baby female

[loganbear]

Ok, I am getting a 12 week old baby female and very excited. I have read up and have loads of info from here and elsewhere on the internet, but it is always nice to hear from owners own experiences too.
So my questions are, being so young, are there any food/treats or toys that they cannot have?
Is it ok to handle her straight away, or do I give her a settling in period?
Any other info greatly appreciated ;D

[iamlina]

I'm not sure about when they are really young, as ours are rescues. But i'd defiantly give her some time to settle as you would with a degu. It's hard for me to comment because ours are not what you say...normal. Pablo had no human contact since he was born, and chaco was found under a car bonnet. So they both hadn't had the best of times. I would say give her a day quiet time and then introduced to you slowly. Just for the minute =] but I'm sure others will be able to help more! Are you getting her a friend?

Good luck =]
x

[loganbear]

Hi, thanks Yes we will be getting another female but not for another 2 months so will have to introduce them slowly. It will be around the same age though so hopefully that will help a bit
I am at home all day so she will get plenty of interaction whilst she is alone

[iamlina]

Yeah thats fine =] I hope it all goes well =] Let me know!
Read up in that two months...even though nothing can prepare you for the real thing lol!
If you are getting your other girl from a rescue, remember the quarantine period.

x

[susiechinchilla]

A chin of any age should be allowed to get used to its new surroundings for at least a few days . I tend to sit with new furrballs with my arm in the cage a few times a day to let them get used to me before picking them up Though every chin is different some adjust quickly whilst other can take weeks or even months to get used to their new home .

Also with a youngster playtimes should be limited to a maximum of 15 mins a time. Young chins can be quite manic and have been known to overheat and die of heat exaustion. Also as we get more warm days you need to be cruel to be kind and playtimes are best avoided until it is alot cooler

There are lots of treats that chins of any age should not have ; nuts, sunflower seeds ( these are too fatty and chins are unable to metabolise fat , feed these and you risk fatty deposits building up on their livers ) sugary treats are not adviseable more than once a week, far better to get them used to healthy treats straight away , there are some decent healthy herb/leaf mixes on the market these days and also all my bunch get a mini shredded wheat every night . Far better than a raisin

If you buy a chin at a later date you will need to quarantine no matter where it comes from