Cages for pets

Available instore

CHUBBY LITTLE ONE!!

I have a love for mosaic…I drooled over this mosaic chin picture, he is such a chubby cutie little guy. Definitely u will agree with me…Do u think u can find one in sg?

MY SHOW QUALITY CHINS

Recalled some of my chins that I have got from USA few years ago,  missing a picture of TOTO, A STANDARD GREY MALE.  These pictures are so well taken, sadly I no longer can find in my database……

Mrs pastures cookies for chinchillas

Our new stock of cookies are here! For those who have missed it. This is a must try healthy treat for your chinnies. It is made with oats,wheat bran, cane molasses, rolled barley, fresh apples n water. No preservative n all natural ingredients!

3rd cutting timothy hay & bluegrass *new*

After so long, finally We have source for our own hay. They are 3rd cutting timothy hay n bluegrass. They smell sweet n fresh the moment we open up our cartons…try some n u will believe. They are definitely comparable n equally good as apd hay. Non- stalky n very leafy. The picture taken do not justify the quality. They r so much greener than shown.

Twin

Twin pack treats- strawberry n rosehips. High in vitamin c. Retail Price for twin pack :$9.90 (less 20% discount for member)

Care and Keeping

I. Housing
-Chinchillas are jumpers and climbers.
-A cage large enough to have 1 to 2 levels is ideal.
-Cages should be made of wire mesh with a spacing of 1/2″ x 1″ or smaller.
-Shelves can be 1/2″ x 1/2″ wire mesh or untreated wood, NO PLASTIC.
-A drop-in pan is recommended. If the floor is wire mesh (a slide-out cage) then place pieces of tiles on top of the wire so the chin has a place to rest off of the wire.
-Wire cages should be washed about once a month.
II. Bedding
-The recommended low cost bedding types are Kiln-dried pine shaving for base tray.  Other alternatives for pee pan are Wood pellet bedding or recycled paper bedding such as pee wee, breeder celect, back to nature or carefresh.
-Do not use newspapers, corn cob, or cedar.
-Bedding can be changed once a week  for 1 chin and the pan disinfected and rinsed and dried well.
III. Location
-Chin should be kept in a cool dry area out of direct sunlight.
-Temperature should NOT exceed 27-28 degrees C. Ideal temperature is 21-23 degrees C.  They LIKE cold but sometimes this is not feasible.
-Humidity should be kept under 70% if possible.
IV. Food
-The brand of food I recommend for pet chinchillas is Mazuri (www.mazuri.com). Most chins will only eat what they need to sustain themselves so you can leave food in their cages 24/7.
-Chins should have Timothy Hay available to them at ALL times. This helps regulate their GI tract and wear down their teeth. They can also be given Orchard grass. Alfalfa can be given sparingly.
-Food bowls should either be heavy crocks or food bowls that attach to the sides of wire cages.
V. Water
- Non leaked Water bottles  eg. water buddy work best for chinchillas as they can jump in a water bowl and develop fungus.
VI. Treats
-Treats should be given in MODERATION. At the most 1 small treat a day.
-Some treats that chins enjoy: shredded wheat, dried papaya, rolled oats, dried rosehips, dried banana, and dried pineapple.
VII. Enrichment
-cardboard boxes (capri sun boxes work great!) or wooden houses for hiding.
-parrot toys made out of wood.
-parrot branches.
-pumice stones to wear down teeth.
-PVC pipes (clean and disinfect them thoroughly before using).
-grapevine wreaths
-SAFE WOOD: wood must be UNTREATED: cholla, pine, aspen, bamboo, apple, pear, kiwi, grape, magnolia, manzanita, pecan, poplar, willow, dogwood, elm, larch.
VIII. Exercise
-Wheels, there are many different kinds but they should be atleast 15″ in diameter.

-Playpens can be used but most are not tall enough or made of anything other than wire mesh, so chins can easily escape and MUST be monitored!

-Your best bet would be to chin-proof a room in your house.
-Alot of people use bathrooms. Make sure to close the toilet lid and pick up everything from the ground and the sides of the tub.
-For a regular room, make sure there are NO wires that the chins can reach or anything that they can chew that you don’t want ruined.
IX. Dusting
-To clean themselves, chins take baths in dust, or volcanic ash.  The dust goes down into their fur and clings to dirt. When the chinchillas shake, the dust and dirt fall out.
-Do not wet a chinchilla with water. If they are extremely dirty and a dust bath will not clean them, you can use a baby wipe.
-Some stores sell “bath sand” which is okay – but “bath dust” cleans their fur better
-We dust about once a week. The more you handle your chin the more it will need dust baths
-Change out the dust if the chin poops or pees in it – dirty dust won’t clean them!
X. Companions
-Chinchillas can be kept alone but most like companionship.
-Pairs or trios of the same sex are best.
-Other pets should be monitored around chins. Many dogs have a prey drive and will chase or attack chins, same with cats.
-Spaying and Neutering a chinchilla in order to put it with a chin of the opposite sex is NOT recommended. These are invasive surgeries and not worth the risk – BUY SAME SEX PAIRS.
-I recommend to have the same number of food bowls and water bottles as chinchillas in a cage. This makes sure that one chin does not prevent the other from eating and drinking and may prevent scuffles.
XI. Introduction
-When adding another chinchilla to your family they must be quarantined for 4 weeks. Keep them in a seperate room
-Once quarantine is over, to introduce 2 chinchillas first put their cages next to each other leaving a 1/2″ space.
-After 2 or 3 weeks move the cages right up next to each other. Some toes may be bitten or noses nipped – treat them with a triple antibiotic.
-After another week you can dust them together and put them together for playtime but MONITOR them. They will have to establish dominance.  Some fur may be pulled and they may mount each other. If excessive fur is lost or blood is drawn seperate them and wait another week.
-If they are getting along during playtime then you can put a dab of vanilla extract on their noses and put them in an entirely clean cage (neutral territory – you can scrub one of their cages entirely and this will also work). MONITOR them.
-WARNING: some chinchillas may NEVER get along. When purchasing a new chinchilla you must be aware of this and be able to accept having them in seperate cages if they do not get along.
XII. Handling
-When taking a chinchilla out of the cage you can grab them by the BASE of their tail near their bum (their tails will NOT fall off – that is a myth).
-You can also pick up a chinchilla around its stomach with both hands, bring the chinchilla to your chest and support its bottom.
-When frightened chinchillas will slip their fur.  If you accidentally grab the chin by its fur you will end up with a handful of fur and the chinchilla running off. The fur will grow back and it will not hurt them.
XIII. Disease/Illnesses
-Chinchillas can live 10-15 years+ when taken care of properly.
-Hair Ring Checks
-Some semi-common to common diseases or illnesses that can affect chinchillas are:
-Malocclusion – This can vary from elongated front teeth to elongated back molars to molars growing up into the skull or out the bottom of the jaw. SYMPTOMS: watery eyes, wet chest, not eating, pawing at the mouth DIAGNOSIS: to properly diagnose a chinchilla with malocclusion you must take them to a vet and have x-rays done. A vet will be able to tell you if your chinchilla has malo and can tell you about the treatment options depending on how it is affecting your chinchilla. PREVENTATIVE: If malocclusion is because of genetic reasons it cannot be prevented. But environmental reasons CAN be prevented. Give your chin something to chew to wear down its teeth all the time! Hay helps wear down the back teeth so give it to your chin 24/7!
-Ringworm – Ringworm is a fungus that is common in chinchillas that have become wet or live in high-humidity conditions. SYMPTOMS: missing patches of fur, red scaly circles on the skin. Usually starts around the nose and face. TREATMENT: Place tinactin powder (foot powder for fungus) directly on affected areas (be careful of eyes, nose and mouth!), put 1tsp of powder per 1 cup of dust in the chins bath – dust and treat area everyother day for 2 weeks then twice a week until fur has totally grown back.

Beauty sleep

We need sleep enough daily.Our best position is lying on the side like this picture below.

crnch chew crnch

She is moody

Every morning I clean the chins cages n feed my chinchillas n cavies. This is my 1st task to do in early morning. During the Dustbath time, my princess homo beige gal refused to come down from her ledge n She look at me one giving an annoying face n said “ka ka” don’t touch me!! Then turn her face n back to her beauty sleep. Look at her …