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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2017 10:28:29 GMT
Is linden safe for chinchillas?
Aka linden/lime tree/basswood
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 17, 2017 12:08:25 GMT
As far as I know it should be okay. Thing is, when I looked into woods and wrote my original list all info said Oak was okay. Now Oak isn't okay but nowhere does it state why... I've never personally tried it out, most lists say it's okay and it is on my ok list
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Jul 18, 2017 8:26:14 GMT
I'm a couple of days behind here, moletteuk, but... what if the bone strength fragility was because of the *insert string of swear words* diet they've been fed for the last however many years, with no thought about calcium:phosphorus ratios?
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Post by randomname on Jul 18, 2017 8:49:34 GMT
something to consider - chinchillas sit upright on their back legs & use their front paws to eat. If their legs get injured, it means eating can be difficult. Also they have floating ribs which are not fully attached to the spine, if pressure is applied upwards it can pierce organs. This doesn't mean they're fragile as such, but might explain why people may think they are. I've also heard people say they have no ribs, so it just proves a little information is a dangerous thing!
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 18, 2017 10:28:48 GMT
@titchy there could be an element of that, I think the legitimate bit that I was referring to is that their bones are supposedly quite light weight relative to the size/ weight of the animal. Perhaps to do with keeping their jumping ability and speed? Perhaps the issue in captivity could be to do with them being bred in larger sizes and kept a bit overweight or under exercised which would exacerbate the issue?
Lime/ linden is safe for degus and I don't see any compounds in it that might be a problem for chins.
I've just checked my poisonous plant book for oak, this is what it says about the toxins present:
"Tannins occur in all parts of the tree, but particularly in young leaves and green acorns; extracts from the bark were used for tanning leather. The tannins are broken down during digestion to form toxic substances including pyrogallol. There have been suggestion that other toxic substances, including those produced by fungi, may also be present."
It also mentions to possible presence of liverworts on the bark possibly causing skin reactions.
I think the wood itself, minus acorns, leaves and bark is unlikely to cause any problem. Degus are thought to have a good tolerance for tannins and so oak is on our safe list for degus. I have no idea about the capability of chins to cope with tannins.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2017 10:58:31 GMT
Thanks moletteukThe facebook groups say you have to boil the branches from trees for several hours, then bake in the oven for several hours! My goos had their apple branches (have none left ðŸ˜) straight from the tree? Can chinchillas not have straight from the tree?
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 18, 2017 21:03:04 GMT
titchycatnipsandwich moletteuk they do have very light bones if you compare a chinchilla to a guineapig. I would suspect the same to be true for degus? In a group on facebook called Singapore Chinchilla Lovers a member posted a picture of a white guineapig and chinchilla sitting next to each other. They are about the same size to look at, chinchilla might look a bit bigger. GP is 1200g and it is stated the chinchilla is weighing about half of that. There's just so much fur on chinchillas. If a chinchilla is shaved or gets wet it's like half the size of a dry furry chinchilla. A GP needs to weigh 300g and be 4 weeks old when seperated from mum. Chinchillas needs to be 8 weeks and weigh at least 200g. So most chinchillas will be at 300-400g at this age - but still. It's twice the age of a GP with the same weight. It is just a smaller animal. Looking at smaller rodents their skeletons may seem brittle compared to guineapigs. Compared to larger rabbits this may be true for guineapigs as well. I think it has to do with people thinking they are larger animals than they are. They are light weight, on the other hand how sturdy would anyone think a 500-700g animal to be? They do not need the same amount of muscle or bone as a guineapig simply because they are relatively smaller animals. It people think it's like a gp and hold them the same way, they might end up doing damage. If you don't hold on to a chinchilla, it will slip away due to the fur. On the other hand, if you hold on too tight you can end up enjuring them. I think this is why people say they are fragile. It's simply due to them looking larger and more massive than they are. (I'm rambling here, I know, sorry) randomname It's only 2 sets I believe, the rest are attatched to the sternum. emily! that's an english/american thing If you live in a place where some bugs may be poisonous it may be a good idea. I have a lot of licen on some of my trees. People always tell me they never see this... Must be my old trees - haha. Anyhow, mostly i don't do anything to branches. If I'm not sure what they have been in contact with (bird droppings, bugs and so on) I'll boil some water and pour it on the branches. If they have lichen on them I do the boiling water thing and scrub off the lichen. Don't know if you guys know this (betting you do), lichen is a symbiotic plant consisting of a species of fungus and an alge. It's a bit of a jungle finding out what type of fungus and alge each consists of so I rather just remove them. I have been doing this all the years I've had chinchillas. Never had a problem.
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Post by randomname on Jul 19, 2017 6:36:00 GMT
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 19, 2017 7:30:55 GMT
God donkey. Can't like your post random. Made me laugh ^_^
Floating ribs are common in lots of species as far as I know. Some of our ribs are floating as well. The thing you said about a small amount of info being dangerous. People read "floating rib cage" and think they have no sternum. As far as I know only amphibians are lacking a sternum. (might be wrong in this one. I do know frocks do not have them.. Some frogs are see trough it's pretty cool to see the floating ribcage in them)
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Post by randomname on Jul 19, 2017 7:56:47 GMT
I did not know that Darth, you always teach me something new. That's why I like you
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 19, 2017 7:58:34 GMT
Same to you random
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 20, 2017 10:19:35 GMT
I remove lichen and green algae and bird poo from wood that I give the degus, or just try to pick wood that looks clean to start with.
It won't hurt to be cautious with the state of wood when you first start offering it to Alfie, so just pick clean stuff or scrub with some hot water, I'm just thinking in terms of bacterial load that he might need to work up to it as his gut flora improves. I think the boiling and baking is a bit mad though, why would it need to be actually sterile?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 10:26:36 GMT
I have no clue... weird. Like everyone keeps drumming it into me to boil and bake otherwise he will die 🙈
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 20, 2017 10:41:26 GMT
Are you visiting some chin forums and fb groups? Are there any that have useful information? (... can't believe you have strayed away from here - *betrayed* )
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 10:54:33 GMT
moletteuk I know, the betrayal ðŸ˜. No lol. Lots of lists of what's safe, down to pictures of toys. Shouldn't have anything that's not pictured 😑. Just having a nosey. I don't post lol. I've posted once, about the linden thing. I then questioned the baking and boiling and had 11 comments saying if I don't they'll die. Nothing helpful on any of them really. Lots about colours. Not a lot of evidence or any links to any papers or anything interesting. The stuff on here is more helpful. Not been to any chin forums yet, only the Facebook groups. I asked to join chinformative or whatever it's called and I still haven't been accepted lol. That looks the most helpful. The Facebook groups I just like to watch people's videos of playtime and the sounds chins make 😂 no cute chin videos on here 🤔😠xx
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 20, 2017 12:46:17 GMT
Thought I would share some garden pics. We have a little under 1000 m² with the house taking up about 130m² I've just mowed the lawn (except for the one with all the furniture). This is where I get my forage for the chinchillas. It is taking me some time trying to make it as edible as possible. In a few years my mulberry tree should be large enough for me to harvest branches.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 21, 2017 16:22:51 GMT
Lovely garden I reckon you could sow a few meadow type species somewhere and it would look nice enough. I keep meaning to do this, but haven't got round to it yet.
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 21, 2017 17:30:58 GMT
Grasses or flowers? You can't really see the things I have in the garden in these pictures. I can take some of my flowerbeds. I have a lot of edible plants and grasses. I am thinking I'm going to plant some purple cornflower (there's a lot of different variations and they are so pretty, and the animals can have them) and some sunflowers along one side of the house when we fix up the house a bit more. Hope I can do something to keep out the lusitanian slugs out as they are killing me. Only one sunflower survived and they ate all my spinach :/
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 22, 2017 15:06:59 GMT
I was thinking wild meadow flowers, maybe letting a little area of grass grow tall and sowing some mixed wild flower seeds or put some little young 'plug plants' in amongst it.
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 22, 2017 15:22:54 GMT
I let the grass grow in random places
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