Are you ready for a chinchilla?

Hi! This is Chris, volunteer and guest writer! It's time for another blog post!

Today I wanted to write about bringing a new animal into your family. Is it the right time? Are you and your family ready for it? Many people debate before bringing home a dog or a cat, but don't put in as much thought before bringing home a smaller pet like a chinchilla. So here's some questions to ask yourself before saying "yes" to that cute furry friend!

Do you have the TIME for this animal?

Chinchillas may not require the same amount of time as a dog or a cat, but they still do have daily requirements for their care. You will need to ensure that you have time to set aside every day for their care. You will need time for checking on their supplies like food, hay and water. You'll need time to clean and upkeep their cage and environment, whether you are making or buying items for their cage. You will also need "fun" time with your chinchilla! This can mean playtime outside the cage (if you choose to do so), so simply time playing with them in the cage.

Can you COMMIT to this animal for it's entire life?

While chinchillas are small, they have a pretty good life expectancy! If you acquire a baby chinchilla, you should expect to care for them for about 12-15 years. Some chinchillas live even longer! If you can't make this long term committment, perhaps a different small animal is better. If you think there might be changes to your lifestyle (having kids, moving, going away to school, etc) that would prevent you from continuing to care for this chinchilla, ask about similar animals that may have a shorter life expectancy.

Do you have the KNOWLEDGE to care for this animal?

Have you done your research? Do you know the "do's and don'ts" of chinchilla care? Chinchillas are NOT a good animal to "figure it out as you go along"! Have you read NWI's care sheet? Plan to do that before considering if a chinchilla is the right fit for you. Another great idea is to join a couple chinchilla groups on Facebook, to chat with other chinchilla owners and breeders and to hear about their care.

Do you have the FUNDS for this animal?

You will need 3 types of funds to bring a new animal into your family.
1. Startup funds: this money will go towards the one-time purchases that you need to make to bring the animal home. Such as adoption fee, cage, food bowl, water bottle, cage accessories. Plan to spend a couple hundred if you don't previously have supplies. One way to bring this cost down is to inquire with us about what used cages, rescue chins, and used supplies we have for sale!
2. Daily funds: this money is what makes the purchases from day to day. Replenishing food supply, hay, new toys from time to time, etc. This cost can also be lowered by purchasing cheaper items through our store (and support rescue animals in the meantime!).
3. Emergency fund: anyone who has ever had a pet can confirm that vet bills are expensive! While chinchillas typically do not require yearly checkups and preventative care, their emergency care CAN be costly! Start a savings plan and put a little away each month so that when emergencies happen, they dont break the bank.

If you still have questions about whether a chinchilla is right for you, talk to us! Ask questions and lets chat! We are always here for you to support you in your decision to bring a chinchilla home.

Reading the Entire Ads

So, I know none of you would evvvver be guilty of this, but a lot of people are -- not reading the entire ads.  I know, I know, my ads sometimes go on and on.  And a lot of it is like, ok you have to fill out the adoption form, ok, this is what comes home with the animal... but there's also relevant stuff.  Like info about the personality and whatnot.

Case in point.  I had someone call me the other day, asking if the rabbit was still available.  Yes.  So then they asked, what is the price?

Let's stop right there.  That's in EVERY ad.  So about the only reason people EVER ask what the price is, after they've called about an ad, is because they don't like the price.  So I told him, the rabbit is $75 and she comes with her cage, litter pan, etc etc etc, everything except her x-pen, so that's all you'll need to buy, if you don't already have one (again, all this is in the ad).

So his reply is that well, he doesn't need all that stuff, so what will she be just by herself?  I suppose, if I was just an individual re-homing a rabbit, this could be a fair question, but it specifically says she WILL come with her stuff, so I tell the guy, she has to come with her stuff.  "Why?"  I refrained from being an ass and just being like, "because I say so," which I really wanted to say, but rather, I replied that she comes with her stuff so she feels at home and doesn't have any issues transitioning and whatnot.

So then he tells me, oh don't worry, she'll feel right at home.  Oh, that eases ALL my worries, let me tell you.  He goes on to tell me that he has another rabbit, a really big cage for the both of them. 

Again, let's stop right there.  If you read the ad (which you may not have, I know, but I will paste it at the bottom of this post), it says right on the ad that she needs to go to a home that will be keeping her in an x-pen.  This is NOT anything all that unusual, especially for a larger rabbit.  The ad ALSO says that, to verify this, we will require pictures to prove there really is an x-pen, as proof of cage.  So, for someone who really reads this ad, thoroughly... you know I'm not kidding.

So I ask him, did he see in the ad where it says she has to stay in an x-pen, rather than a cage?  His answer, "why? that's stupid."  Again... it's in the ad.  If he had read it, it says she's mildly cage aggressive, but she's not so bad in her x-pen, and of course, it gives her more room to roam, as well. 

I explained, due to her behavior (per the ad), she needs to go to a home with the x-pen.  He wished me good luck and hung up.

This entire phone call could have been avoided... had he read the ad.  Heck, I even have, ON THE AD, something like, please read this entire ad before replying.  Because I KNOW it's long but I ALSO know that there's vital info, info that people will LIKELY MISS, if they skip it.  I mean, it's always important to read the entire ads... but if I actually take the time to put "please read this entire ad"... you can bet it's even moreso important.

Now, you may be asking why we have so much info in the ads.  The reason for that is this:  while I understand, of course, that people look at the pretty pictures, and often respond based off that... I also want to limit wasting people's time.  If I just put, "Siamese Mini Satin doe up for adoption, contact for more info"... well, then, a lot of people are going to email and want to know the adoption fee.  For some, it will be too high.  Then others will email wanting to know what she's like.  For some, she won't be what they're looking for.  For others, they will ask what she weighs.  Again, for some, she won't be the right weight.  If everything is covered right off the bat, people have the opportunity to read the ad, and determine while reading the ad, that the pet is not for them.  Then, they don't have to waste time contacting me, or me waste time responding to them.  Hopefully, then, the ones that contact me are homes that are more likely to adopt.  Hopefully.

Since I want this blog post to make sense, long after this rabbit has been re-homed (not yet, but she will be eventually!), I am pasting the ad below, so it doesn't disappear:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have a female rabbit looking for her new home. Her name is Ellie.

Please read this ENTIRE ad before responding.

Please note: Ellie is currently being fostered in South Elgin, IL. Due to the fact that rabbits are illegal to own in Hammond, IN, we cannot bring her back to the rescue for adoption, and so, she will need to be adopted out directly from her foster home. If you are unable to travel to South Elgin to adopt, please look elsewhere.

Ellie’s foster home / mom has this all to say about her:

“Ellie is an unspayed Siamese mini Satin rabbit, a little over 2 years old (birthdate March 2017). She weighs about 4-5 pounds. She is a creamy white color with the "points" of her body (nose, ears, paws) being a chocolately brown color much like a siamese cat. Ellie is not spayed. She has never had any health issues, only visited the vet once when she was young for a checkup. She does well when taken for nail trims.

Ellie has an exercise pen available to her at all times. This is a must for her new home! She loves to run around in her x-pen. She enjoys rolling around jingly cat bells, flipping around plastic yogurt cups, tossing around metal jar lids, and playing with wooden sticks. Ellie also has a handmade fleece dig mat that we hide treats in for her to sniff and find. She has a plastic tub we fill with newspaper strips that she likes digging in and carrying the strips around her exercise pen. She has a fleece "forest" she loves to hide in and a crinkly cat tunnel she runs in and out of. She explores new toys quickly and loves an enriching environment. Ellie also has an enclosed cage available to her in her pen. Her cage houses her metal litter pan, food bowl, hay bowl and water bottle.

Ellie eats Oxbow Essentials rabbit food, timothy hay, and a handful of "spring mix" lettuce mix every day. She LOVES spring mix. She has also tried spinach, parsley, cilantro, romaine with not as much enthusiasm. She is not a fan of fruit.

Ellie is defensive about her cage. We have learned to only clean the cage when she is not in it. (It's easy to tempt her out of the cage with treats or lettuce.) She has bitten once due to not following this rule. She is a bit nibbley of people in her exercise pen, I think this is due to our cats invading her space. I think that particular behavior may stop in a cat-free home. She does very much enjoy to be petted (often "melts" into a bunny puddle when we pet her). She squirms a smidge when physically picked up, but once she is held and secure in your arms, she absolutely looooves snuggles.

Ellie comes with: large cage, metal litter pans, food bowl, hay bowl, water bottle, toys (cat balls, keys, yogurt cups), homemade fleece "dig mat", plastic dig tub (for shredded newspaper), fleece forest, cat crinkle tunnel, any/all remaining food, treats, bedding.”

Please note that she DOES NOT come with an exercise pen, so you will be required to have a decent sized one of your own, and show pictures of your x-pen as proof of cage.

Ellie has always been housed by herself, so we are unsure how she does with other rabbits.

Regardless of past rabbit experience, all potential homes will be asked to read our rabbit care packet and fill out our adoption form. If you are unwilling to do this, please do not waste our time or yours. No rabbit will go to a new home without an adoption application being filled out - no exceptions.

Ellie is being fostered in South Elgin, Illinois. She will need to be picked up directly from her foster home, after all paperwork is completed.

Please note: if you live in Hammond, Indiana, you will be unable to adopt, as rabbits are illegal to own in Hammond. Please note also that this rabbit is NOT at our location in Hammond, but is being fostered in South Elgin, IL.

The adoption fee for Ellie and all her stuff is $75. All you’ll need to provide is an x-pen!

Reptiles / snakes / non-furry animals that we take in

So, when people ask what all we rescue, and I get into the long list which includes the geckos, snakes, etc etc... people are always like OMG aren't you afraid of getting bit?

So, let me go into a bit more in depth about the reptile stuff that we take in.  We only take in small reptiles / snakes / amphibians.  That means, no burmese pythons, no huge monitor lizards, nothing that will be able to do significant harm.  Even if someone was to call me, having some small venomous snake (many require a permit to own, but we'll pretend that's not the case for a moment), we still wouldn't take it in.  I want to help how I can... without becoming dinner or getting severely injured by something that I'm trying to help.

Yes, we had that big bearded dragon awhile ago, but their care is simple, and they're docile.  About the most "aggressive" reptile we have here that we've taken in is Fluffy, the redtail boa.  She's never struck at me, specifically... though she has gotten the glass, and has struck at other people.  She's a bit of a less docile snake, though to be fair... redtails aren't known for being all that docile.  So she's probably more your typical redtail.

But let's get back to that first question, about, aren't I afraid of getting bit?  I just got a snake from a friend of a friend, who couldn't keep it any more.  Meet Indy, an okeetee female corn snake. 

Indy was about 5 days past her normal feeding date, and was hungry.  When I initially picked her up, she tried to eat my arm.  Twice.  As in, she slowly opened her jaw and tried to fit my arm into it.  That's kind funny.  She's about as "fat" as she looks, about fat-highlighter-size.  She's not gonna eat my arm.  I probably should have taken the hint and put her down, but did I?  Of course not.  

So, while I stood there, holding her, talking to her previous owner, and moving my hands to talk like I always do... I guess one of my hands looked like food, so she thought it was food.

Now, if that looks like a deadly bite to you... well... it's not.  There's multiple poke spots because they have multiple teeth, and you can just barely see where her lower jaw connected off to the right side of my hand.  It's nothing!  Heck, my eczema higher up looks worse to me than the snake bite.  The point is, it felt like getting a shot at the doctor's office.  A quick pinprick, and if you're not expecting it, sure you pull your hand away.  Today, you can see it even less than you could yesterday, and you'll not even be able to see it in a couple of days.  It's not an OMG IMA DIEEEE snakebite.  

Same goes for all the small reptiles / etc that we take in.  Can they bite?  Sure.  Are they going to do any major damage with a bite?  No, probably not.  And if they're that dangerous, they should probably be in a rescue better equipped to handle them.  So, when you hear me talk about the snakes or reptiles or non-furries that we sometimes help out, know that they're not that scary, most don't bite, and often... they're just hungry.  I must look tasty, what can I say...

Loofah again

Wanted to share an up-to-date pic of the loofah! 

Look at it GROW!

RIP Chichi

Let's all give our heartfelt condolences to Sylvia, the mom of one of the crabbiest chinchillas on the planet (she loved her to death, don't get me wrong), for the loss of her furbaby, Chichi.

Chichi was a blue diamond female that Sylvia adopted from here back in late summer of 2017.  Because Sylvia goes out of country a couple times a year, she would board Chichi here.  While boarding, Chichi has always been in the same cage, and had never had a problem... until now.  Chichi had been with us about two weeks or so for boarding, when a few days ago, we went downstairs in the morning to find her like this:

How did she get stuck?  No one really knows.  What we do know is that she hooked her hip over the bar, and hooked her foot over the lower bar, like an S... effectively holding her in place.  She fought like hell to get loose (which was so like her), to the point of twisting that leg several times.  By the time we saw her and freed her, she had spiral fractured her leg in several places, and the leg was not salvageable.  The bone was sticking out a good 2", and we knew she'd need her leg amputated.

Chichi in the carrier on the way to the vet, back leg facing the wrong way

She was taken into the vet's office as soon as they could see us, and they performed the amputation surgery.  The surgery itself went well, but her temperature was a little low, so they didn't want Chichi to come home that night, they wanted to continue monitoring her.  The next morning, her temp wasn't any better, and she wasn't making any improvements either (which was odd, with the time that had passed), so they put her on oxygen to hopefully promote healing.  She remained a little groggy, so the vet thought maybe one of the pain meds was having a sedative effect, and took her off that pain med.  Later in the day, Chichi still had not made improvements or progressed in any way, so we discussed doing bloodwork to see if there was an underlying issue.  An x-ray was also performed to see that there was no other broken bones which could be contributing to this -- there were not.  Blood was drawn, but shortly after, Chichi started seizing.  The vet gave her an anti-seizure med... so she did stop seizing.... but then her heart stopped as well.  The vet performed CPR, but they unfortunately were unable to save her.

Chichi was just over 2 years old.  This was unfortunately a freak accident that took her life.  It just goes to show that even if everything is done right in veterinary care (and heck, even in caging... she was in a ferret nation -- one of the more highly recommended and owned chinchilla cages), sometimes things go wrong, and sometimes the chins can't recover.  She is no longer in pain though, and is running free on all her legs.  RIP Chichi.

Wood!

So... I always said I didn't process wood, because I never had the wood to process... and it's a pain to contact orchards and get permission for trimmings and whatnot.  Much too busy for that.

But then, Jim was going to spray some chin-safe trees with vegetation killer.  And I just couldn't let that wood go to waste!

Right now, I have both grapevine and mulberry wood here.  I've processed most of the grapevine... just need to boil one and bake one last batch, and stick another batch in the oven to bake for a bit, and that'll be done. 

Grapevine in the pot, filling with water to boil a few more times.  Mulberry in the tub soaking, prior to scrubbing.

The mulberry has all been scrubbed, so then onto boiling and baking. 

Scrubbed mulberry

I made the mistake of leaving some of the pieces I brought back, overly large.  The intention was that I was going to cut them into toy pieces, so I didn't need them perfectly stick sized.  Well... those pieces, as is, will not fit in my oven.  So, I'm going to have to turn on my table saw and hack them down to more manageable pieces before I can go much further with that.

taaaaaaad bit too big

... once those are cut down, and the grapevine is all processed, then onto the mulberry!  There's even a few more mulberry tries on the property that I can trim, plus an elm and a few other fun things I can process.

So, upcoming, anticipate seeing some of this wood for sale, and some of the thicker pieces being added to toys (or maybe a new toy???) and sold like that.  Exciting!!

Loofah!

So, as you may or may not know, one of our most popular toys is our zany loofah toy.  In case you're not familiar, it looks like this:

... which of course, requires loofah to make!   That toy sells for $7.00, and we also sell both natural loofah slices (4 slices) for $1.75, or 4 colored loofah slices for $3.00.

So, as you can imagine... we go through some loofah!

Well, this past year, I actually ran into loofah SEEDS and I was super excited.  I live in the suburbs, so while I have a raised garden bed, this really isn't the ideal place for growing a vine-y plant, so I talked to Jim and we planted some loofah seeds at his place!

Below is the current set up for about half the seeds.  I say half, because we initially planted them in mounds (as you're supposed to) by fence posts... and then had the genius idea to put up a goat panel with T-posts and mound seeds in front of that.  So, we put up two of them, here's how that looks:

And... some pics of loofah sprouting! 

These two pics show the loofah when it just had first sprouted.  Some of the sprouts now have a couple of the actual vine-y type leaves and are growing!  I don't have a pic to show that, of course (haha), but I will put up another post once these have more time to grow.

Hopefully if these grow well and all, I will have some literally home-grown loofah available this late fall / winter.  EXCITED!!

Cages for... Ferrets? Chinchillas?

So... when we list cages on our used cages page, we have a section where we list them depending on what they're good for.  So the smaller cages often say good for hamsters, mice, etc... for some of the bigger ones, we have chinchillas, rabbits, etc etc and so on.

And so sometimes, we have a cage like this one:

...and we have it listed as good for chinchillas, ferrets, prairie dogs, etc. 

Undoubtedly, when I list a cage like this (read: with plastic shelves and plastic "stuff") as "for chinchillas" people lose their minds, and a select few will even reach out to me and share their thoughts with me about this sort of thing. 

I guess those same people miss the entire section of the website where it says, stay away from plastic and use wood shelves?  I say that... because if they saw that, then I wouldn't think they would feel the need to tell me this. 

Anyway... I listed this cage like that (this was like... a month or two ago, at least... it's long gone) because if someone is looking at that cage for, say, a ferret, prairie dog, or another animal that is not a chew-a-holic like chins are... that cage, as is, may be just fine.

As it turned out, I had a chin person end up wanting that cage.  While they were here, we swapped out the plastic shelves for wood shelves, added chew toys, added a hanging hammock shelf, added a fleece tube (up at the top) and so on.  Looks much better now, eh?

The thing is... when I list the cages, they can often be improved on.  However, I often hesitate to post a cage like the revised version (second picture), especially when I have the original shelves and they're not chewed to heck... because there IS going to be a price difference between the first and second version of that cage.  But the point is, the cages are always open for improvement, and often can look much better and be much better for the animal with some adjustments... but some things depend on what animal is using them, and how much the new owner can afford, at that specific time.

Christmas in July Sale!

Have you seen our Christmas in July sale?  If not, here's what we have!

We are having our CHRISTMAS IN JULY SALE!

Our Christmas in July sale will run on all our holiday / Christmas items (specific hammocks, toys, and human ornaments) that can be found in our webstore! 30% off these items for the month of July! Stock up now and be ready in time for Christmas!

Holiday Hammocks -- Regularly $8.50 --> SALE $6.50

Holiday Toys -- Regularly $6.00 --> SALE $4.50

Holiday Human Ornaments -- Regularly $3.00 --> SALE $2.25

Our webstore can be found here -- https://www.nwichinchillas.com/apps/webstore/ -- the shopping cart tends to calculate shipping high, we REFUND EXCESS SHIPPING after the order ships. Or contact me with your zip code for a shipping quote.

...some pics of our holiday hammocks... (now only $6.50 each!!)

...some pics of our holiday toys...(now only $4.50 each!!)

...some pics of some of our stamped holiday ornaments (for humans)... (now only $2.25 each!!)

...and some pics of our holiday wood painted ornaments (for humans)... (now only $2.25 each!!)

Plus of course, we still have all our regular items at our usual low prices!  Make sure you stock up now, so you'll be ready for Christmas!

Discounts

I know, I know.  I'm constantly yammering on about people wanting something for nothing.  But this was something that wasn't quite so familiar...

Someone asked, for a $75 chin, could I discount the chin to $50 if I didn't include the food and treats.

First off, no.

Second off, that's problematic.  Not so much the treats, but a good owner should want the food included, so they can do a transition switch to the new food.  You don't want to do a cold turkey food switch -- for any animal -- unless you absolutely have to, as it can wreak havoc on their digestive system.

Third... this may come from people buying stuff from the pet stores with their high prices... but the food and treats that are included with the chin is not expensive.  The bag of food you get is ~ 2 pounds.  2 pounds of Tradition costs $1.50, 2 pounds of Mazuri costs $2.50.  The goodie bag that's included costs $2.00.  To be perfectly honest, I'm including this stuff because I want people to have the food the chin's on, I want them to be able to try a variety of treats and see what the chin likes, and so on and so forth... I'm not adding it into the cost.  It just is what it is. 

...and my response to the guy was basically that... the food and treats don't actually cost that much, nowhere near $25 worth, and that our $75 chins are the least expensive we have.  I mentioned that while I understand chins, supplies, whatnot can be expensive, I don't think $75 is unreasonable for an adoption fee. 

...and really, that's what I believe.  If $75 is too much of a setback, cost-wise, then I honestly don't think someone needs another chinchilla.  Save up a little bit, then get one.  That is all.

High Temps in Vehicles

So... you may have heard me tell people recently that we already had someone "cook" a chin this year.  Unfortunately, there's at least a couple each year, and obviously while no one intends to hurt their chin, a lot of people just don't realize how hot it can get, how quickly.  And knowledge is power, so I aim to educate you as best I can.

I found this online, and I will be honest and say that I hope it's accurate... but it does seem reasonable:

...take a look at the first line.  If it's 75 outside, it takes 10 minutes to reach 100 inside the car.  Think about when you stop to get gas and then get in the car that's been sitting for a few minutes... it's hot!  So while the 100 degrees in 10 minutes, even if not exact... the point is, it gets hot quick.

So, hypothetically, if you were to take a chin home, and on the way home, stop for lunch.  Leave the chin in the car, go inside... you see that it doesn't take very long, EVEN with the outside temp not being all that hot (cause really, 75 isn't hot hot) for it to be WAY above temps that chinchillas should be in.

Bottom line... don't be stupid, keep your chins cool.  Don't be the next "someone cooked their chin" story.  I'd prefer to NOT have those stories to tell.  Thanks much.

Cleaning Pans

So, I've had a lot of people comment on how clean we're often able to get cages that we sell.  Of course, sometimes we clean them better than others, but assuming it's just grime on the pans... often we can get it off!  Let me show you some examples.... (these are ferret nation pans)

Originally:

Getting Clean:

Next Pan, Originally:

Almost Clean!:

I have no idea why I didn't take "officially clean now!" pics, but you can definitely see the progression.  Great, right?  

So, what's my secret?

MAGIC!  MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

No, but really.  White vinegar.  Fill the pan with water, add some vinegar (if it's really tough grime, we use just vinegar, no water)....come back in a little bit, scrub.  If the water is now icky icky, rinse out, add more vinegar, repeat until clean.  It really does work.  

For that ferret nation cage, we used a gallon of vinegar (to clean the two large pans and the two shelf pans).  That sounds like a lot, but a gallon is what, like $3?  And it's CLEAN!  

There's your cleaning tip for the week.