inherited chin

[orahlith]

A few months ago, someone I know gave us her Chinchilla. She used to have a mate but he died a year or so ago. Anyway, this person wasn't taking good care of her; she was living with rabbits and birds outside in a big cage. Her tail was bitten up and her fur was all matted. So we brought her home and cleaned her up, built her a big cage, etc.

Anyway, it's been a few months and we havn't really gotten her used to us. I tried the things in the chinchilla book we bought with we first picked up all of her stuff, but it didn't really work. The only time she's really all too happy to see us is in the evening when she's hungry and she paws at the front of the cage. But when she gets her food, she hops back into her wheel and eats it there. She doesn't really like to come out unless we set out a dustbath.

Another interesting thing is we bought one of those plastic wheels that are bigger because the metal one her pervious owner gave us was a little small for her. But she wont use it! We put the metal one back in this week and she uses the wheel again.

Anyway, she's 11 years old. And I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to buddy up to older chinchillas. Any advice would be well appreciated.

[beckie467]

My chin is 5 and I got her when she was just 1, but for the longest time she wouldn't let anyone in my family around her except me. Chins have an amazing memory. Your chin is probably scared of everything b/c of how she was formorly treated. With her being 11 she has pretty much so figure out that people aren't that great (considering her old owners mistreated her so badly.) My advice is this, don't get discouraged. Get her out once or twice a day, let her get used to your hands, let her know that your hands are for love and not for hurt. When you get her in and out of the cage talk to her in a soft tone (loud noises tend to scare them) chins are very smart and they learn their names (mine comes when I say their names) so odds are yours knows her name. So just talk to her and comfort her when you handle her. It will take her a long time to warm up to you and do the cute chinnie things like coming to the front of her cage when she wants attention (not just food). When you put her back in the cage from when you get her give her a raisin. This is a treat for her (be careful they can only have so many a day b/c it is hard on their tummies) but that way she knows that not only did she just get love but she also got treated. It will take a while for her to warm up to you, but trust me once you build your bond with your chin you will fall in love with chins forever. They are a special animal. Just take your time with your little girl it may take a while but I'm sure you can get her to come around. She's still pretty young, so you will have plenty of years with her once you build your bond up with her. I hope this helps you some, you may have already tried this, but in my experience that is the only way I got my chin to warm up to my family. Good luck!

[emy_k]

Wow, living outside with rabbits and birds!! That is scary! I can just imagine what the lil girl looked like :( It sounds like you are doing a good job taking care of her. Building a new cage and all. You probably shouldn't let her use the plasic wheel incase she chews. Most people say never to put plastic in a chins cage, but I have a jolly ball that my chins absolutly LOVE but they don't chew. One thing you need to do is make sure she is on a healthy diet, pellets, hay, and water + a treat a day or less. What kind of pellets are you using? Many people recommend mazuri, APD, Oxbow, and a good quality purina rabbit pellet. I use mazuri and love it, so do the chins. On hay you probably need to stick with timothy if you use mazuri or another alfalfa based pellet. It sounds like she has been through a lot, and it will just take time. I would hold off on getting her a buddy, but that is just my opinion.

By the way, what is her name?

Hope I helped a little bit :)

[orahlith]

We use Mazuri food for her, and since we started on that and hay she is getting pretty fat compared to when we got her. She had a bite on her tail and it has since healed up and hair is starting to grow back on that bald spot.

We found an old ball that used to be used for pet rats that previous tennants of the house we lived in had. She wouldn't use it. She rolled around in it very little and mostly sat in the bottom looking confused and upset, so we never used it again. We purchased the plastic wheel because it was bigger, and she never chewed on it. Her igloo is also plastic, and she doesn't chew on it either, she just sleeps inside all day. We did, however buy her a pumace stone to chew on, and she definatly uses that!

Anyway, we just moved and she is in a room where we will be able to let her out and run around safly.

Oh yes, and we named her Mayauel, after the Mayan goddess.

[emy_k]

That's a beautiful name. It sounds like you are taking good care of her. I'm so happy that you got her, it sounded like she needed rescuing!

Also, you may want to look into getting her some wood chews also. Since she likes pumice stones I bet she will love some apple branches! At least my chins do, lol.

[Le'ah]

I am so glad she has a good home....sad to say, but no wonder her mate died...poor girl, she probably got very sad after that..being the only one there. it's great that you have her...and her name is beautiful. :) good luck with her. you know, for her to warm up to you, you could sit in the dry bathtub with the curtain shut and have her in there with you. it's so small in a tub, that she would have to hop on you a lot to run around (which all chins love to do!) that way, she would get used to you, your smell, and your touch. also, i'm sure she would start doing cute things like chirping in your ears and perching on your shoulder and maybe even biting your nails. I don't recommend letting her out in the bathroom though b/c she will not bond with you that way, just her playtime. :| good luck...and try that and let us know how it goes. (another good thing about tubs is easy to clean up afterward!) ;)

[LSerilla]

thats great your taking good care of her she needs it at her age.
for getting a mate, it so hard to say, Take to someone at a Rescue about another female or yonger one.
and i would'nt use the ball again chins can brake their legs in those, plus they over heat very fast and she would get very hot in that ball.
good luck with her and just give her time. maybe a couple of dried crandberrys every other day let her know that you hand gives her yummy treats and crandberrys are good for chin, they have Vit C and good for the kidney and liver. but dont over do it with treats.
go on line and see if you can find a metal wheel that looks like hers but bigger.

[orahlith]

That's a great idea! I'll have to try it. She usually does perch on my shoulder when I'm sitting on the couch with her, but I don't know if it's an affection thing or not.

[katomega]

On behalf of chin-lovers (and animal-lovers more generally), thank you so much for rescueing Mayauel, giving her a better life, and being committed to working with her to overcome the prior abuse! I'm relatively new to chins, but I have a lot of experience rescueing and rehabilitating a wide variety of animals. All of the advice you've been given here is wonderful (I'm so glad I joined this forum - you guys rock!). I can tell you from my prior experiences that rehabilition takes time, but it is sooo rewarding, and, from what you've told us, I strongly believe that Mayauel will be able to eventually make a recovery that may astonish you. That she's allowing some contact already is a very good sign that she will be able to learn that people can be good things and bond with you over time.
The only thing I'd warn you on is, given the poor health she was in when you got her and the fact that she almost certainly had to compete with a rabbit for her food (a match-up she was almost certainly always on the loosing end of), you might need to watch her for over-eating initially. From what I've learned, that's normally not a problem with chinchillas, but virtually any animal coming from the kind of situation you described may instinctively hoard and overendulge in food because they're not used to it always being there. That she takes her food to her wheel suggests to me she's normally had to hide when she eats or risk loosing her food. As she starts to realise no one's going to take it from her, she may go through a phase of overeating. If you watch to make sure she doesn't do so to the point of hurting herself, you can prevent any complications from arising. You can also keep her from overeating certain types of food (previously malnurished animals will often concentrate on fatty foods and those containing nutrients they were particularly lacking to the exclusion of other foods) by keeping her diet very balanced. For example, if she packs away all her pellets but doesn't touch her hay, you may need to reduce the pellets a bit to get her to eat her hay. Also, resist the temptation to give her too many treats, especially treats like raisins, nuts, and sunflower seeds (try to mix in fruits and vegetables like small pieces of dried apple or papaya and dried carrots [the occasional rosehip is also great, as it's a good source of vitamin C] when you're working with her). After a little while, she should calm down about food, though she may always be a little bit "secretive" when eating. Also, even the best base food mix (and Mazuri pellets are an excellent choice) don't contain everything every animal needs (and can't be expected to do so as every animal is a little different), so you might offer her a few mineral supplements like calcium chews or mineral wheels to see if she has any deficiencies she needs to address. Do so in moderation, of course, but with mineral supplements, unless they're flavored or are enriched food items (like those calcium sticks they sell for chinchillas that are coated in seeds bound by a honey mixture [not a good choice in my opinion]), animals typically won't over do it with minerals (again, please, note the exceptions).
Anyway, these may be things to think about. Ultimately, though, it sounds like you're already doing a great job and that Mayuel is in good hands! I think she's going to come along wonderfully for you! I wish you luck, and I hope you'll keep us updated!

[beckie467]

Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with her. Beautiful name!