Any time we mention chinchilla matchmaking on our Facebook page, we inevitably receive multiple requests for pairbonding help. Folks, it would take a book to explain our process. We actually have a unique, tried and true method that relies heavily on reading the subtle signs of chinchilla body language. It has taken almost a decade to develop and refine this skill. We carefully watch and learn the individual temperaments which gives Whimsy a good idea which chinchillas would be compatible.

Our pairbonding method generally takes 3 days and we like to keep a close eye on the new friendships for a full week. This helps to establish a good foundation of trust between them. If an original pairing doesn't show signs of promise within 3 days, we start all over again with another candidate. We know that if a bond doesn't occur within a week, it's not likely to happen at all. If a pairbonding is that difficult, it won't last! The slightest stressor or change can send an uptight chin into a fit of desperate attacks. Especially if the chins "eventually" grew to accept each other.

One of the key components of matchmaking is to never allow an attack to happen in the first place. If the chins develop bad feelings towards each other, this serves as a negative, downward spiral. Urine spraying among females is normal and helps to establish boundaries. Subtle nipping during nose sniffing does the same. Dominance mounting is fine only if the one being dominated submits. Otherwise a fight for power can occur. If two chins turn into a tumbling mass of fur, do NOT push the friendship.

Also, never, never, never hold one chin up to another to sniff noses! When chins nose sniff, one has to yield. This is impossible when one or the other is held hostage in a person's hands. Trying to let them sniff noses from your hands actually forces the held one to exhibit a stance of aggression. (In this picture we actually used a mother/daughter duo who are already tightly bonded.)

This week we're trying a radical effort to pairbond 6 females. Only two of them are co-bonded already. We have one rescue who came from a male/female pair, one female who was recently rejected by her long-term cagemate, a baby whose mommy passed away, and another single female who was previously bonded, but lost her cagemate. We knew the rescue and the attack survivor would need some careful attention. They were placed within close proximity of the most gentle girls to help ease them into the group. By day three they were ready to move into their new shared cage. Here they are exploring their new, triple stacked Critter Nation cage.

If you would like to utilize our matchmaking service, please see the link on our "Services" page. As matchmaking can be radically different with each chin, please do NOT email Whimsy for pairbonding advice. With any pair or grouping, there is always the chance that a chin will reject or be rejected by his or her cagemate. Be prepared to have separate cages if you have multiple chins. Our next update will be about when chins attack.

For the month of March, zero (0!) chinchillas were surrendered and two (2) chinchillas were adopted. We have put a serious damper on intakes until we can reclaim some living space. As mentioned before, priority surrenders are given to those who have adopted our rescue chins and need to re surrender them. However, all of our specifications outlined in in link regarding the surrender process applies. Those who try to withhold the cage to recoup some of the costs are frustrating in the obvious disregard for the animal.

On a more positive note, we've learned of an amazing opportunity that can only be described as a dream come true. A couple living a couple of hours north of us are offering an essay contest to essentially give away their 35 acre farm. The property consists of 10 acres of fields and the remainder consisting of mature wooded areas complete with trails! That would provide ample acreage for our little zoo to grow our own hay and plant orchards to harvest wood for the chinnies!

Would you like to join me in the rest of our dream? The house on the property has 3 levels. The ground floor/ basement would make a fantastic chinchilla shelter where we could keep the cages of boys and girls in separate rooms. Even though chins can smell a female in heat for up to a mile away, having them in different rooms would be much less provoking. Also, having the chins on their own floor would make it much easier to contain the dust and bedding apart from our living space. AND, it would provide us with enough elbow room to set up cages of the "proper" size as holding cages for the rescues. Better still, for those chinchillas who actually come with their cages, the additional space would allow us to keep the chins in their permanent cages and adopt them as "complete with cage". Which would help reduce adoption stress.

The property has an over-sized workshop complete with heat and air conditioning. That would allow the perfect year around spot for Whimsy to do her woodworking in a place other than in the dining room and kitchen.  The 18th century cookhouse would make a fantastic place to process and dry the natural woods we use for our chew toys.

Since the property is relatively close, we could still continue our work with the special needs students who help assemble our toys.  Could you imagine the looks on their faces when they come for the year-end field trip to Whimsy's? 

Although we have our hopes set on winning the contest, it is open for everyone to try. The more people who enter, the higher the likelihood the contest will actually run. They would like to have at least 5000 contest entries. It requires an essay of no more than 1000 words (make sure to see the rubric for guidelines) and a $200 entry fee. The chances of winning are better then the lottery. ;) Get writing folks! Or at least say a little prayer for us. 

For the month of February, two (2) chinchillas were surrendered and three (3) chinchillas were adopted. We still are overrun with chinchillas needing a forever home and have actually turned away inquiries for surrender until we can reduce our numbers to a more manageable one. We do, however, offer priority to chins adopted to us who need to come back.

It is especially frustrating that when we post ads about chinchillas for adoption, we usuallyreceive more inquiries for surrender! Call me jaded, but dealing with people is the most irksome part of rescue work. And while I'm on my high horse, we are not a government facility. We do not offer free healthcare. If your chinchilla is sick, broke a leg, etc., it is you, the owner's responsibility, to care for the animal whether you want to keep it or not. Credit cards make a wonderful resource for emergency needs. Relying on a rescue to take up the financial slack is just weak and irresponsible.

So spread the word, if you can't afford the vet, don't get the pet. 

Shortest post ever, but probably the most important one. 

For the month of January, eleven (11) chinchillas were surrendered and seven (7) chinchillas were adopted. As usual, we had bunches and bunches of chins visiting for the holidays while their two-footed pets went on vacation. During this time we actually received multiple requests for matchmaking to enlarge the already happy families. New chin owners quickly discover whether or not a chinchilla is the right pet for them. Some people end up expanding their herd, while others decide to bow out and re-surrender their new pets. It’s sad, but a true fact of rescue work.

We all carry preconceived ideas about how life will be with a pet chinchilla. Someone who has owned one before assumes all chins act like their first pet. Someone who has never owned a chin may mistakenly think they are all cuddly, warm balls of delight. Chins each come with their own, individual personality and temperament, but chinchillas all share some very basic qualities. They are prey animals, so are prone to a flight (run away) response. Sensitive individuals may take this behavior personally.  Please know that a chin who runs away from you is not rejecting you. They’re just doing what is natural. Some chinchillas are born with a more inquisitive nature. Those make the best pets. A chinnie who eagerly comes forward for a treat, scratch on the head, or out for playtime is a joy to have. 

Another part of the joy of owning a new pet is in personalizing your relationship. Adoptive chinchilla owners often ask, “Is it ok if I change my chinchilla’s name?” For the most part, chinchillas do not respond to the sound of their name. (We have a couple of chinchillas here who would beg to differ.) In general though, your pet chinchilla is most likely to respond to certain tone of voice or to the sound of the treat bag opening!

Some chinchillas seem to absolutely bloom in the care of one person as compared to another and it doesn’t always have to do with quality of care. Remember your grade school experiments where you were instructed to provide the exact same water levels, light, food, etc. for a plant, but were instructed to sing to, love on and think happy thoughts towards one plant, and ignore the other? The atmosphere in which a pet chinchilla lives can also affect their temperament and health.

When you adopt a chinchilla, it’s the beginning of a whole new relationship. If changing the chinnie’s name helps to solidify that relationship, then we give it a thumbs up. And if your chinnie comes when called, you know you have a winner.

Yup, we see a lot of cases that involve this and we love to see the transformation from a ragged, sad little animal to a full, fluffy, thriving one.

Chinchillas will chew their own fur and the fur and whiskers of a cagemate when confronted by a stressful living environment. Some of the factors being; a cage that is too small or otherwise overcrowded, the wrong "kind" of cage, inadequate chew toys, no place to hide or an exposed cage (insecurity), lack of exercise, and general boredom. 

One of the responsibilities of a good owner is to see to the needs of their pet. Providing environmental enrichment is an often overlooked need. It is for this reason that our adoption contact specifies the provision of a "Whimsy approved" cage. We have seen, and continue to see situations where well-meaning owners simply do not know what a chinchilla truly needs. We have seen chins housed in hamster cages, glass aquariums, dog kennels, guinea pig cages with no ledges, small cages with only one or two ledges, free-ranged (!) and even chins housed in solid wood boxes and rabbit hutches.

Pet stores offer chinchilla "starter cages." A starter cage is NOT supposed to be permanent housing. Starter cages are intended to hold a single, baby chinchilla. They are too constricting for a full grown adult yet we have seen as many as 5 chinchillas in a tiny cage such as that.

With chinchillas, the bigger the cage, the better. The more interesting the cage, the better. The more stimulating the cage, the better. A chinchilla housed in a wonderland will rarely, if ever, chew their fur. If your chinnie has plenty of toys and ledges, they are less likely to take out their frustration on themselves or a cagemate.

Some of our chinnie friends take cage decorating seriously! We love to see the creative designs folks come up with regarding their accessorizing (especially if those accessories come from our store ;) ). We do our best to offer safe, fun and completely thought out ledges, bridges and hiding places. Just remember, wooden accessories are safe for chewing and will eventually need replacing.

You can limit the ledge chewing and fur chewing by providing copious amounts of chew toys. A good rule of thumb for chews is to offer at least three toys at any given time: one hard (such as pumice based toys), one soft (shreddable type toys), and one mixed. Expect to rotate or replace chew toys or some of the components weekly. If your pet chinchilla isn't actively engaged in working their teeth, they can and do take it out on themselves or even the bars of their cage! Fur chewers tend to be nervous pickers. They thrive on the soft, shreddy-type toys. Even so, chinchillas' teeth grow in spurts. A chin who shuns pumice one week might destroy it in a heartbeat the next. (And yes, destroying their toys is a GOOD thing!)

A secure chinchilla is a happy chinchilla. A place to hide such as a hanging tube, hidey house or even a plain cardboard box helps. The cage placement in a room will also contribute to a feeling of security. Chins do best in a living room corner away from a doorway where they can survey the comings and goings of their human friends. This type of daily inclusion helps ease boredom and contributes to a well-socialized pet. Some chins actually enjoy watching TV! They are social creatures. Please remember to let them be a part of the family. Your life and theirs will be enriched by daily contact.

Here are Amanda and Thunder watching Animal Planet together.

We understand that no good pet owner intends to do harm to their pet. But often bad situations arise from owners who simply do not have good, solid advice to make informed decisions. We hope that we can offer that advice without demeaning or berating those who honestly don't know any better. If you know of a chin owner who can benefit from our webpage, please share. For the sake and benefit of the chinchillas first; we faithfully serve.