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pet chin resources
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make a difference: fur-free pledge, fur-free society/ confronting cruelty/ matildesmission.org |
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Read:
"Judging the Quality of Internet Care Information"
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If your chin doesn't gnaw chew toys -or- doesn't eat hay -or-
has calcium deficiency (  CRITICAL POINTS OF CHINPARENTHOOD, "BEFORE YOU BUY!" Also see: article by eRodent and ChinCare's adoption contract/ qualification assessment (.doc) and care sheet (.doc) Chinchillas can be the ideal companion. Normally gentle and friendly creatures, they only bite 
or spray urine under extreme
duress, even the most vocal
ones don't make noise often,shedding is very minimal, their fecal droppings are small, hard and odorless (and continually deposited!) and their urine isn't odorous as long as their cage is kept clean. Basic requirements include: a LARGE cage, a chin-proofed play area, and unlimited access (only ration treats) to the dietary staples of fresh, high quality pellets, hay, and distilled or filtered water. There ARE potential drawbacks to having a chin as a pet, however, so don't make the initial investment unless you have acknowledged the following and are certain you can commit to providing all the attention, time, energy and expense needed for an entire chinchilla lifetime: 
Chinchillas themselves are NOT
"HYPOALLERGENIC" nor is the hay they eat every day and
the ample dust they bathe
in regularly. They are not
recommended for young children or as classroom pets for several
reasons that directly relate to the chin's well-being and the children's
expectations.
Although they appear cute and cuddly, chinchillas in general are not
sedentary lap pets who will sit still and welcome lots of holding
and cuddling. They are usually sociable and enjoy interacting with
people, but they like to be on the move: exploring, energetic, playful.
While some pets will accept being dominated and controlled by their
owner, chins really do not. They prefer to have things on their terms:
they have a keenly intelligent, curious and independent nature with
a mind and will of their own and are best
related to as companions rather than treated as mere pets. Some
chins need to be socialized
and can require a lot of time and patience before they're able to
bond with their chinparent. It takes someone with maturity and intelligence,
emotional as well as psychological, to truly appreciate them.
Chinchillas must be kept indoors in a climate-controlled environment.
AIR
CONDITIONING IS MANDATORY, not optional, for chins in climates
where the temperature can reach 70°F. Heat plus high humidity (above
60%) can easily kill chinchillas, because they have the highest
fur density of any land animal in the world.
Chinchillas think and behave a lot like
small children, and their active, intelligent
minds can easily become stressed or bored (which is a catalyst
for various health and behavioral problems)
if they are forced to sit, caged, for hours on end without sufficient
environmental stimulation, exercise or interaction. Providing this,
especially for a single
chin who relies entirely on the chinparent for companionship, can
be very TIME
CONSUMING because out-of-cage activity requires constant supervision:
chinchillas are rodents and they will gnaw, gouge or shred anything
not sufficiently "chin-proofed."
A LARGE
cage to accomodate running and playing, a variety of chew
toys, at least one hideaway
per chin and a cage wheel
will help decrease stress and boredom inside the cage while TV
during waking hours will provide environmental stimulation when the
chin isn't actively engaged in out-of-cage exercise
and interaction.
Chinchillas are VERY
LONG-LIVED! The average chinchilla life expectancy in captivity
is 10-15 years, but with good genetics and good lifetime care they
can live 20+ years. For that entire long term commitment they'll need
knowledgeable, devoted care, regardless of whether their chinparent
experiences a change in lifestyle or preferences: busier schedule,
new hobby/ interest, going off to college, joining the military, relocating,
starting a family, etc.
Pet stores often mis-sex chinchillas!! It's not unheard of for
someone to buy a female that's already pregnant because the pet store
grouped the animals by color/ price range instead of by gender. It's
also not unusual for someone to buy a "same-sex" chin as
company for the one they got from a pet store and end up with a litter
because the pet store employee mistook the female chinchilla's urethral
cone for a male chinchilla's penis. Before you buy, learn how to identify
gender to prevent overpopulation and unwanted pets!
Most of the problems that chinparents eventually encounter have
to do with a lack of accurate knowledge or familiarity in these areas:
The
Essentials, Environmental
Stress Factors, conducting safe Introductions
and Safety.
Products marketed
"for" chins may in fact harm or even kill them, for example:
cedar bedding,
wheels
with spokes, plastic
cage parts or accessories and cages with unsafe
mesh width.
Chinchillas are regarded as an exotic animal. The "startup cost"
for a new chinparent (see Zillah Chinchilla's basic list)
is substantial and VET CARE FOR EXOTICS IS
EXPENSIVE! For example, malocclusion,
a relatively common and potentially lethal dental condition that chinchillas
can suffer from, may be treatable
if detected early by a yearly check-up head x-ray. The vet visit,
with examination and x-ray, can easily cost over a hundred U.S. dollars.
When selecting a chin, health
and temperament should be the foremost consideration, not strictly
appearances. The colorful "mutations"
(every color but the original gray is the result of recessive gene
breeding and/ or inbreeding.
Some colors are more established and stable than others) can be
less hardy, not as long-lived and more erratically temperamented than
the standard gray. Most importantly, every chin deserves "a
good home"! |
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Chinchilla Breeder's Organization CBO is a branch of The Chinchilla Club Chinchilla Carers' Club "UK-based club for all people interested in the care and keeping of chinchillas as pets" Chinchilla Club NZ New Zealand-based, "the chinchilla's health and 
welfare is of the foremost concern
of the Club"Chinchillas As Pets Association 
eventsCAPA is a U.S.-based club Chin Knights, Rodela Chinchilla and ChinChorro Knights and Rodela are clubs sworn to uphold protection for chinchillas from the fur industry, ChinChorro is a program organized to save the wild chinchilla Save the Wild Chinchillas volunteerA registered charity that helps educate people about and restores habitat for the remaining wild chinchillas The Chinchilla Club
eventsAn international pet chinchilla organization The National Chinchilla Society
events NCS is a UK club that publishes a bi-monthly informational gazette, accepts overseas memberships and does not support the fur industry
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Since 2002 we have hand-reviewed nearly all the English language pet chinchilla care sites (over 700 as of 2008) on the web for the educational purposes of this site. The following sites are, in our estimation, the most thoroughly informative (substantial coverage on nearly all topics) and usually factually reliable pet chinchilla care sites on the web. This list is subject to updates. Our Disclaimer and ChinCare's Principle applies. |
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| Azure
Chinchillas Bettina's Fluffy Chins Cheeky Chinchillas Chin City ChinBin in Oregon Chinchilla Quest Chinchillas2Home Chintrek Crystal Chinchillas, Belgium |
Darren's
Chinchilla Paradise, Singapore Downsview Chinchillas Dunja's House of Chinchillas Ebony Dragon Chinchillas Etc-Etc Chinchilla Page Eyes of Texas Chinchillas Keeping Chinchillas As Pets- A Guide Kingdom Chinchillas PetPlace.com |
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native habitat, so this is not the most comprehensive list, just a sampling of what we've found: |
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Chinchilla Vienna/ Danish Club/ Nordic Club German, Austrian, Dutch, Swiss sites Swedish, Danish and Norwegian sites Asian: Forum, Chinchilla Room, Cindy's Homepage Dutch: Lima Chinchillas, Vida Nueva Foundation Finnish: Pet Chinchilla Association French: Bernard et Bianca, Les Chinchillas de Sylvie German: CHINCITTÀ, Chinchilla Post Online, ZooArt, Links, Chinchilla Lexicon sites: Museum, Photos, Books Italian: IL CINCILLA' Portuguese: Quinta Das Roedores Spanish: Chinchiweb, infochinchillas.com, Spanish Chinchilla Club, Forum, Latest newsletter(.pdf) |
Chin Knight's Non-English Sites: Murmel's Homepage/ Chinutopia/ Chin City Chinchilla Paradies/ Sven's Chinchilla Homepage Ottinger's Chinchilla Familien/ Chinchilla Villa Petras Tierinsel/ ChinPower/ Chinchilla-Meli Chinchilla Wunderwelt/ Silver Streak Chinchilla Chinchilla-Villa Kunterbunt Non-English Articles Spanish article- Centro Veterinario Carlinda, .pdf by Jaime E. Jiménez, PhD, et al: Pet Guide Series (.pdf), in Japanese "Glorious Past, Threatening Present" (.pdf), in Italian |
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Chinchilla Club Magazine Retail Chinchillas.com Newsletter Chinchillas Unlimited Reference Library Chinformative Forum Reference Library ChinNet ECO Magazine Membership required Small Pet Club Online pet directory UK Pets.co.uk UK news, resources, etc.
CA Chins Vet Reference Books/ Caitlin's Chinchillas CentralPets/ Cheeky Chinchilla Club/ TRO Etc-Etc.com/ Chinchilla Lexikon/ Chinchilla Library BOOK SEARCH AND PRICE COMPARISON addall/ blackwellpublishing/ booksprice.com/ directtextbook/ fetchbook/ GoogleBook/ usedbooksearch
Chinchillaburg/ Dunja's House of Chinchillas/ Kritter Cards/ WWF (not chinchilla-specific)
more under "Extras"/ Chin Jump/ Jigsaw/ Haikus Chin Dance/ Animated Photo Cube/ Retha's Puzzles Coloring Book/ Self-Test for Chinchilla Addiction Cartoon Gallery/ Merry's Memory Test/ Silly Images Emily's Chinese Ink Art, Chinchilla Paintings Puzzle and Crossword, Dusty Flips!/ Rodent Movies Chinimations/ Chintoons by Herike Rehme Mottos, Chin Lovers/ Animal Totems: The Chinchilla Chin Movies, Videos/ Chinchilla Collectibles Museum and The White Pages of Chinchilla Pictures STAMPS: etc-etc, Chinchilla-Lexicon LIVE WEBCAMS: Chinchilla/ Chinchilla-Lexikon Drew's/ Lone Star/ sleepychinchilla
Chinchilla World's Pedigree Maker Freebie Evans' Chinchilla Register SITE HOSTING Freebie CentralPets.com/ Chinchilla Club ChinNet/ My Pets Pages IMAGES Free, may require link back Chinchilla City Icons/ Chinimations Chinnie Potter/ Emma's Free Images Paw-Talk Pocket Palz/ The Chinchillaburg |
Baltimore Zoo in MD/ Brandywine Zoo in DE Catoctin Zoo in MD/ Lee Richardson Zoo in KS Pueblo Zoo in CO/ San Francisco Zoo
We recommend these international forums, in our opinion they're the best: Chinchillas Unlimited, Chinwags, Chinformative Forum, CHINformation Organization Forum and Midwest Exotics- a forum for hedgehogs, chinchillas and sugar gliders. Not only are they fur-free, their atmosphere and level of expertise are exceptional! Be advised that there are some forums that act more as personality cults for their leadership, where bullying and misinformation are rife, and those forums are not on our list. Unlisted status does not necessarily make a forum one of those to avoid. The following quote is from Chinwags. In our opinion this prudent and responsible approach should be adopted by all forums: "Our first port of call if worried should always be the vets. We should try to remember the difference between our own experiences (which in themselves can vary in different situations) and information we have picked up along the way. "Where possible would you please make clear where any details you mention came from, have you been through this or have you read it somewhere? If from a website/message board please provide a link where possible (or link and quote), so that other members may make a better judgement for themselves as to the validity of the details. We ask that you do not try to impose your views on others, just let's be here to share, comfort and help where we can." International Chinchilla Meetup Anti-Abuse Forum: catler.org Rescue Forums: Farplace Forum, UK/ Pet Rescue, UK/ PetsAlive, USA/ Rodent Rescue Web Journals and Blogs: Chinchilling, Chinchilla Life! Chinchilla Love, Chinlog, Chinchillas = Happiness Live Journal, Chinchilla Place, Interview with the Chinchilla All Creatures Forum Blue Moon's Chat CentralPets.com Chinchilla Chat Line Chinchilla Club Forum
Chinchilla
Club NZchinchilla_lovers email group Chinchilla World Chinchillas Unlimited CHINformation Organization Forum Chinformative Forum ChinMail Chins-n-Friends ChinsRus.co.uk Chinwags Just Chinchillas Lone Star Chinchilla Forum Midwest Exotics Nibbler Niche Nick's Animal Place Ontario Chinchilla Association Paw-Talk: Chinchillas Petfanatics.com: Chinchillas Pets.Com.sg: Singapore Forum PetsHub.com: Chinchillas Small Animal Channel Small Pet Club YAHOO - CHIN GROUPS |
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