heart beating, and it didn't sound too normal (she's fully grown now) and it made me kind of sad to think she might not live as long or have some sort of future problems because of it.

....but i've seen a lot of information regarding special diets and vitamin C and such, but my vet never mentioned anything about it even after I asked if there was anything I could do. Do special diets really help a chin with a heart murmur/is there anything I should be doing "especially" for her?


Answer:
Heart murmurs are not a cause for alarm.
I had one for most of my child hood, as did my daughter, we grew out of it.
Your chin still should live for 10 - 15 years.