For the month of February, six (6) chinchillas were surrendered and nine (9) chinchillas were adopted.

We received word yesterday that Montgomery County Humane in Maryland got in a mixed group of over 26 chinchillas surrendered by one family! The wonderful folks at the humane society did an amazing job sexing and dividing the groups into male and female. Unfortunately, three of the chins had to be euthanized before we could help evaluate and assist. 

The group appears to be the result of a family left to breed without restraint. The size and condition of all 26 chinchillas is heartbreaking. Several have torn and chewed up ears. Most are fur chewed and all are grossly underweight. We are grateful that the family finally surrendered the group where they could receive the care they need.

At this time the chins are undergoing evaluation for health, behavior and possible pregnancies. 

While most of the time the surrenders we receive are from truly concerned folks who for whatever reason can't keep their pets, occasions such as this underscore the rescue aspect of Whimsy's Menagerie & Chinchilla Rescue. 

Your adoption fees and store purchases go to support such efforts as this. If you would like to contribute, or even better, make a store purchase, your donation or order would be humbly appreciated. 

Baby chinchillas are adorable. 

But there are several reasons why we don't advocate seeking specifically to adopt baby chins. First, the nature/nurture debate is most obviously on the side of genetics when it comes to chins. We've seen way too many examples of chins who simply grow up mean, no matter how much loving kindness they receive. Like people, some chinchillas are just plain jerks. 

With adult chinchillas, the personality characteristics are already developed and apparent. An adult chin who is naturally friendly and inquisitive can only get better with attention and proper handling. Chinchillas with behavior problems are more likely to turn their owners off rather than endear them...which can lead to neglect.

Our goal, therefore, is to help introduce chins with compatible new owners. We encourage folks to visit and interact with the available singles and groups and not be romanticized by the idea of owning a special color or cute little baby. Only by interacting can one truly get a feel for another living creature. Who knows? You just may be the person some of our "problem chins" have been waiting for.

I'd like to take this moment to share with our visitors just why we so strongly believe in responsible chin ownership. A brother/sister pair came in last week in pretty rough shape. The previous owners were told both were boys, but when one of them started having kits, they realized the mistake. Unfortunately, chinchillas go into heat immediately after giving birth, so without separation, chinchillas continue to breed indefinitely.

This is bad for several reasons. In this case, the mated pair of chins were directly related. This weakens the offspring which makes them more prone to health related issues, not to mention just a reduced quality overall. PLUS, breeding back to back takes quite a toll on the mommy chin. It takes quite a bit of energy to carry kits. Imagine how stressful it is to nurse a litter and be pregnant at the same time! By being put into a constant state of pregnancy, this could very quickly wear down the mommy chin. In this case, her condition (and that of her brother mate and remaining kit showed obvious signs of stress in that all of them were pretty severely fur-chewed.

The following video shows a chinchilla birth gone bad. View with caution.

Please people, be kind to your pets and consider carefully the massive numbers of unwanted animals who already need homes. I hate having to tell people who breed their pet chinchillas that the offspring will most likely end up in my shelter within the next couple of years. *sigh*

It's truly amazing how much our rescue continues to grow.

In the past couple of weeks, four chinchillas have been adopted. It is bittersweet every time we see another of our fuzzbutts go off to a new home. The difficult part is saying good-bye to critters we've cared for, some of whom came to us out of less-than-ideal situations. But it is a joy knowing that they are now part of a family that will love them just as much as-- or even more than-- we have.

And on the subject of adoptions, we have recently been pleasantly surprised. Three more families are scheduled to come visit our Menagerie this weekend, each looking to adopt chinchillas. Even with all of these adoptions, however, we still have many more chins who need homes. Check out the Adoptions page to see who is available. (Note the page may not always be quite up to date.)

These adoptions are coming just in the nick of time. A while back, a family of six chinchillas came to us. The father, mother, and baby daughter had all been kept together in one cage, with an older sister/brother pair from a previous litter in another cage. Unfortunately, both the mother and the older sister were pregnant when they came to us. Sadly, the first kit did not survive.  a few days later the second female had her own kit who is doing nicely.

It is very difficult to tell whether a female chin is pregnant. Chinchillas of opposite genders, unless spayed or neutered, WILL breed. It is only a matter of time. We only adopt out chinchillas as same-gender pairs, or for a same-gender cagemate. Our adoption contract requires that an adopted chin, male or female, will not be put in a situation where a breeding is possible. We encourage all chinparents to practice responsible pet ownership and do not house male and female chins together.

With all that said, we would like to give a huge thank-you to Brian for his generous donation to the Menagerie. Because of that, we were able to purchase some additional bandwidth for the website, and will be able to keep it running strong. Even so, we still appreciate all donations, which go towards the care and upkeep of the Menagerie, so we can continue to provide a safe haven for chins in need.

As usual, it's been another exciting week here. First I would like to welcome x4 and Wombat back. Earlier this year one of our rescue babies went off to a new home as a same gender cagemate for another chin who had lost his buddy. Now the two of them are here for a four month visit while their chinmom completes her internship. It's been neat to see how little x4 has grown in size and personality!

We also have another new addition. Our beige and violet pair had their first litter. Z4 was born on Thursday and was followed by a sibling that didn't make it. The second in the litter turned out to be our first experience with a mummified kit. This is where the fetus dies in the womb and is reabsorbed.

Click here for pictures and commentary on the Chins-n-Hedgies forum. (Warning: not for the squeamish!)

On Saturday, Whimsy went to a chin show in Pennsylvania. We didn't show any chins this time around, but did get in touch with another long time chin owner who loves a challenge. She adopted Frida, Wallace, and Ross! I had concerns for those three. Since they are known to bite, I did not want to offer them for adoption to someone new to chins. Thankfully there is someone for everyone and this is no exception! Thank you, Ange, for offering a home for these three.

I thought that rehoming four chins this weekend would free up a lot of cage space. I was wrong. When Whimsy returned from the show we found an email from another local family who needed to rehome their fuzzfamily of 5. Mommy, Daddy, 6 month brother and sister and tiny baby sister are all settling in nicely here where they are under quarantine and evaluation. We have father and son sharing a cage and mom and her two daughters in another. The same gender split is working out nicely.