Question:
Hello All!!! I am a new member and hope everyone can help with a very all new to me animal. I had just seen my first chinchilla for the very first time with my husband in a pet store. I begged him to take her home and he repeated said no. So we left and ran errands. Finally we ended up back at the pet store a couple of hours later and my hunny bought the pretty girl for me. Thanks Hunny!!! Anyhow I have been spending alot of time with her in the evenings and we have become close. But I noticed something new today with her. I put a large sheet of plain white paper in the bottom of her cage and she urinates on it. But now she chews the spot where she urinates. Is this normal or very strange?
ANd Hello to all and I hope everyone had a great holiday...
Thanks,
Melanie


Answer:
Hi Melanie. Welcome to the forum!
It is not normal for her to be "eating" her own urine, however, she is probably eating the paper that you put down. What kind of bedding are you using?


Answer:
Hi Candice!!
Thanks for the welcome.
I am using just a plain white paper. Nothing special. No other kind of bedding besides the paper.
Melanie


Answer:
Melanie, welcome to the forum.
I advise you to buy bedding for your chinchilla's cage. Plain white paper does not do an adequate job in absorbing odours and is not healthy for your chinchilla. Kiln dried pine, Aspen, and Cell-Sorb are popular and safe brands of bedding to buy.


Answer:
Hello Melanie ... welcome to the forums!!!!! everyone here is full of ideas and suggestions.. so whatever you need to know.. just ask!! did the petstore give you any basics for owning a chinchilla?? like what kind of food... and their bath... treats... etc???


Answer:
No, the pet store told me much of NOTHING..They dont know anything about the chinchillas. This is all new to them also and this will be the second chinchilla sold by the store. So, I will be looking for help from all you chinchilla owners here. I figured that I would get more help and concern from chinchilla owners than I would a pet store. And I was right. Thanks to you all who responded to my question.....
Melanie


Answer:
Unfortunately, most pet stores are not educated when it comes to chinchillas. Please don't hesitate to ask questions about general health care, diet, behaviour, etc.


Answer:
Okay, off the top of my head...
Chins 101
Feed
Most feeds that are found in the pet store are poor quality and not fresh. They usually contain treats and are extremely overpriced. Here are some links to some more appropriate feeds.
Mazuri - http://www.mazuri.com
American Pet Diner (APD) - http://www.americanpetdiner.com
Kline - from Carole Kessler http://www.kessler-chins.com or Ann Ingram http://www.rjsonline.net/chinchillas...nection001.htm
Oxbow - http://www.oxbowhay.com
Diet changes should be done slowly by mixing the old food with the new. Changing too fast can cause digestive problems.
Hay type usually compliments the pellets. If the pellets are mostly alfalfa (most are, except APD), you will probably want to feed loose timothy or grass hay and maybe compressed hay cubes as well. Hay is available online from Oxbow and APD. Chins don't not really require much else. I feed a grain supplement (my recipe can be found at http://www.pets-on-the-net.com/forum....php?p=734#734) more as a treat than anything. Treats should be limited to one small piece of dried fruit or a few rosehips or the grain supplement per night. Too many treats can cause problems down the road. I prefer to limit the dried fruit and feed "healthier" treats, such as the rosehips and grain.
The type of water you use is debatable. Some give tap water, some filtered, some bottled. A lot depends on the water quality in your area.
Housing
It sounds like you already have a cage. Make sure that your girl cannot fall too far. If the cage is over 3' high, I would add a full middle floor. Cages should have chew toys (chins teeth do not stop growing and need to be kept down by chewing), a sleeping box, and possibly a wheel. Chew toys are varied...cuttlebone, pine blocks, and log huts are the most popular in my house. I use kiln dried pine in my cages and a combination of Cell-Sorb and pine in their litter boxes. Never, ever use cedar. Chins can be litter trained. Usually they will pee in the same spot so placing a litter pan (I use an 8" cake pan) in that spot can make cage cleaning easier. I clean their litter pan everyday and their entire cage once a week.
Health
Please find a qualified exotic vet BEFORE you ever need one. There are many owners who are faced with a sick chin and no vet. It is also important that you know of an emergency vet that treats chins. Make a lot of phone calls and ask a lot of questions. Penicillin type drugs are toxic to chins...my first question to a vet is, "What antibiotics would you prescribe to a chin?". If they answer with a penicillin type drug (amoxil, amoxcillin, clavamox), I thank them for their time and hang up. Another good question to ask is if they have ever treated chins and what type of procedures they performed. A good vet will always answer your questions. Chins are generally healthy animals but being that your girl is from a pet store, she may not be from a reputable breeder. There is nothing "wrong" with pet store chins (I have two) but usually they are throwbacks from bad breeders (IMHO, good breeders do not sell to pet stores) or the result of an accidental breeding. Make sure to check her teeth often, they should be bright orange...not white. If they are white, she is probably lacking calcium and/or vitamin C. If that is the case, you may want to supplement with rosehips and Tums or cuttlebone. Make sure that you monitor her feces. They should be firm and elongated...not round.
I think that is all for now...there is so much more but I think that is a good start. Feel free to ask questions and look around the site. There are lots of experienced owners and breeders that are more than willing to help.


Answer:
Candy probably covered most if not all of the info that you need.
just to add a few things.. if you do find a pet store that has the mazuri feed.. (or any of the other feed) make sure you check the bag to see what the date is on it.. the pet stores dont usually rotate their feed ( from the experience I have had anyway) so get the one that has the newest date..
dust... you need to give your chin a bath.. it is so awesome to watch!!!!!!!! its a dust bath and they love to roll in it.. you can get some dust from the pet store.. but if you can get ahold of some blue cloud... its better then the K-Tee stuff you get... ( or whatever else they sell)
good luck.. you will totally enjoy your new pet!!!! and definately ask ANY questions that you have!!!! when I got my first chin.. the only thing that I knew was that they had to have special pellets to be fed.. and they needed a dust bath.. but that was IT!!
treats... this is where people differ.. and on here too you will get people who differ in how they do it.. I give my chinchillas a treat every night!! it gives them bonding time with me. a raisin or a dried cranberry... a cherio...
make sure tho... if you have questions about treats.... PLEASE ask!! some treats can be harmful to the chins..


Answer:
Melanie
If you don't want to use shaving in the cage you can use woodstove pellets. I had my chins litter box trained so I also put paper in the bottom of the cage. I use woodstove pellets in all of my cages in the litter boxes.
Good luck with your new baby!