|
Post by chinsight on Jun 2, 2015 20:46:06 GMT
If you take only one chin out to the park and they are use to being with the other chin they are VERY timid and want to stay close to you. Ours still like to sit on our running shoes when we take them both out. They just want to touch us. Kinda like touching base to reassure themselves and then they bounce around and come back. I think chins want what they think they can't have. Once they get it its no big deal and they come back searching for their owners. You could try and take one out alone and see how it goes but it would have to be a big park and you must have the ability to out run your chin. LOL!
Where did you get her from?
We went to the local pet store to buy some chinchilla dust for our male he just lost his mate who was 16 yrs old 6 months before. We walked into the pet store and spotted 2 chinchillas in one cage and Bebzee chinchilla by herself. I guess they were a pair and were beating up Bebzee so they put her by herself. They said they just got them from a woman's home who had about 50 of them and wasn't taking care of them. We took Bebzee on the spot because she looked so BAD and smelled horrible and we thought she might die if we didn't. Then the pet store wanted $165 for her and we were in shock but we took her anyway.
how did you know she was ok to take outside?
Chins are domesticated but they are still rodents. Rodents are smart and since she liked watching Youtube videos and going to PetSmart and walks at night. I thought she'd love the park and she was just in shock with the whole deal. But that's the BEST part when you see an animal experiencing something for the first time is priceless. They just have that wonderment in their eyes and then they run back to you like Mommy pick me up!!!! She was just so scared of everything and everyone I started showing her things and taking her places to try and adapt her to new things and it worked so well.
|
|
|
Post by chinsight on Jun 2, 2015 20:58:49 GMT
My personal experience with our two chins is that in the house they never want to come back once they get out. They do everything in their chinchilla power to stay away, dodge, duck, hide, and explore. However, when we took them outside in the park they were completely different chins. It was an environment they knew they had no control over and were very timid and still are very aware of where we their owners are at all times. Its like they know they need us because its such an wild untamed place. I think that our chins aren't any different from anyone else's chins on this board and most likely the experiences I am having with ours would mirror anyone else's who tries a chin park day. They are not as independent and eager to leave as you would think. I have video's I am going to post. well I have one video but I'm going to try and take some more this will give everyone an idea of what its like and what they are like.
|
|
|
Post by natnat899 on Jun 3, 2015 9:27:08 GMT
I know Pickle likes going on a tour of the house, which I do sometimes to connect with him - I got both of them from a pet shop. We didn't know much about them, but I fell in love when I spotted these two really cute fluff balls. On hind sight, I should have got them from a breeder, but I wouldent give them up for the world.
Yes, Pickle isn't too bad - he liked exploring downstairs the one time he deliberately ran down the stairway, and I just directed him away from all the unsafe objects, he wanted to explore. He is however very dependant on Peanut, if Peanut isn't with him during playtime, he will hide in a corner. I think Peanut is part of the problem though, at nighttime when I give them attention, Pickle looks like he wants to jump on me but just doesn't - he stops himself. He used to be fine, but sometime changed - I know Peanut has begun to get more pushy, he has tried to push Pickle off my shoulder a few times. So pickle learnt to avoid my shoulder, and he doesn't really like sitting on my palms - he prefers the back of my hands for some strange reason.
Actually, Pickle prefers his cage - I use Gotcha to get him back in, as long as there's a high place he will jump on that and I can offer him my hand. I don't allow him runs in my bedroom anymore, it's too unsafe. Unfortunately I think that's the only room he is comfortable with, so I'm a bit stuck there..
As with the park, we have 3 parks around us, but a lot of dog owners take their dogs for a walk in all of them.
|
|
|
Post by chinsight on Jun 3, 2015 18:16:38 GMT
Our chins want to gnaw everything. Its hard to let them run in the house without hearing the chewing. I'm terrified they will get ahold of wires and ZAP that will be the end of them. That's why the park works well for us. We try and take them after we get out of daily mass, so before 9 am. There are a few dogs but the owners keep them on a leash and the dogs just look trying to figure out what those fuzzy things are over there. You could if you wanted to try Pickles without Peanut to the park and see how he adapts. Make sure you bring someone with you for back up. Its always so much easier with 2 people. Pickles would be the better choice because he would probably stay really close to mommy. Our male chin is pushy. He use to take food out of the females mouth and push her off the plank in the cage. Now she's pushy back like he is to her, but only if its something she really really wants. Otherwise she lets him have his way. I'm calling Pickles a "he" but Pickles are Peanut could be "shes'. : ) Chins do get jealous of each other. You feed one first or talk to one and not the other they get upset. Funny how animals know jealousy.
Oh another thing about "the park". You have to be aware of red ant hills. Our park was covered with them. But we found a school with a football / lacrosse field they tend to be ant free. Anything by schools seem to be better taken care of and its an extension of the park so we take them there now. That's where all the pictures are taken.
|
|
|
Post by chinsight on Jun 4, 2015 2:53:33 GMT
s1148.photobucket.com/user/chinsight/library/?sort=3&page=1Okay now here are the cataract pictures for the male. You will be in shock just how much his eyes fluctuates. Sometimes his eyes are gorgeous black ink pools and other times, albeit not as often as before the drops you see CATARACTS. I only got one of his eyes in these pictures because he was eating and since he wasn't' moving I wanted to get at least a few good pictures, but his other eye has the same size cataract showing. I also downloaded, not very successfully a couple videos I have to figure out whats going on and see if I can improve them. They weren't that bad until I uploaded them to PhotoBucket.
|
|
|
Post by natnat899 on Jun 14, 2015 19:46:07 GMT
I do apologise about the slow reply, I have been busy lately and unfortunately I've hurt my back. I worried about both tbh, in the park they could so easily run away and without meaning to get lost or hurt, and they could get into a muddle in the house - if I had all the money I wanted, I think I would spend it on chinchilla proofing first, lol - I would love to easily let them run around each night. Pickle makes it difficult as he doesn't like being carried, as I said he used to happily sit on my shoulder before Peanut started pushing him off - but I have had a few good days where Peanut has allowed me time with Pickle - and each time he has been rewarded for not pushing Pickle out the way. Pickle is so timid, bless him. Aww, they look so happy - I still can't notice the cataracts very well, but I suppose it's a difficult thing to take a picture of, especially as I have never seen a chinchilla with cataracts before.
|
|
|
Post by chinsight on Oct 2, 2015 1:47:53 GMT
Hi Everyone I've been gone for awhile. The male chinchilla has been on his cataract eye drops for 6 months now twice a day and he is doing great. They are back at the park playing over the past couple days so I took some videos and put them on youtube if anyone wants to check them out. I can access the videos so hopefully the link will work here. Let me know if it doesn't. The male is the dark one and the female is the buff dusty one. I was keeping these videos for private use but I couldn't get them off my phone because they are too long to transfer to my computer so i put them on youtube. They are goofy and some are upside down and sideways others are not full screen so keep that in mind when viewing. LOL! www.youtube.com/channel/UCcH9S_I13rD_YQJq_twMbfw
|
|
|
Post by moletteuk on Oct 2, 2015 10:00:09 GMT
Really nice seeing them running free I'd still be terrified of them running off, but they do seem wary of going too far, although I do notice they seem to love running away from you in a cheeky sort of way as soon as you get close
|
|
|
Post by chinsight on Oct 2, 2015 17:54:06 GMT
Oh good the link worked. For some reason the camera phone makes it look like they are sooooo far away but in reality they are much closer. Yes they both don't want us picking them up they want to be wild and free for their 1/2 hour and they are tuckered out when they get back home. Sleeping chins all night is a blessing. I can't wait until it gets in the 50's 60's temp they will be in heaven.
|
|
|
Post by chinsight on Jan 11, 2016 4:49:50 GMT
So sad to report our male Chinchilla Chuck (we had a dozen names for him) "Boy" past away last week. He was buried in the park and we received lots of flowers, condolence cards, and phone calls. Everyone loved Chuck. We noticed a week before he was having labored breathing, wasn't eating, and was gagging when he drank anything. We thought maybe he had a cold or heaven forbid, heart failure. Unfortunately it was the latter. We wanted x rays right off the bat but the vet refused having us try antibiotics first. After 5 days Chuck still wasn't better. We brought him back in and they put him on oxygen and took x rays of his chest. His heart was enlarged and that was why he was gagging. The vet said we could try heart medicine for him and Lasix to rid him of the water. Blood pressure medicine to open his blood vessels and another heart medication. Because Chuck couldn't take pills the pharmacist had to make it liquid. So much medicine for a little mouse. Medicine came to over $100 a month because it had to be specially made and was human heart medicine. We managed one day of medicine and he passed away the next morning. Chuck was 12 years old. : ( So anyone who has a chinchilla that is gagging while drinking it may be heart failure related. To end this thread we brought Chucks topical N-acetyl-L-carnosine eye drops in and showed the vet. She said Chuck can see and those eyedrops are the most NON TOXIC eye drops you can use. WONDERFUL news for anyone dealing with cataracts and rodents. These eyedrops gave Chuck his eyesight back and time to run and have fun with his wife Betty Mouse Doll. For that I am very grateful. I'm going to copy this message on a new thread just because I want to alert Chin owners about heart failure in Chins. Say a prayer for Chuck (we) his human family and Mouse Doll miss him dearly.
|
|
|
Post by moletteuk on Jan 11, 2016 11:46:29 GMT
I'm very sorry for your loss. Rest easy Chuck x
|
|