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Post by moletteuk on Oct 10, 2016 14:46:33 GMT
I hope this evening comes around quickly for you Seeds seem to be commonly fed in Germany. Oil seeds seem to be well tolerated (except hemp), grains need to be offered individually and watch out for any effects. Oil seeds are a good supplement for nutritional value, grains not so much and not really any need to feed unless you prefer not to feed any commercial mix. You can buy chin seed mixes in Germany, see Hansemanns. It sounds very similar to degus, and the whole situation sounds very similar too with old fashioned UK and USA sources overly cautious and illogically distrustful of natural foods and a lot of pseudo science nonsense kicking around. Seriously, how could plants in their natural form not be a good idea? Some info here on actual plants wild chinchillas eat sapphire.indstate.edu/~deanea/edu.html
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Post by skardsen on Oct 10, 2016 19:21:00 GMT
moletteuk That's great to know. I'm much more inclined to trust info coming out of Germany, since they seem to be the world leader in degu and chinchilla knowledge. I'd give them a try of the degu seed mix but it has hemp in it. randomname I didn't get any sleep at all the night before picking up the girls. They were in Sunderland, and I was falling asleep on the metro there. I don't know what Dave was like for talking, being solo and all, but now you'll get to hear what it's like when to chins talk to each other. It's obviously not as complex as degu communication, but they do use about 7 different calls. The one you'll hear most often is the "decoy sound". That's the sound they make when they want something, usually it's because they want to be near the other chin, but they also use it to indicate wanting something they can see. infolific.com/pets/chinchillas/chinchilla-sounds/Just don't play the alarm call anywhere near them. I was looking through these and when I played the alarm call it sent the girls running for their lives.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 10, 2016 20:29:42 GMT
Degus tolerate hemp seed quite well, so you don't need to be wary of that. At least, ours did.
I listened to the sounds of the chins, and our standard poodle thought someone was hurting her "babies" which are fluffy squeaky toys. She was ready to come to the rescue, LOL!!
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Post by randomname on Oct 10, 2016 21:03:52 GMT
So, they've been over for a visit. One is a bit shy, the other is super cuddly. I had him in my arms for half an hour & he was snuggly & lovely. Fell in love. She didn't give me a decision there & then, but texted me half an hour later to say she was happy for them to come here. YAY! She's bringing them over with their cage tomorrow evening. They're on nuggets, so that's a good start. Seem better cared for than I feared, are healthy & happy.
Their names are Pixel & Charlie (Charlie is the chin equivalent of Diego for goos!) but I really want to call them Patrick Stewart & Sir Ian McKellen. Think they'll mind? (I won't tell their owner that!)
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 10, 2016 22:28:53 GMT
YAY!!! They sound incredibly lovely!! Would have loved to be a fly on the wall while they were there. WOO HOO!! SO EXCITED for you!!! Which chin will be which name . . . are one of those men particularly snuggly?
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Post by randomname on Oct 11, 2016 7:22:42 GMT
The cuddly one is the cuddliest one she's ever had she said. I was totally surprised how he settled in my arms. Both are super easy to handle & very very mellow. Very different from Dave (probably 'cos he was in pain a lot) skardsen you're 100% right there, haven't heard the noises they make between themselves, or seen how they interact. Think that's going to be my favourite thing to watch. Can't wait to learn as much as I can about them. The lady said they never ever fight, hope that's true. Sounds easier than degus deguconvert I loove Patrick Stewart, would like to find out if he's snuggly or not! lol. They have a bromance going on, so do the chins - plus I really want to see the vet asking for Sir Ian McKellen in the waiting room! Plus that means they're also Magneto & Professor X (Told you I was rubbish at names)
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Post by skardsen on Oct 11, 2016 8:38:44 GMT
That's very rare for a chin to be cuddly, especially one that's paired up. Mine don't like being touched, even though Floss was raised in a home environment. I suspect they were both picked up a lot before they were ready, and now are afraid of contact.
I think the reason those two don't have a wheel is due to most sources recommending that they don't have one. This is only because 15 inch, non-plastic wheels used to be hard to come by.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 11, 2016 16:52:38 GMT
I love Patrick Stewart as well. Though I've never perceived him as a particularly cuddly person, LOL! Not Sir Ian McKellen either. They tend to portray some fairly independant men in their roles.
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Post by Bexi87 on Oct 13, 2016 6:50:46 GMT
I love the Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen bromance, the thought of a vet asking for Sir Ian has made me happy
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