Good evening from California! lol

[Guineas&Chins]

Hello all! My name is Jennifer and I live and attend school in Santa Cruz, CA. I'm often in the Modesto/Stockton area, however, visiting my boyfriend and family. I don't yet have a chinchilla... as of right now, hehe. I've had guinea pigs for awhile and have been looking to add to the family. I've been doing quite a bit of research on chinchillas over the past few weeks and am hoping to adopt my first chin within a day or two! I'm VERY excited! Even though I was only planning on starting with one, I saw the posting regarding the chins in the rescue down in San Luis Obispo. Four of the five guinea pigs I've adopted have come from rescues and I'd really like to help out and adopt some of the kits from the rescue. If anyone from the SLO area reads this, please contact me! I've found someone who can pick them up in SLO but can't be there during shelter hours and we're hoping we can find someone to pick them up from the shelter on Feb 17th and hold them until that evening when someone can pick them up and bring them up here! Other than than that, I think this forum is AWESOME! I've utilized forums at www.cavycages.com and they've been very, very helpful! So far, I really, really like the forums here! I think the characterizations (newbie, member, senior member) are such a great idea! Anyhoo, thats probably enough about me. I'm a very inquisitive person so I'm sure you'll all be hearing a lot more from me!

[JBBinTex]

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are off to a good start, and the right kind with researching first. So many people impulse buy and then realize they are in over their heads. I firmly believe in adopting rescues (of any animal type). If it doesn't work out for the chins in SLO, try contacting CAchins...they always have numerous rescues all over CA. They do great work in your state rescuing chins in need. Feel free to ask a bunch of questions, the members here love when people do their research first. We are always ready to help you get prepared beforehand...rather than after the fact (or just when an emergency pops up). We all basically live for/worship/have our lives run (take your pick) by the chinnies in our lives. It is actually pretty nice if ya ask me. They just worm their way into your heart pretty quickly and completely. But...I ramble. Best of luck.

Edited to add...watch out for the member title thing. It can be deceiving. It is based on actual post count, not valid post count. Pretty easy to figure out who knows what they are talking about though. A few do just rack up posts with meaningless posts. Then there are also quite a few of the best people in the world on here. JMO

[Twister]

Welcome!

So glad you are researching before you buy!!!

What cage do you plan to get :laugh:

[CorneliusChins]

JBBinTex sure said it right. Welcome and you are definately doing the right thing by researching first. Why can't more people be like you?? And considering a rescue?? You are just wonderful. Chins in rescues are just as great as other chins, and sometimes better because they know that they've come from the worst and you are giving them the best. They show you ultimate appreciation for giving them a good home. So, I hope you find what you are looking for and get a great chin to help make your family bigger and better. Chins are a strange pet, and people either absolutely obsessively love them or not. Hopefully you'll be one of us and fall in love with the "best" pet ever. Don't forget that there's a forum search tool if you have specific questions that you figure have been asked before. It is great for looking up information because it'll take you right to what you want to read about. And last but not least, have fun with your chinnies. - Jessica

[Guineas&Chins]

Thanks everyone!!! I searched for this post yesterday to see if I'd gotten any replies and I couldn't find it so I posted another intro, lol, oops! I'm still learning a lot about chins and a lot about how to use this forum, haha. I agree with all of you in that rescues make wonderful pets. All of my guinea pigs are sooo loving and my only regret is that I didn't adopt them sooner! I wanted to repost here as an update, I ended up adopting my first chin from a local breeder. I've had a little difficulty but have received a lot of help and input from many members on this forum, it's wonderful! (Thanks again soooo much JBB!!!) Anyway, I'd close one of the two intro postings but I don't know how, lol. I did post a couple pics on the other one - so excited about my girl and can't wait to find her a companion! I was thinking about going with a breeder in case I wanted to breed much later on down the road but you all have reminded me that adopting from a rescue is much more rewarding. I'm planning on visiting CAchins asap! Thanks again!

[stacys_mommy]

Hi Jennifer,

Welcome to Chins & Quills..

You came to the right place to learn..
So glad you are researching before you buy!!!

[kriskitty22]

Hello, fellow Californian! :-) There is so much to learn on here, you'll discover things you never knew you should know about owning chinchillas. Happy searching!

[Chinnie Winnie]

Hi! I am new too and have learned so much from this site. I would LOVE to rescue in the future.

[oneillrk]

welcome.....