fairly new chin mom

[Kry01stle]

ok bare with me because I have a couple of questions.
1. I think that Charlie needs a playmate. Should I look into a male or female. If I decided to get a female what is the possibility of neuturing? I'm such a new chin owner I'm afraid I wouldn't know what to do with babies.
2. I don't mean to be disgusting or anything but both me and my boyfriend have caught what looks to be charlie pleasuring himself. I don't know if I should be writing that, but I don't know how else to discribe it. What is going on here? Is he lonely for a girlfriend?
3. Last but not least Charlie decided to sit in my lap the other day and peed on my leg. Why? Did I do something to make him mad?
Thanks for the help
Krystle

[dawn]

1. Neuturing is not a great option-very few vets are doing it to chinchillas sucessfully. A younger male would be best-do a search on intro methods
2. It looks like pleasuring but it really cleaning-good idea to check for a hair ring if he is doing it alot.
3. Just being a chinchilla-most won't pee on you but it can happen if he was excited.

[chin_gal]

Yeah,I agree.Not many vets are experianced enough to do such a surgery.
I would sugest that you keep an eye on your male to make sure he doesn't have a hair ring...they can be fatal!
And as far as the peeing goes,he could just be excited.

Hope this helps :)

[tunes]

I'd stick with a same sex partner. He doesn't "need" a girlfriend, but he might enjoy the companionship of another male. Here's a link for checking for hair rings - http://www.chinstation.com/viewtopic.php?t=150. Even nonbreeding males should be checked perodically. :)

[Kry01stle]

Ok thanks for the info... I bought Charlie at a pet store this last august. I honestly didn't know there were breeders and other ways of getting a chin. I did thankfully read different websites and books before I got him so I wasn't completely unprepared when i brought him home... Ok not that you needed to know all that but when I got him there were six males there, all born on May 10. Can they have six babies? Anyways two of his brothers (I assume) are still there would it be beneficial to get one of them or wouldn't it matter because it has been quite awhile.

[outsiders_girl]

Ok thanks for the info... I bought Charlie at a pet store this last august. I honestly didn't know there were breeders and other ways of getting a chin. I did thankfully read different websites and books before I got him so I wasn't completely unprepared when i brought him home... Ok not that you needed to know all that but when I got him there were six males there, all born on May 10. Can they have six babies? Anyways two of his brothers (I assume) are still there would it be beneficial to get one of them or wouldn't it matter because it has been quite awhile.


If you bought the 2 brothers, or even 1 of them, you need to quarenteen for at least 30 days. Then, you can start introducing them. Even if they were together in the petstore doesn't mean they will get along right away. It could take a while to get them together, or it could take a very short intro. Good Luck on what you decide.

[grlunderrainbow]

As far as getting another brother ..they might still get along as before..or they might need to be introduced slowly all over again, and it still might not work. With any new chin you'd have to do a quarantine. One scary thing..about most pet stores..to me (and yes there are many but this is just one that applies now that you are thinking of getting a 2nd chin there)..is that usually different people handle the chins. That handle lots of other animals. Or customers pet the chins..and those customers as well could have things contagious to chins. Normally..if you find a good breeder..there's not such a good chance their animals have been exposed to the same situations. But it really depends on the petstore. Personally, though, which I'm sure you know now as you said you didn't know before about getting chins from breeders.. it would not buy another pet store chin..nor recommend anyone to. Too many factors involved.

As far as all 6 being born the exact same day: I don't know about with chins..but like with some stores..puppies, for instance, have to be a certain age before they can legally be sold. So amazingly, they may get a number of dogs on say a monday..that all have the EXACT same birthdate. These are forged by puppy millers..to get the animals to stores on certain days. Not saying this is what happened..but seems possible that it could be done with small animals as well. Just a thought. Could possibly be a litter of 6..yes. I recently had a litter of 5. Hard to know unless the store can actually/would actually..put you in contact with the breeder.

As far as peeing..might just not be used to you..or anyone..handling it..yet. Also, young chins seem to take awhile to get used to not peeing on ppl too..lol. I haven't had an adult chin pee on me..in..well, ever I don't think. Except for my girls I had that would spray other over supplement lol.

[chin_gal]

Same sex pairs might work,but be careful because they are more likely to fight.Expecialy two males!I'm just telling you from experiance and what I have heard other owners say.If they are brothers that might be an exception.They are more likely to get along beings they are litter mates.

[grlunderrainbow]

Well, as far as being pet store chins, opposite sex pairs is out of the question..and it's true that chin castrations can be risky.. Most would agree it's not worth the chance. Males aren't necessarily more prone to fighting than females. Don't know statistics..but I've more often been successful with placing males together..than females. Brothers, having been separated..really may not remember each other. There's a chance you might find a breeder or rescue that would work with you if a chin you buy doesn't work out with yours after a time. Maybe with a health screening from your vet..making sure your chin doesn't have any underlying contagious problems. Alot of larger animal rescue groups do this (like for dogs and cats).. not sure that you'd find a chin seller/rescuer that would though..but worth a shot.