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Post by darthchinchi on Apr 1, 2018 11:36:55 GMT
Ungh. Question: Can I keep other critters with my chinchilla Answer: No, you can't
Then the person starts talking about how social they are, and how they know a lot of stuff trough experience and research, and links to this AWFUL site as documentation for them being social. It says they are best kept in pairs or in larger groups with a ratio of 1 male to 5 females - like WHAT THE ACTUAL **** It states that the average weight for males is 400-500g. That's not true at all. Anything below 450 is quite a small animal, even for the wild ones. Females are set to an average of 400-600g It mentions both species as "types", and then continues to talk about the different colour mutations, but in a mix between danish/german names (we more or less only use english terms for colour mutations here). It states they need an environment that stimulates their climbing ability (what is up with people thinking they climb). They can NEVER have ANY food with a high fat content as they will become overweight - nuts and sunflower seeds (again, not true), and they should be fed twice a day (it's fine to feed twice a day, but it's postulating they are awake during the day, and this is why they should have food twice a day... again not really true). They want people to give them plastic tubes as part of their exerciser. No, not all chinchillas eat plastic but it's generally not a good idea to tell people plastic is fine, as a lot of them will chew on it at the risk of them eating it and potentially dying. It states treats are good for them, if they can have a specific treat, but in the long run too many will give cause to weight issues. Basically we are back to the "only pellets and hay" logic.
And then there's a lot of **** about sicknesses. Like a broken whisker should some how be a symptom of fungus and you need to see a vet. Or when it slips it's fur it will leave a bald patch <-- no, this will never happen. And last but not least, it says diarrhoea is NORMAL in chinchillas... Like what the hey. And this is used as a legit source for this persons views on things.
Yes, it has some good things in it as well, but COME ON PEOPLE. And there's not one single reference to anything. It's a petshop page btw. It doesn't even state who wrote the bloody thing.
I just needed to vent, at this **** makes my blood boil. I can write a bunch of things too, but that doesn't make them any more correct.
And I'm quite sure some of the info is taken from the danish Wikipedia page that I wrote God knows how many years ago (I didn't write all of it, just some of it)
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Post by randomname on Apr 1, 2018 15:30:23 GMT
& now you've made my blood boil too I've seen a lot of misinformation about all animals, but chinchilla care is by far the worst. I like how diarrhoea is 'normal' - yeah that's why we have a special word, instead of calling them 'normal poops'!! That's so dangerous to believe if you're caring for a herbivore How many have died because of that myth? The climbing thing drives me mad too, I see it with degus as well. I think our mice, rats, hamsters & gerbils all climbed (maybe it's an omnivore thing, to reach food?) but never rabbits, chins or degus. I think people can know this through watching their own animals, it's just nonsense. I've seen advice for rabbits get better & filter out (a bit, still a long way to go, but at least we have reputable sources & organisations with studies to back up what we tell people) but still no progress for any other critter. Even guinea pigs or hamsters (which must be pretty popular everywhere) don't have as much information or studies. What can we do but keep telling people better ways to care for them?
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Post by darthchinchi on Apr 1, 2018 17:17:48 GMT
I'll just keep doing my thing on my blog - and I need a better CMS to set up my Chinfo.dk page (doing it with a friend). Problem is getting it out as a credible source. The only way around that is to have a lot of references to every comment out there, or tell when the idea is your own. And I need to set up my pedigree database to harvest information on chinchillas (weight info, birth info, lifespan and so on). That would be a good way to get the basic info down to a science.
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 1, 2018 18:40:55 GMT
Could you update the danish wikipedia page? Maybe include a mythbusting section in it?
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Post by darthchinchi on Apr 1, 2018 18:59:54 GMT
Might not be a bad idea. Not sure how bad the danish wikipedia is though... Myth busting section is going on my own page. But I may add a link to it
Have to get that CMS made to help out the wild chinchillas organisation as well... Their site does not get updated, because the dude who made it is not in touch anymore. That might help with chinchilla information as well. If the information they have on the wild ones were easier to get hold of, it would be a good source for people to look at. Just think if they could publish pictures of their habitat and the plants they live off and under. It would be the most awesome source of good information on the feeding and keeping aspect of chinchillas
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 30, 2018 8:34:06 GMT
Will the insanity never stop? Someone actually wrote fresh branches are not good for them because of the oils in them... Like what the....
And yesterday someone commented on giving jer cat tuna when it got jelous of her chins getting dried fruit treats. Told her (very nicely) that there's better options out there for chins as well (as tuna is not a super option in regards to treats), and she flipped. Started a rant on how she'de had them for 12 years and bla bla bla. Something about them not tolerating nuts more than 1-2 times a month and how rasins could cause constepation. Told her they could cause loose stools (can't spell that crazy d word in english - lol), and then she said I was accusing her og giving her animals laxatives - lol
I swear to god it comes in waves 😂
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 30, 2018 17:15:39 GMT
LOL!! It can be hard to instill better knowledge . . . or even just some common sense.
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 30, 2018 17:17:41 GMT
The latter was quite funny to be honest. She was so mad, for no reason at all
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 30, 2018 17:19:53 GMT
Yeah! Must have been having a REALLY bad day . . . one so bad that no matter, what everything makes her see red. That's a hard day.
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Post by darthchinchi on Jul 30, 2018 17:27:14 GMT
Btw I found and old thread like this one. It's down in chat and pics, called something like venting, moletteuk is it possible to merge this into the old one?
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 30, 2018 19:42:00 GMT
DID IT!!! Here you go, Darthchinchi. (Merged a thread of like content with this one.)
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Post by darthchinchi on Aug 19, 2018 15:51:53 GMT
Hey, it's me again. This time we are talking feeding, and people say the intestines have evolved in the chinchillas so they can not diget what they would in natur, and this can be seen in the cilia and the fact that the fur needs a different feed to look great.
I just don't know what do do... I feel like Im talking to imbisils...
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 19, 2018 17:38:43 GMT
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Post by darthchinchi on Aug 24, 2018 17:47:24 GMT
A dude actually just posted and update on how corn will kill them and bloat is caused because animals can't pass gass and their entestines can't break down fresh food and corn, will produce gass and then they will die. Some of it is correct, technically... but I'm so sick of the idea that they can't pass gass at all. Like they don't produce any gass while digesting. Actually everything this person wrote, confirmed the idea that it's the missing/lack of microorganisms to break down the greens, that cause the animals to get sick. I have been thinking I just need to finish off my education as a welder, but I so need to try and apply for the conservator again. I don't care that I can't get a job when I'm done. I so need to study wild animals vs their domesticated counterparts...
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Post by randomname on Aug 24, 2018 20:05:24 GMT
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Post by darthchinchi on Aug 24, 2018 20:18:53 GMT
Degus, chinchillas and Guinea pigs are good species to compare. They are so closley related it clearly shows in their skeletal structure. For instance it's quite difficult to tell a gp and a chin cranium apart if you don't know what to look for, just like it is with different mouce species... So it is unlikely to think they evolved a completely different gut system when the skeleton is so alike. They would have to get other teeth to fith into their nich then
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 26, 2018 10:51:13 GMT
It doesn't make any sense that such closely related species would digest plants differently. There is no way they could be so similar but have evolved different digestive systems to do the same thing, they all come from the same region of the world so surely share ancestry. Plus, there are only so many ways any mammal can digest plants; food either gets broken down directly by the acids in the gut, or bacteria break it down and then it gets digested by the gut. Herbivore mammals just have different physical arrangements of stomachs and intestines doing this same job, it's the method of exposure to the bacteria and recirculation methods that differ slightly. Chinchilla's haven't been selectively bred for their digestive capabilities, so that aspect can't have naturally evolved significantly in 100 yrs of captive breeding. The only difference is the gut flora, I just think that people fail to grasp how significant that can be, but how quickly it could be remedied by gradually introducing plants to the diet in their natural form. If you provide fresh plants that are covered in a variety of naturally occurring bacteria, then the ones that are capable of breaking down that plant will start to flourish in the gut. I wonder if any chins were struggling to adapt if you could feed them poos from healthy degus or guinea pigs who had a varied diet of fresh plants, kick start the appropriate gut flora.
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Post by ntg on Aug 26, 2018 11:03:30 GMT
Try telling my lads they shouldn't eat fresh, practically rip my hand off for it when it's offered. Also, had first hand experience of a gassy degu (minor bloat from him, unknowingly, gorging on beans in a mix I used to feed) so they can definitely pass it and it can also whiff. Took me a while to figure out what was causing the smell though
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 26, 2018 11:15:35 GMT
I remember that lol! Those massive beans in the JRF mixes!
All bacterial digestion involves gas as a byproduct. So hay and pellets still produces gas. Depending on the different species in your gut flora some bacteria give off more carbon dioxide, some more methane or other gases. That's why some humans do more stinky farts than others, it means their gut flora is skewed towards giving off hydrogen sulphide, methane etc.
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Post by darthchinchi on Aug 26, 2018 11:59:34 GMT
One of the things thats really weird is how they give them treats, and some how think slow introduktion to a varied died will cause bloat, but treats (even though they only give a little), made for humans, is fine. And the notion that drinking while eating is okay, but getting the moisture trough the food will some how kill them off... I just don't get that logic, and every thing out there on digestion contradicts the idea most have on how sensitive the chinchilla is. I still feel like the German idea of feeding lots of wet greens is problematic, as they are in no way similar to what we would expect them to feed on in the wild. And talking Guinea pigs... They have been kept for way longer than chinchillas, but still have the same diatery requirements. One of the arguments against fresh food was their fur and how this has evolved and need a different diet to look pretty... <-- weirdest argument I've come up against and didn't know what to say, so I just left the conversation... Oh, and I'm so sick of breeding being refered to as "improving" the animals... Like size and how dens fur is, is some how an improvement of the animal as a whole.
One last thing, about chinchillas. So the person who runs the SWC is turning a bit extremist for my liking. They are a vegan, fine and all, but they have started trying to force their idears on others. Posting weird things with how every live thing has feelings (this specific post was about snails... And I can tell you right now, snails do not feel love and such feelings. They have no need to feel them). Someone asked if they would accept donation from the larger ranchers, and they said they doesn't take blood money. Okay, so it's totally fine if you do not agree. Problem is though, it's mostly farmers who do any type of research into pet chinchillas and their health. If they got into helping preserve the wild population, both sides could end up benifitting... But apparently where the money is from, is more important than helping a cause and spredning the word. And they are kind of starting to spreas some PETA idears... I love this project. Have been following it for 10 years or so. I just don't like how it's turning slightly extremist, as it's excluding ppl...
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