I try to be patient.

I try to be patient.  I really do.  But people.  If the listing is for two chins, why, oh WHY, do you freaking email me and just want one?  I have MULTIPLE listings for SINGLE chins, but NOOOOOOO you have to pick the listings with PAIRS and you want ONE of them.  That's NOT how it works. 

I realized today, my one ad for a pair does not say something along the lines of "these chinchillas must be adopted together."  Fine.  But doesn't the title, which says, "PAIR of ....." convey that?  Or is everyone so stupid anymore that they don't get it?  I mean, do you people go around to stores and pick up a 12 pack of toilet paper and take it up to the front register and tell them you just want 6?  I mean, really?

There's quite a few ads for single chins.  You want a single chin, you look at those.  Pairs are a little different, because, just because a single chin isn't paired up, doesn't mean it can't be.  But I'm not going to split a pair.  ESPECIALLY because often times in a pair, there's a more desirable chin and a less desirable chin.  In Suzi and Stella, Stella is the calmer, more handle-able one.  Suzi screams at least 50% of the time when you pick her up.  Guess who'd get adopted first?  But they are a pair -- they are bonded and will go home together.  In Mama and Baby, Mama sprays.  Baby doesn't.  Guess who'd almost never get adopted.  Oh yeah.  These pairs aren't together solely for the purpose of adopting out problem chins -- pairs just sometimes come that way.  I have some chins where both chins are fine, normal, healthy, happy chins.  Other pairs are like these that I mentioned, where one chin is less desirable, but that's just how it is.  You take the good with the bad.  I had degus once, where the one you couldn't touch, because she'd bite, but the other was sweet as pie.  Well, you had to adopt both, because they need companionship (and believe me, no one would have ever adopted out the biter alone, she drew blood and everything).  And someone came and adopted them.  It's simple -- you like one better, by all means, you can pay more attention to it, and you can leave the "problem" one alone.  I can tell you, Mama does just fine being left alone here.  She gets weighed when it's time, but other than that, she doesn't come out a ton.  Which is just fine, and would be fine in her new home as well.  Baby is perfectly happy and healthy and normal.

I have a lot of pairs right now.  I don't know why, but people seem to want one chin.  Two chins aren't any harder to care for.  I still clean the cages of pairs once a week.  Two chins eat more food than one, and they drink more water than one.  But that's about it.  Maybe they chew more than one, but when you only have a few chins, the cost of chew toys is hardly anything to complain about unless you have beaver-chins.  Which most people don't.  Pairs are an opportunity to get two chins that are already getting along, already bonded, and have a buddy.  What do you think your chin does when you're gone all day at work?  It sits there.  It chews.  With another chin, it can do all of that with a buddy.  I hear so many people who don't want their chin to be lonely, but they get one chin, and then later want to add another.  But a lot of times, that chin doesn't want a buddy, so they're stuck with one (for lack of better wording).  Versus if they'd just gotten two in the first place.  I tell people, if they think they may want two, it's better to get a pair at the beginning, than to try to add another chin later.  It can be done, but it's typically more difficult.  But no one listens.

One more thing, about the waiting list.  When I email you letting you know I have an empty cage, you have 7 days to get back to me.  I understand, if you're farther away, you may need more time than that to make it here.  But I feel like you can at least take the time to email or call back within 7 days.  I have someone on the list right now, first person, who is first on the list because they have chins from here.  They had emailed me and let me know they needed to bring the chins back, and I told them they had to wait, but I would keep them informed.  Little bit ago, I received an email asking if there was any update. I told em, not yet, but I would keep em informed.  Like two days after that, I emailed letting them know that I had an open cage, and I needed to know when they could bring the chins in.  Nothing.  Few days passed, and still nothing.  I now told them they have until a certain day to get back to me, or I'm moving down the list.  I understand people are busy.  I get it.  I'm busy too.  But if you're really wanting to drop off your chin, you can at least email or call back.  Even if you've already found a new home or no longer need to drop the chin off, for whatever reason, it goes a lot quicker on my end if you just tell me that.  So I can move along to the next person.  You are not going to hurt my feelings by telling me that you rehomed your chin or you no longer need to bring it in. I don't care.  In fact, I'd rather you tell me that, so I can just move straight to the next person on the list, rather than sit here and wait the time for you to respond, and then move on.  And if you get passed by, and I bring in someone else's chin, your spot just went bye-bye.  And you'll have to wait again.  I can't hold open a cage until you decide to email me back, because I have like 7 people waiting to bring in animals right now.  I hardly think 7 days is too short of a period to ask that you respond to me in that amount of time.  So if you can't respond in 7 days, you will get taken off the list, at least until you call again.