Question:
Hi all!
I haven't been posting at all, but I've been reading avidly; just wanted to thank you all for all the great information I get from this site, and I love seeing all the chin pics!
I was wondering if y'all think it'd be okay if I put a cement block in my (getting him tonight!) new chin's cage. It's fairly small and square, but has a hole through the middle that's roughly chinchilla-sized. It's been very hot here the past few days, and I thought that inside the cement block would be a bit cooler than his wooden house. I know clay's okay, but wasn't sure about cement; do you think there'd be any problems? It's not particularly crumbly, but does have kind of rough edges.
Thank you!


Answer:
I can't see any problems with it... I have a brick pipe in my cage and that also has some rough edges.


Answer:
Cement should be okay. Great idea by the way.


Answer:
Cement is a great idea to stay cool Are you planning to put it in the freezer for a while so that your chin can use it to cool down or just as a chin house?


Answer:
Thank you! It's also a good height to help him jump up onto his shelves. (I'm so excited to bring him home this evening!! I'm trying to make sure everything's perfect. All my coworkers are sick to death of hearing me chatter about it. ;-) I'll take pictures once he settles in!)
Thanks for all your help! Hope it cools down around here. ;-)


Answer:
I got two, so I was thinking of keeping one in the freezer at all times, and swapping them out when he's eating or something. The hole in the middle is also a perfect diameter for PVC pipe to fit through, so I'm thinking I might get a few more and use them to build a tunnel system for playtime. I love Home Depot!


Answer:
Wow, you are well-planned out! That is a great idea, getting two Let us know when he comes home and don't forget to update us and post pictures if you can!


Answer:
Thank you!
This is getting pretty off-topic now, but the breeder sent me a couple pictures of him about a week ago, when he was 8 weeks old -- hope no one minds if I show him off. I'll take some more pictures this weekend of him and his cement block and post them!


Answer:
he is sooo cute!!!!!! what are you going to name him??? I love the idea with the cement blocks. maybe I should give that a try. I have been trying to think of something to use also. I love his bushy tail!!!!!


Answer:
Thank you! I love his tail too. His mom has really big ears, and his dad has a big bushy tail, so I'm hoping he ends up with both. His name is "Indi" -- short for "Indus," which is a constellation ("The Indian"), and both his parents were named after constellations. He's also very independent and adventurous and quite the hunk, so he's a bit like Indiana Jones (I have grand plans for Flash movies about "Raisins of the Lost Ark" and "Indiana Chinchilla and the Temple of Raisins" ). Plus, he's a violet and has the whole "indigo" thing going on.