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Post by pucemoose on Jun 14, 2018 19:15:47 GMT
Hi, I have a male, standard grey chinchilla, Frodo, born 11th September 2016. He's not happy, he's a bit temperamental, he did have a female companion, but she attacked him and he has a piece missing from his ear. He'll take treats from your hand, but he doesn't like his cage being opened. He makes a fuss and hisses and spits. He's never bitten me, but I wouldn't allow children near him. I think he needs to be a solo chinchilla, or perhaps a female. I don't have a cage to go with him. I am in Manchester but unable to deliver, I'm severely disabled and unable to leave the house. I just want him to have a home where he's happy.
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Post by kimikaze on Jun 16, 2018 18:44:19 GMT
Hi There is a chinchilla rescue in Nottingham that I have contacted that can take him and rehabilitate him for you. They are having issues creating an account on here at the moment and asked if you could contact them directly. Their details are:
07757 612352 chinchilla_rescue_eastmids@outlook.com
I hope this helps you. Kim
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Post by randomname on Jun 17, 2018 10:02:38 GMT
If anyone can give him a good shot at rehabilitation it'd be an experienced chinchilla only rescue which it sounds like Kim has sign posted you to. I'd agree that's the best option he has, & sounds like they can come get him which is less to worry about. I know it's difficult - I'm housebound too - but you'd be doing exactly what's best for Frodo. I'm sorry that you've had to make this decision, it's so hard. Love to you both xx
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Post by pucemoose on Jun 17, 2018 16:18:42 GMT
Many thanks for your reply, sadly they are too far away, I have no means of transport and I'm too far for them to collect. I can't afford to send him by a pet courier service, and I'm not sure I would want to do that. I've tried all over, but the rescue centres are too far away, won't collect, or want money (on average £50) to pick him up. I'm not working and don't have that kind of money to spare. It looks like he's stuck with me :-) I took him to a vet, as I thought maybe he was ill or in pain, the vet said he was perfectly healthy and he was just a nasty little animal and offered to euthanise him! I couldn't do that, he's perfectly healthy and not in pain. At least he's well cared for and safe. Maybe as he gets older, he'll mellow out and become just a grumpy old chin.
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Post by randomname on Jun 17, 2018 18:25:24 GMT
My situation is scarily similar in some ways so I totally understand. Maybe we can help with making him happier in the meantime? I'm glad you could get him to the vet, must have been difficult. My vet is a safe space for me, so I don't mind being there, but leaving the house & getting there is sometimes impossible for me (I send one of my grown kids when that happens) I guess that the vet did all the usual checks - teeth, ears, private bits, listened to his heart? To be honest, I'd have trouble trusting a vet with that attitude, sounds unprofessional. Is he a standard vet or an exotics vet? If he's not a specialist, I'd be tempted to check a better qualified vet, but of course that's more expense (& probably unnecessary if you're not seeing any physical signs of anything) Most likely it's behavioural/psychological. Questions I'd be asking myself would be : What kind of life has he had? Did you get him as a baby? Did he have any problems that you know of at the breeders/pet shop? Did his companion live with him from birth? What age did they fall out? What was the build up to the fighting - what was it about, what behaviours did you see generally around that time. Also : is he neutered, if not does he hump & "clean" himself a lot? Does he mark round the cage territoriality? Does he always hiss when you open the door? Has anyone ever scared him in his cage even by accident? Is it the same cage as when he was with his friend? What's he like when you let him out to run about? Does he go back in ok? And generally - what kind of cage/set up do you have? What's inside it? A photo would be great (you need to use a hosting site) & what's his genral health like? Poops all normal looking? Is he eating well? Without knowing all these variables it's hard to know what's going on for him. I'm no expert, I've only had 4 chins total, but they've all been totally different personalities. One we have now is blind & freaks out when surprised, if we let her know we're there before we open the cage she is calm. She won't let anyone touch her, but she likes to explore us on her own terms. Edit : just to add emily! & darthchinchi are more knowledgeable than me, so if they're around they should weigh in
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2018 18:42:39 GMT
Hi, I have a male, standard grey chinchilla, Frodo, born 11th September 2016. He's not happy, he's a bit temperamental, he did have a female companion, but she attacked him and he has a piece missing from his ear. He'll take treats from your hand, but he doesn't like his cage being opened. He makes a fuss and hisses and spits. He's never bitten me, but I wouldn't allow children near him. I think he needs to be a solo chinchilla, or perhaps a female. I don't have a cage to go with him. I am in Manchester but unable to deliver, I'm severely disabled and unable to leave the house. I just want him to have a home where he's happy. Hiya! Have you actually spoke to East Midlands chinchilla rescue? They’re really good. They’re on Facebook. I would come and get him and take him to them but I can’t drive yet. Odd for him to be so temperamental at such an age.. I would definitely answer randomname’s questions and we can then help you a little more with his attitude seeing as you may be with him for a while longer. Keen to hear from you!
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Post by darthchinchi on Jun 17, 2018 19:05:16 GMT
My thoughts: Where is his cage placed? Some chinchillas will freak out and get immensely stressed if they can hear things but can't see them. So they need to be able to have a good view of their surroundings. How big is his cage? Most chinchillas will do equally fine in smaller and larger cages, but some chinchillas can't cope with larger environments. I've had a couple of those. They simply freak out if they have too much space. What type of cage is it? Some thrive in open cages, others needs more closed cages to feel secure. The closed type cage + being able to see everything can be an issue. Some chinchillas are just not social and not happy about human contact. It can take forever to get them to accept you, and it will never be an animal that likes being touched. But with time and patience you can get them to a place where they don't fear you. You need to talk to him every time you are in the room. Low and calmly. Consider having a radio or television on throughout the day. Sit/stand in front of his cage, open the door and talk calmly to him. You can try putting your hand in the cage with some treats in the palm of your hand, but the most important thing is for hum to learn that you are okay to be around, and you won't touch him if he doesn't let you. Weird thing is, if they go trough some sort of trauma, they may end up easing up to you. It's like they get you are the good guy and are trying to help out. My angry girl recently had an abscess and she's been in a lot of pain. After it's been fixed she's been a lot nicer and she doesn't hiss at me every time I try and touch her. Mind she's one of my "own". So I've had her from she was born, and she's just been a bitch all the time. Last thing could be that he simply doesn't thrive with you. Sometimes chinchillas just don't like where they are at, and there's really nothing you can do about it. It's a bit like us moving to a new place, and just never liking the new place. I can't say exactly what's going on with your boy, but I hope you have some ideas to maybe try out now
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Post by kimikaze on Jun 17, 2018 20:22:55 GMT
I believe they will come and collect him as I've seen them do before at no cost to you that's one of the reasons I suggested them. I recommend you call them. I'll see if they've managed to get logged in.
Kim
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Post by natnat899 on Jul 4, 2018 19:52:22 GMT
Hi Pucemoose, sorry to hear that Frodo is unhappy, chinchillas are complex creatures with long memories. I have a chinchilla called Pickle who is very timid and can be very difficult at times, it took 3 years, a lot of persistence and patience to create a strong bond with him. If you do decide to keep Frodo, feel free to ask questions and we will try to help you as much as possible. On the chinchilla section of this forum Molette has posted a few links in the “links to further information” thread. One of these is a link to chincare.com which I found really useful when I was trying to understand and find ways to make Pickle feel more comfortable. I think it would be a good place to start
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