Need advice on leaving chin over night!!!

[BeekerzRentz]

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather!

But I have a question regarding leaving my baby over night by himself. See my boyfriend and I live in Harford where we go to school and have an apartment. Normally, we take Beeker with us when we travel for a weekend to my house in Albany, NY (2 hour trip) but beek is getting much bigger and he's beginnging to take a lot of effort to get ready to travel. I swear his suitcase is bigger than mine :p Now i'd LOVE to bring him with me everytime I go home, but I usually just go home for Friday, Saturday and I'm back on Sunday. It's getting to be stressful to have to bring him with us. Now I'm so worried about leaving him by himself for a weekend. We've done it once before, but I think I called the apartment a billion times just to leave him message that I love him. :dunno:

I just wanted to hear from you guys about what you do in this kind of situation with your chinnies especially those of you who have many chins- do you leave them at home when it's just a short weekend away? I know to leave them with plenty of hay, food and water. And to make sure it stays cool in the apartment. I'm just paranoid. He has a big cage so there's plenty of room for him to run about the different levels. I would be leaving to go home Easter Weekend. I'd only stay home for Friday night, Saturday night, and be home Sunday afternoon.

Any advice? Thanks guys!!!

[Laura_2004]

I know exactly how you feel!! I go visit my parents in my hometown when I get weekends off from work, and I don't have too much homework to do. I personally don't like to leave my chins alone for more than one night. But when I come back the next afternoon, they are always fine. But when I want to be gone for the whole weekend, I bring them with me, and I totally agree with you, they have way way more stuff then I do. I am getting ready to build a bigger cage which will be here at college, and then take the older cage back to my hometown, so I don't have to try and fit their cage in the backseat of my 2 door neon. But if you think he will be fine, he probably will be, but if you that paranoid about it, just bring them with you, it's better to be safe than sorry!!!!

[tunes]

Actually, you're leaving him for two nights and most of three days, right? Can you have a neighbor check on him for you? A friend? I have left my herd overnight if I had to drive somewhere and got back really late, but I wouldn't feel comfortable for over 2 days. I'd be worried about them running out of water or their bottle leaking the water out, their food getting tipped or spilled out of the cage, etc.

[almostperfect10]

I've left my chins overnight plenty of times, but never for more than 24 hours. I used to commute between school and my parents' house too. I kept a small cage and a small box of chin supplies at my parents' house so all I had to do was toss the girls in their carrier and be on my way. Can you do something like that?

If you can't do that, I agree that you might want to have a friend or neighbor come check on him. Whenever I leave my chins in the care of someone else, I always put up a second water bottle and add some hay cubes in addition to loose hay, just in case. And don't forget to put in some extra wood for chewing.

[FurryFriends]

If you have to leave and you do not have a friend that can drop by and check on them, you need to leave them with extra hay and feed. An outside feeder works best for not tipping and being able to fill it full. Add one or two extra water bottles to the cage just for piece of mind. Just an idea.

[HedgeMom]

If you have to leave and you do not have a friend that can drop by and check on them, you need to leave them with extra hay and feed. An outside feeder works best for not tipping and being able to fill it full. Add one or two extra water bottles to the cage just for piece of mind. Just an idea.

I strongly disagree. There is NEVER any reason to leave an animal for three days without care.

Forget the food, the water, the temps. They aren't the biggest issues in the world.

How many times have we read on this forum "I came home from work and my chin's leg is broken". The idea that a chinchilla could get caught and hang upside down for nearly three days without any chance of rescue is just abominable. It's cruel, it's inhumane and it's not like you MUST travel home. If you can't take your chinchilla and you can't get someone to watch him, stay home.

[BeekerzRentz]

I'd rather not leave him home. I was just weighing my options and seeing how many others leave them over night. I'm going to see if one of my friends who lives in the area can stop by on saturday to visit with him. Who knows, I'll probably end up taking him with me cause I know I can't live without him :0) He does well in the car which is good, He sits next to me on the seat and just falls asleep.. .LUCKY!! lol :lol:

[lovechinies]

I glad that you feel attach to you chin and realize it better to take her with you or have a friend to take care of your chin. Yea! I won't leave my chin, I can just leave for few hours but not few days without anyone watching her..

[Kiki's Mom]

PM me, I am right outside of Hartford. If you would like to meet up sometime this week I would be happy to check on your chin for you over the weekend. I know it's scary to have someone you don't know in your home and I would understand if you were uncomfortable with this but thought I would throw it out there.

[cuddlycuddles]

He does well in the car which is good, He sits next to me on the seat and just falls asleep.. .LUCKY!! lol :lol:

I'm not sure it's a good idea to have a small animal loose in a car...Actually, I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea. Imagine the classic case where he gets scarred y something (sudden noise for example) and runs under one of the peddals in the car (brake for example)? How would you get him out safely (while the vehicle is in movement)?
Or what would happen if you guys would ever get into a car accident? He could fly off the seat and smash in the windshield, right? I know that the possiblity of these things happening is ever slim, however I would seriously not take that chance.
Instead, a small animal carrier (or a banker's cardbox with a towel on the bottom) on a back seat of your car is a much safer option. :)

My two cents,