For the month of August, nine (9) chinchillas were surrendered and seven (7) chinchillas were adopted. Most of our summer boarders went home and we now only have five chinnies staying both short and long term. For a brief few days we actually had our dining room free of temporary cages. *cough* I did say "brief", didn't I? Visitors often falsely believe that the welcoming chins are "the rescue"...until they walk into the actual chin room.  

We're fortunate enough to have lots and lots of volunteers who are willing and able to help out. This past weekend we had the pleasure of working with a local Girl Scout troop who needed animal service hours to earn a special badge. The girls helped clean cages, cut crabapple and pecan wood, socialize the chinchillas, help make shelves and assemble chew toys from extra parts and pieces for the rescues.

When asked how many of the girls asked their parents if they could have a chinchilla the answer was, "All of them, of course!" ;)

We couldn't have said it better ourselves! Check out this amazing article. If you've missed the summer opportunity to adopt, the beginning of the school year is a perfect time to make that up. ;)

http://shine.yahoo.com/pets/surprising-pets-makes-kids-smarter-130500347.html

By WebVet.com
"This guy makes you more clever?
If you want your children to do better in school -- get them a chinchilla. A new study found a link between a better performance in the classroom and kids who have pets, especially the aforementioned soft rodents.
Surprisingly it was the chinchilla that emerged as the most likely animal to boost a child's cleverness, with 55% of owners reporting an uptick in creativity. If it's just a kid's homework that needs a boost, consider adopting mice or rats as 92% of rodent owners reported a better performance on assignments, compared with 86% and 80% for children owning dogs and cats respectively.
The underlying belief is that caring for a pet makes children more responsible. In the Pets at Home study, nearly half of children said that owning and looking after a pet makes them happier, a third claimed to be calmer, while a fifth feel smarter."

With that being said...why hold off on adopting? We have nearly 50 chinchillas here available for adoption. With that many personalities, we're sure your child's new best study partner is just an email away. :)

Love what we do, but can’t adopt?

Fallen in love with one of our medical cases and want to show your support?

Sponsor a chinchilla!

For only a dollar per day ($30 per month) you can help us, help the animals. Your sponsorship donation covers the cost of food, hay, dust, bedding and care for a single chinchilla. Additional gifts of chew toys, treats, or other items can be made in addition to the basic plan, in any amount at your specification.

Sponsorship programs are strictly voluntary. You may choose to sponsor a chin until they are adopted, or cancel at any time. Sponsorship is on a month to month basis. Any remaining funds will be applied to the general chinchilla expenses account.

To sponsor a particular chinchilla, just click in the donations button and add the name and any additional wishes in the “special instructions” box. If the chosen chinnie is listed as available on the adoptions page, an emblem with your sponsorship name will appear…like this….

For the month of July, thirteen (13) chinchillas were adopted and eight (8) chinchillas were surrendered. Sounds good, right? Well...we've received an unusual number of medical cases lately. Roo, a chinchilla with bumblefoot was surrendered when her owners became overwhelmed by her condition and their life situation. Toast, an emaciated ebony girl came to us on death's door. She has since started eating and now has a little female friend to keep her company and encourage her to eat. Ginger, a fur chewed girl came in as part of a mixed group from a home without air conditioning! Her prognosis was also very grave, but has perked up, stopped chewing her fur and littered a sweet baby boy and girl. We’ve also received some of our most aged couple. A 15 year old brother/sister pair were surrendered when their owner was admitted to an assisted living facility. The brother/sister were not housed together and we were told do not get along. We have since found a male friend for the brother and are still working on finding a compatible friend for the female.

While we do generally have excellent community support and response to our search for just the right homes for these recycled pets, we still have many who have been waiting their turn for the perfect home. Some of the more troubled chins have been here for months, if not years. Our adoption fees cover but a small portion of our expenses necessary to care for the chinnies who come to us.

It's our store that makes it possible for us to continue doing the work we do to help families find new homes for their chins and help with medical expenses whenever possible. While we do not like to solicit donations, we're more than excited to offer new store items for sale. So with that in mind, we'd like to officially introduce our two latest chinnie chew toys!!!! Whoo hoo!!!!

First is our Jacob's Ladder, made with 6 different kinds of chin-safe woods. While not technically "new" anymore, we never did an official release. *cough* My bad, sorry about that.

And finally, the one you've all been waiting for.... The one Whimsy has been so secretive about.... Our newest.....Chinchilla Piñata! This Whimsy original is a giant oversized willowball stuffed with the choicest hays, herbs, flowers and treats. Check out our store for more details and ordering information, and stay tuned for more future releases. ;) 

Babylon, one of the chinnies here at Whimsy's, suffered a rectal prolapse.  A rectal prolapse is an emergency situation. The exposed intestine must be kept moist or you will risk tissue death. As quickly as possible the rectum and exposed intestine must be cleaned, moistened and reinserted before it strangulates or dries out.  It should not be forcefully pushed in or poked with a dry cotton swab. The intestine, rather, is gently rolled and massaged, with plenty of lubricant to help it retract.  Below is a video clip showing Babylon's prolapse and Whimsy easing the intestine back in place. During the filming we were much less concerned with a sterile field than we are with getting the exposed intestine back where it should be.

Babylon re-prolapsed dozens of times while waiting for the emergency vet to attend him to sew a purse-string stitch around his anus, where it remained in place for two days. A week later he prolapsed twice, but has since stabilized without the need for another stitch.

It took nearly two weeks for Babylon to pass a normal stool during which time he has been on a regimen of Critical Care hand feeding formula, subcutaneous fluids, antibiotics, metacam for pain, simethicone to dissipate the gas buildup, and antiparasitics. Throughout this ordeal, Babylon lost over 100 grams of body weight!

We are happy to announce that Babylon has survived this radical situation. He is now eating and drinking on his own and continues to get healthy and strong. If you are faced with this situation, please know that it is not automatically deemed a no-win case. With quick intervention, the outcome can be successfully treated.

This intervention was subsequently utilized when a second baby chin prolapsed 6 weeks after Babylon's ordeal. After inserting the exposed rectum, Whimsy also quickly administered antibiotics and continued to reinsert the prolapse as needed. Within an hour the little girl stabilized and did not prolapse again. She is currently receiving antibiotics and has shown no further signs of distress.

We hope that this post will inform and give hope to anyone who finds their chinchilla in this situation.