Chinchilla Rehoming

Lately I've been busy trying to help people rehome their chinchillas.  I can't take any more in, I just don't have the space or time for more. It really irritates me that there are so many of these and other pets being rehomed.  Why?  Why do people feel that animals are something you get rid of.

What is wrong with some people.  Is it the work? Time? Money?  I just don't get it.  Of course you hear all the same excuses: I'm moving, I have allergies, I'm having a baby...blah blah blah.  I don't buy those excuses.  Why not just say the truth.  I hate cleaning cages, this animal wasn't what I thought it would be, I don't want to be tied down to an animal.  No, instead I hear the song and dance over why it's not their fault and how much they love their pet.  Bull! 

I blame petstores for this problem.  They aren't there to educate people, make sure that they are thinking their purchase through.  No, the petstore is there to get the impulse buy and sucker you into buying all the crap they have in the store. 

Of course my emails to the government to ban the sale of animals in petstores goes unheard.  They don't care either.  Who cares if these animals die a horrible death ignored in their cages?  Who cares if they are let go out in the "wild"?  Who cares if they are dumped off at shelters?  I care but I can't win this battle.  I feel defeated as there is not too many other that want to help.

I suggested to start a rescue.  No one wants to help.  No one wants to be bothered.  I can't save anymore chinchillas.  I honestly have more than I should.  I love them all dearly and know that they are better off with me where they do get attention,  clean cages, food and treats and proper daily care. 

It's disheartening.  I really think that mankind is truly messed up.  In my opinion, you can judge a society by how it treats our animals.  We aren't doing well at all.

Chinchilla Items

A lot of chinchilla owners learn very quick that pet stores have tons of unsafe items for their pets.  So there are tons of great items you can make yourself or buy online.  I thought I would post a few of my favourite items.

Simply Chintastic

Everything and anything on Linda and Dan's site is GREAT for your chinchilla!  I wish I could order everything they have.  My chinchillas love the play cube set and the daybeds.  I plan on doing another order soon for a few more items.

Quality Cage

Here you will find one of THE best chinchilla wheels available, The Chin Spin.  My chinchillas love their chin spins or at least the chinchillas that have one in their cage.  I do also have Flying Saucers which are also available at Quality Cage.

For the rest of my items I will post things that I have made myself or sites where I buy parts.  Stay tuned for more...

Meet the Chins

So I thought I should introduce my fur kids.  I do have to get some new pics of them. Actually I just need a new camera!  So without further ado:

Loki:

Loki is a standard chinchilla.  I adopted Loki from a Chinchilla rescue near my home. She was thought to be between 3-5 years so she may be 8 now.  When I adopted her, she had a cagemate who had to be put down due to cancer.  So she's in a HUGE cage all by herself as she HATES other chinchillas.  I really wish she didn't hate them so much because I think she would enjoy having a cagemate again. 

Loki is a hands off chin and doesn't like to be handled.  I can give her scritches under her chin but she kacks at me and lets me know she's had enough. 

She loves sleeping in her hammock, fleece tube and her hidey house.  Her favourite treat is cheerios but she'll gladly take oats, rosehips and apple pomace. 

Hera:

Hera is a mosaic chinchilla.  I saw her on kijiji and fell in love with her on sight.  She was said to be 2 years old and had been bred but her cagemate had died. 

Hera is my neat freak chinchilla.  She keeps her cage very neat and tidy only pees in one corner.  She sleeps on a daybed and is always looking for attention.  Hera barks a lot.  And by a lot, I mean A LOT! I think it was probably the reason her previous owners got rid of her. 

Hera loves anyone that comes by her cage and will reach out with her paws to try and get them to notice her. 

Hera also loves other chinchillas.  I had tried to pair her up with another chinchilla but the other chinchilla bit Hera and I haven't had the guts to try another intro. 

Athena:

Athena was the youngest chinchilla I ever adopted. She is a standard chinchilla.   She was 6 or 7 weeks and the previous owners had her a day when they decided to get rid of her.  Their dog was going nuts and the baby chinchilla was "going crazy".

They dropped her off in a box and I gladly took her in. During her first day with me, she managed to get out of her cage since she was so small.  She ended up under my bed with my cat.  Luckily, my cat is not the type to kill small creatures and the chinchilla was fine. 

Athena loves her fleece tube and her hammock.  She doesn't like other chinchillas at all and was the chinchilla that bit Hera when I tried to introduce them.  So she will be on her own.  Athena is still my baby but she is the biggest of all my chinchillas.  She's over 800grams. 

Pandora:

Pandora was just over a year old when she came into my home.  She is a brown velvet chinchilla.  She is a lot cuter than any picture I have of her.  She just doesn't take good pics! 

Pandora belonged to a young man who went off to college.  His roomie was allergic to the dust and shavings and he had to send her back home.  The problem was that his mom had a job where she travelled and Pandora was left home alone a lot. 

I decided to take her in and give her a new home with me and the rest of the chinchillas. 

Pandora is the easiest going chinchilla I own.  I can take her out and she'll gladly be handled.  She loves the attention and is always happy to come out and play.  Pandora loves her fiddlestick house and to sit on top of her fleece tube.  She doesn't bark or kack but she does pee all over her shelves.  I would love to pair her with Hera but since Hera is a neat freak I wouldn't want the to pair her up with Pandora, the dirty girl.

Calypso:

Calypso came to me when she was 5 months old. She is standard chinchilla.  Hers is the saddest tale that I have.  She was given away in a "free to good home ad".  I'm not sure how long her previous owners had her but everything that came with her was brand new.  I think it must have only been days or weeks.

Without saying too much, I have a thought that Calypso was abused or terrorized.  She has a lot of issues and I truly think that some terrible things happened to her. 

She is a total HANDS OFF chinchilla.  Even though I adopted her when she was still a baby and have spent a lot of time with her, she has serious issues.  She not only kacks but she gives serious warning cries and will stand ready to spray you.  I haven't been sprayed yet, by any of my chinchillas, but one day I suspect Calypso will get me. She doesn't like other chinchillas and hates other animals.  If my cat is near the doorway or the dog she goes crazy.  

Cassiopeia: 

Cassiopeia is a mosaic chinchilla and was just around one year when I adopted her.  She was living with a mom and daughter who just wanted to rehome her.

Cassiopeia loves to sleep on top of her tube and run on her flying saucer.  She seems to enjoy other chinchillas nearby but I'm keeping her on her own.  She loves cheerios more than any other treat and begs for more. 

She destroys toys within hours and is working at eating her daybed. Cassiopeia is one of the prettiest chinchillas I have and she has lots of expressions on her face. 

She doesn't like to be handled too much but loves scritches.

Freya:

Freya is a hetero beige chinchilla.  She was to have been over a year when I adopted her but I think she may have been under a year.

Freya hates to be touched.  If I touch her, first she will try to bite me and then she will clean off where I touched her.  She is a total, hands off chinchilla. 

She loves to sleep in her tube and hammock.  She also loves her chin spin and spends a lot of time running on her wheel.  She is also a brat for taking her food bowl off the cage and dumping her pellets. 

Her favourite treat seems to be oats and she loves the days when I hand those out. 

Hopefully with time she will let me handle her more but for now I will let her be. 

Nemesis:

Nemesis is my newest chinchilla.  She is a black velvet and is 4 months old.  Her previous owner bought her at a pet store and then within a week her mother's allergies were too much. 

I had always wanted a black velvet and it seemed like fate when she came up on kijiji needing a home.  I'm hoping to pair her with Hera.  I think Hera really would like to have a friend with her and she calls out to the other chinchillas. 

So far Nemisis is settling in nicely.  She loves her hammock and I have to make her a tube.  Hopefully, she'll enjoy her new home and meeting all the chinchillas. 

Organic Girl Giveaway

So in my quest to find a way to get a Dyson, I stumbled across the Organic Girl Blog. She is giving away a Dyson Animal DC 25:

http://www.mommybloggers.ca/2010/03/dyson-animal-dc-25-review-and-giveaway.html

Not only have I discovered a great contest, I've found a new blog to read. The problem is that I tend to spend more time reading blogs and ignore writing on my own.

But back to the Dyson. There is a great review on the Dyson and you can read all about it on the link above or go to the Dyson site and drool over the other vacuums there:
http://www.english.dysoncanada.ca

This is THE cadillac of all vacuums in my opinion. Everyone who has one raves about it. AND I WANT ONE. With pets in my house I have a vision of a clean house once again. Chinchilla dust will disappear, aspen shavings will no longer catch on my socks AND not to mention, the dog and cat hair will disappear.

Is it pathetic to want a vacuum more than any other tech toy out there? Ipad vs Dyson? I know what I would pick! Dyson. If I don't win this, well I can only hope that the people at Dyson will let me test one and see who would win the battle: chinchilla dust or Dyson.

Chinchilla Addiction

So when I first decided to get a chinchilla the first thing I did was read any website I could with information. I learned the best food, the best treats, the best toys, the best cage and the best type of everything a chin could ever need.

I spent months reading about everything that was chinchilla related. I found a local chinchilla rescue and found the two chinchillas I wanted to bring home. So off I went and adopted my first pair.

What none of the sites warned about was: chinchilla addiction. These small animals can make a person want more and more of them. I fell in love with my chinchillas and within a couple of months went out and got another one. I was up to 3 chinchillas and when I was on another site and saw a baby chin was available I decided 4 chinchillas wasn't much different than 3.

It wasn't long before another chinchilla needed a home and I had her come into my home. Then number 6 was another sad tale and she joined my growing fur crew.

I then had one chinchilla develop cancer and she had to be put down. I was down to 5 and I told myself that 5 was a good number. Another ad came up and this chinchilla just was so beautiful and needed a home so number 6 came.

I stayed with 6 and told myself, no more. It's not that I can't care for them as they all have huge cages and the best treats, food and toys they have ever had. I told myself that I didn't want to have too many and have the label of "animal hoarder".

But alas, number 7 soon appeared in my home. She was young and unwanted and I let myself be swayed. I have no control when it comes to these small balls of fur.

Number 8 has just arrived. A small baby chinchilla that they had less than a week. She's a sweetheart and settling in.

Now you think 8 is plenty and where could I have room for more. Well I received a plea from someone to help her out. She needs to rehome some chins, so I have said 2 can come stay. I'll be up to 10 and THAT IS ALL! No more. Even if it rains chinchillas. It's way more than I need.

SO a warning to all that want a chinchilla: be prepared that once you have one, you will always want more!

Dyson Giveawy on Northern Mama

So I've been drooling over dyson vaccums for some time now and I found a blog giving one away. Myself and hundreds of others are now posting like mad hoping that one of us will be the lucky one to win this creme de la creme piece of machinery. It's kinda funny when you do think about it that all of these people are HOPING to win this so we can CLEAN! It would be wonderful to own one of those vaccums. It's the cadillac of all vaccums. Maybe even the type of machine that would get the men out to use it. So go ahead and check out the entries and try your hand at winning a Dyson!