For the month of March, three (3) chinchillas were surrendered and eleven (11) chinchillas were adopted. Life is good.

We’ve been doing a major overhaul of the primary and secondary rescue rooms at the Menagerie, but that is fodder for another post. We’ll have lots of before and after pictures to show later in the month.

Right now, though, we need to talk about the importance of chew toys.

Whimsy often says that chew toys are necessities, not luxury items. Because chinnie teeth grow constantly, we need to make sure that our house beavers have plenty of opportunity to wear down those choppers before they overgrow and develop into malocclusion. As mentioned before, hay is wonderful for the digestive system and for wearing down the cheek teeth. But even the incisors can grow into tusks if your chinnie doesn’t have nibbling and gnawing opportunities. 

Wooden ledges offer a safe chewing alternate to plastic shelves, but our real claim to fame is in our extensive assortment of chew toys. We’ve actually spent years trying to come up with perfect combinations of textures, flavors and densities. One thing we will not do, however, is adulterate a perfectly healthy chew toy with added flavorings or excessive dyes. While we do like the splash of color the wooden beads afford, soaking loofah and other natural items into unnatural shades is just not our thing. When we hear of people who put added flavor on their products it’s not difficult to imagine the same people putting soda pop in their infant’s bottle. This practice actually causes chins to expect stronger flavors and inhibits their natural need for bland, high fiber foods. 

Whimsy takes it as a challenge to come up with interesting chews to stimulate chinnie curiosity. Since a chinchilla explores their environment with their teeth, we want to encourage that destruction in a healthy way.

Some people go halfway on the idea of chew toys: they want a toy that will last a long time. In actuality, the best chew toys are those that are most salient. In other words, the toys that your chin demolishes the fastest are the best ones. This means your chinnie is actively engaged in their toy and is getting the most benefit from it. 

A chew toy is not supposed to be a permanent cage decoration. If your c hinnie has lost interest in their chews, you can often renew the interest by moving it to a different location. (You know how it is when cleaning a closet and things packed away are suddenly exciting again?) If moving the toy around doesn’t help, you can restring and combine old parts with some new parts to generate more attention. (Check out our selection of vine thingies, loose wood and pumice!)

Keep in mind that chinnie teeth go through growth spurts. There will be occasions when an ignored toy will suddenly get much more attention. This frequently happens with pumice toys. They sit in a cage for months and then…Bam! It’s as if the chinchilla suddenly discovers it, and all you find in the cage the next morning is a pile of rubble and dust.

With that being said, our student helpers and we work diligently to keep a steady supply of assorted chews for your furbaby. Offering a few toys in a variety of textures is a wonderful way to meet their chewing needs.  Plus, when you order our Whimsy Original chew toys you help sustain our rescue efforts and support the cognitive and motor skills of the special needs students who help assemble them. 

For the month of February, seven (7) chinchillas were surrendered and eight (8) chinchillas were adopted.  This month is far more typical than last month. But have you ever wanted to know what a "typical" day is like at Whimsy's? Now is your chance to be a virtual fly on our wall.  ;) Thank you Lila B for sparking this creativity in Whimsy. 

A Day in the Life at Whimsy's

I woke up late at 6:00 this morning to find another dozen or so emails awaiting my response. Not unusual for my day’s beginning. But one subject title caused my heart to drop into the pit of my stomach: “35 Chinchillas in Need of Rescue”. Here we go again. I opened the email to find yet another situation where a backyard breeder fell into dire straits and left the animals suffering. Supposedly, there were several in immediate need of euthanizing due to mating fights and most likely, fights over lack of food and water.

Ours, like nearly all legitimate animal rescues across the United States, is full to capacity. Over the years we have managed to expand when the influx caused growing pains and each time I thought we simply couldn’t handle any more surrenders, we’ve somehow managed to fit them in and find homes (eventually).  We have had to make some pretty radical changes to accommodate. We’ve swapped our hot water tank for an external unit And gotten rid of our clothes washer and dryer to make room for another wall of triple stack cages. On one hand, it sucks to be so popular…

Our home based rescue has consumed our lifestyle. What was once a sweet little homeschool endeavor has become a full time job. Today is Saturday. Saturday means cleaning cages, top off food and water, meet with people who want to adopt, meet with people who want to surrender, answer 50 or so emails inquiring about adoption, surrender, random chinchilla questions, orders for supplies, and…well…now that I think about it, Saturday is no different from every other day.

This weekend we’re focusing on matchmaking. This is an unpaid, often unacknowledged stressful few days of emotional manipulation where we do our best to arrange friendships with compatible (same gender) animals. It’s one way we help find homes for the unwanted animals.  Successful matches make it worth the effort. Chins who have lived in isolation often tend to forget how to chinchilla. Our job is to coax a bond between a pair or more to help them live happier, longer lives.

I step away from the computer to check on the visiting chins. All is well. It’s time to move to the next step in the process, which means I have to clear space in our living room to set up the playpen. Move boxes, move furniture, check the schedule for our first appointment of the day. Somehow I need to work in time to finish the corners of the 30 loft ledges we assembled yesterday.

Return to the computer to find half a dozen more emails. Someone asked where their package is (they ordered two weeks ago, but didn’t actually pay for the items until 3 days ago). While we’re not responsible for the mail carriers, the increase of shipping charges comes with tracking on all packages now. It was a nice trade off with the postal service. Another email asks my opinion on the best cage bedding. IGNORE. This question has been answered ad nauseam on our website. Another email  asked if we have any baby chinchillas for sale. I am so thankful people cannot see my occasional eye roll. Yes, today is a bad day. It’s what I call a “people hating day”.

I allowed the kids to sleep in until 8:30. “Time to wake up! We have lots to do today!” has become the typical morning alarm. One day my youngest muttered that every day we have lots to do and that there is nothing special about today. I didn’t mention the email about the 35 chins. That would mean they’d have to give up their bedrooms for a while (kidding).

We see so many situations and conditions where people surrender their unwanted animals. It’s strange, but I actually get excited when we see chins that are otherwise well taken care of. Most of the time they are ignored, forgotten and in deplorable cages…if they have a cage at all. Many times we tell the surrendering family that a hamster cage is not suitable for chinchillas. While we require the animals come with their belongings, 90% of the cages end up donated to the wildlife rehabbers or fixed up and sold as rat cages. And speaking of cages, it’s time to start cleaning. Ha! Who am I kidding? The kids do most of the cage cleaning. Thanks minions. ;)

Our new routine consists of cleaning two walls of cages every other day. That’s generally 18 cages each time. We have it down to a science though, so I’m thankful for our over-sized shop vac and chins who have been trained not to bolt when we open the doors. They stay in their cages while we work around them, most of the time they stay up on a lofty perch to survey the job. New chins and babies will sometimes come get a closer look. My son, who has autism, isn’t allowed to vacuum out those cages. I used to have nightmares about accidentally sucking up a chinchilla. It’s only 10:00 and I’m ready for a coca cola with lime. Caffeine carries me through the especially busy days. Today I need to focus on catching up in the workshop since tomorrow we have two people scheduled to adopt and one to surrender. Adoptions usually take about 2 hours minimum. We make sure to spend lots of unrushed time with each prospective adopter. Not only does this allow us to find just the right pet for just the right person, but it also helps us better understand their ability to care for their new chinchilla. We often find that people who have “done a lot of research” beforehand often come armed with information about dangerous care practices. One person thought raisins fed in moderation meant they could feed  a small handful of raisins to their chin.

After cage cleaning I find another half dozen emails in my inbox; political cartoon from my father, emails that require a lengthy response and more store orders. They’re rolling in today. Uh oh…someone wants to order $23 worth of cheap, heavy stuff…pellets and hay…it’s going to hurt to tell them the shipping cost is more than the actual items. I’m seriously thinking of instigating a minimum order amount just so I can avoid explaining this to our customers who are obviously trying to save money.

Here’s another email from someone looking for advice. I just don’t have time for this! Now I fully understand why the “big name breeders” get such a bad rap for ignoring individual emails asking general chinchilla questions. I used to be appalled that they would ignore an email outright. Now I’m guilty of the same.

There’s a break in the weather today. The snow has kept me from cutting wood. If I can carve out an hour or two, I’ll have to refill my bins with supplies, finish the loft ledges and start on routering slats. The van has been in the shop for the past 5 weeks. Keeping up with our stock of lumber has been a challenge. Fortunately, my daughter’s little sedan has foldable seats that open all the way to the trunk, so we just make extra trips with smaller loads of supplies. It’s not as difficult as it sounds though. I hand select each board and it’s not always easy to find pretty wood, but when I do, there’s an audible gasp of ecstasy over the beauty of good grain. Yeah, I’m a wood nerd. A friend of mine caught me stroking a particularly pretty board and told me that I’m a hopeless romantic when it comes to trees. No wonder I’m still single.

I drag out my miter saw and set up my worktable. Choose my boards of lumber, assemble the bins and start cutting. Just as I begin to get into a good groove, one of the kids comes to get me. A customer is here to pick up their order. Typical Whimsy fashion, I go to greet them covered in sawdust.

I am an introvert. A friendly introvert, but an introvert nonetheless. I like (most) people, but high doses of personal interaction is more exhausting than a full day working outside. My local customer just happens to be a person I greatly admire. This is a nice break. After about half an hour of chinchat and supplies gathering, I should go back to work cutting wood. The chins in introduction are now sleeping in their divided cage. This keeps them safe when I can’t be nearby to intervene. Check email, OMG! 8 more emails in the past hour. Let’s take care of these before going outside to get dirty again.

Oh sweet! Now these are the types of emails I like. It’s right after Christmas and people have either gotten a chinchilla, or want to spoil their babies. Lots of orders for fresh, new ledges, cage accessories and chew toys. I’m so proud to see my handiwork and other’s cage designs come together. What is most frustrating though is seeing how some people have copied my creations. Imitation is the best form of flattery. Yeah, well, it just irritates me instead, especially when people take my designs and sell them. What’s funny is that another chinnie vender complains all the time that people copy her designs, but then I see her copying mine.  Hypocrite.

I call to my masterpackerdaughter that we have orders to assemble. Mandi, my oldest has a particular knack for fitting orders into just the right size and shape box. As always, her brother , who has autism, looms over her ready with the tape. Ziggy tries so hard to help. He takes the initiative to pack boxes too. Mandi’s job packing boxes also encompasses double and triple checking the contents to be sure her brother hasn’t included the TV remote or some other non-standard item. One day we received an email telling us that an old red oven mitt made it into their box. Another day someone received a measuring cup.

Pack, weigh, calculate, return email. Pack, weigh, calculate, return email. Pack, weigh, calculate, return email. Now let’s see who actually follows through with their order. About 10% of the orders end up in oblivion. People who place orders and fail to follow through are placed in the X-Files. What is particularly frustrating are kids who include me in their dreams and email orders in which they don’t have the means to complete. SpongeBob would say their email is imagination… I actually had one kid email a request for store items and made at least a half a dozen changes. Then he finally told me that some day when he gets a chinchilla, this is what he would want to order. *headdesk, facepalm*

The kids are eating again???

Oh, it’s lunch time.

Perfect time for a Coke with lime

Hey! I made a rhyme!

Stahp!

So I take a moment to stop for lunch (who am I kidding?) More emails have come in. There’s an emergency note from a complete stranger whose chin has loose stool. I have no idea who this person is, how they manage their animals or the history of their fur baby. She claims that her mother feeds a LOT of raisins to her chinchillas. Mystery solved. I shoot off a quick email to let her know that yes, the raisins are most likely the issue. My response is very short. Oh God I hope they see the seriousness through my rather flippant reply.

By now my caffeine high has kicked in. Time to restock the store. We’ve somehow run low on several of the most popular items. And the doorbell rings….D’oh! I forgot about this afternoon’s pick up order. The visit is short and sweet. The kids and I move on to getting our gear ready for our visit to the local high school. About eight times per month we pack up rolling bins full of supplies to work with the special needs students to assemble the chew toys for our support store. This means we have to have plenty of drilled pieces and wire hangers ready to go. Some of the students are more severely afflicted. Nevertheless, we always manage to find a job within the ability of each. The students get such a thrill when we come, and the pride and accomplishment of their finished product is intoxicating.

My second born daughter has a real eye for precision. She works a lot with the drill press. Off she goes to drill pieces for whirly wafers while the two youngest sort through vine thingies. My oldest and I start pumping out chinchilladas by the catering pan full. I love the sweet floral smell. Working with my hands and inhaling the aroma of sweet hay and herbs is like a soothing balm.

More emails have come in. I’m afraid to look.

I should have left well enough alone. The person with the question about loose stool is upset with the tone of my email. There’s really nothing like being the victim of a drive-by messenger shooting. I really, REALLY need to stop answering these random emails from complete strangers about their chins. Back to being a hermit. I’m going to check on the chins and try to wash the negativity away.

The chin room is clean. The cages smell fresh and the floor is spotless. Thank you, kids for being such troopers. Having a child with autism isn’t so bad. At least it means he’s focused on routine. I never get complaints from my son about chores. But then again, he really can’t complain. Aside from having autism, Ziggy was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. He had to be resuscitated and the resulting brain damage happened in Brocca’s area: the portion of the brain responsible for speech.

By now, it’s late afternoon. I have just enough sunlight left to make a good dent in routering slats for suspension bridges. Those are tedious. We usually do one part of the process each day. Cut. Drill and double drill. Router. Sand. Assemble. Routering requires 4-8 passes with each slat. That’s about 1000 passes. It takes me several hours to finish and by that time my fingers are raw and my arms ache. At least we’ll be stocked up for a little while. I get about ¼ of the way through my pile and decide to stop. The chins are waking up and it’s time to work with the introductions. Also need to figure out what to make for dinner. The new introductions are going very well so they move to a neutral cage where I can watch them while I cook. We’ve all learned the artful dance of working around non stationary cages.

While I make dinner, the kids help pack orders that have paid or come in. Ziggy stuffs hay in each cage and tops off the food bowls. The chins are fully awake now and looking for treats and attention. I wander through the chin room as I’ve done at least 20 times during the day. Titus gets a scratch between the ears, Bucky and Abbott (like Tweedledee and Tweedledum) beg for the same. I pass out a special treat tonight. We have a box full of “ugly” 10 centimeter vine balls stuffed with herbal hay. Our chinnies get all the reject toys and parts, but they don’t know the difference.

It turned out to be a good day after all. I felt highly productive and managed to keep up with incoming emails. I’ve either started, or completed tasks and we’re all ready to meet with the students. The store is stocked up and we have prospective adoptions scheduled. I’m exhausted, but it’s a good exhaustion; a feeling of accomplishment. The day is nearly over which means it’s time to settle in for the night. But there’s an email from someone who wants to stop by to pick up supplies tonight. Tonight??? I respond back that if they can make it here by 6:00, then they are welcome. (Otherwise, my bra and make up are off and I’m horizontal). A twelve-hour day is reasonable, don’t you think?

For the month of January, eleven (11) chinchillas were surrendered and zero (0) chinchillas were adopted. Ouch! We cannot recall ever having a month of no adoptions. It's not entirely surprising though considering Christmas just passed and everyone is financially wiped out after the post-holiday spending frenzy.

We've gone ahead and reached out to the local pet magazine with an article proposal about owning chinchillas. We hope this will spark some interest, dispel some misconceptions, and get people thinking about adopting again. Here is our first draft. 

Exotic Pets: Is a Chinchilla Right For You?

Fluffy, cute, bouncy bundles of awwwww.  Who could resist the adorableness of a pet chinchilla? There are many things to consider when deciding if a chinchilla is a good match for you and your family. Handling, feeding, and other care requirements are chinchilla-specific and not necessarily rodent-general.

Handling a chinchilla requires some finesse. In general, a chinchilla is a hyperactive pet, not prone to cuddles. Their rib structure is especially delicate, so handling a chinchilla is more like allowing them to perch safely on a forearm rather than holding them close and tight. The best way to interact with a chinchilla is to allow them to use you as a playground, not force them into submission of snuggles. 

As much as a chinchilla looks like a rabbit, the dietary requirements are radically different. A chinchilla’s natural habitat is the Andes Mountains in South America, which is a high desert biome. A desert biome is not necessarily hot, but it is dry. This strictly limited moisture means the vegetation that grows there is naturally bland, not lush. Therefore, a chinchilla’s diet should be high in fiber, low in protein with no fats and very little natural sugars. High quality pellets offer a simple, easy method of feeding, but are considered a “soft” food. Soft foods provide calories, vitamins and minerals, but do not offer proper wear for a chinchilla’s ever-growing teeth.

Offering fresh vegetables and fruits can kill a chinchilla quickly, as these high-moisture foods cause a gassy buildup known as bloat. Since chinchillas cannot pass gas, this buildup of pressure will literally cause the intestines to explode. Even offering vegetables in moderation is a very dangerous practice.

In actuality, dried hays like timothy, orchard and alfalfa are the ideal food for chinchillas. Hays and dried grasses offer these hindgut fermenters the fiber necessary for proper digestion, as well as exercise for their teeth and jaws. Because a chinchilla’s teeth keep growing, they need ultra high fiber foods and chew toys to keep them properly worn and trim. With this in mind, chew toys are necessities, not luxury items. 

When contemplating a chinchilla’s habitat (cage) it is important to consider the size, shape and accessories. A proper cage setup should be quite large. The minimum cage size required for a pet chinchilla is 2’x2’x2’ or 8 cubic feet per animal. In their native habitat, chinchillas live in herds. For the benefit of the animal, it is best to keep them in same-gender groups. Single gender groupings discourage breeding and mating fights.  Since a male chinchilla can smell a female in heat up to a mile away, it is ideal to keep just one gender of chinchilla in a home. Littermates usually make the best companions.

Chinchillas live more like mountain goats than ground animals, so a cage taller than its footprint with plenty of staggered ledges is most natural. This allows the chinchilla to choose a safe height from which to survey their environment. Cage ledges should be made of kiln-dried pine. Wooden ledges double as a platform and a safe chewing alternative. Plastic or metal ledges, shelves and ramps run the risk of an intestinal impaction or tooth break. Wire bottom cages or platforms also pose a risk of bumblefoot (ulcerative pododermatitis) or leg fracture.

Another housing consideration; is your home equipped with air conditioning? Chinchillas cannot stand temperatures above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. If they are actively playing, even 75 degrees is dangerously hot. Chinchillas overheat quickly which can cause permanent brain damage or death. Young chinchillas cannot regulate their body temperature as well as an adult and are especially sensitive to heating and over exhaustion.

Does anyone in your home have allergies to dust or pollen? Chinchillas are NOT hypoallergenic pets! One of the top five reasons why we receive chinchilla surrenders is due to allergies of their owners, or someone else living in the home. Chinchillas keep clean by rolling in special volcanic dusty sand. This material is highly irritating to those prone to respiratory and skin issues. Additionally, chinchillas require loose hays, grasses, herbs and other foods that tend to harbor a variety of pollens. Their bedding, if not cleaned at least weekly, is a breeding ground for bacteria and molds. 

The last two care requirements are perhaps the most important; can you provide the funding for emergency vet care, and is your temperament compatible with a chinchilla’s? Chinchillas are highly sensitive animals. Being an exotic pet brings with it exorbitant vet costs. The average cost of a vet visit ranges from $75 for a wellness check, up to several thousand dollars for a leg amputation or casting, tooth trim with x-rays, or other emergency such as surgery to remove an intestinal impaction, spay for a retained placenta or dead kit, or intervention for a rectal or uterine prolapse.

The personality of the potential owner is a very big indicator of whether a chinchilla is a good choice of pet. Are you responsible? Can you keep a commitment? Are your feelings easily hurt? Do you have the dexterity to catch and handle an energetic pet? Do you have the patience to work with an animal that is typically not one that enjoys handling? Have you considered that the life span of a chinchilla is up to 20 years? Can you accommodate the needs of a live animal long term?

Chinchillas can make the most amazing pets, but they are not ideal for everyone. Pet chinchillas are at the mercy of their owners to provide them with adequate handling, nutrition, housing and attention. If you feel you are a good candidate as a chin parent, we would love to help answer your questions and match you up with the perfect new pal. This is Whimsy, and I approve this message. ;)

About the author: Amie Leigh V. (AKA Whimsy) is a single mother of four children, one of whom has autism. As part of her childrens’ homeschool curriculum they began a home based shelter affiliate and website devoted strictly to chinchillas and their care. Whimsy has owned chinchillas since her teen years and, with a natural love for animals and teaching has become a worldwide resource for chinchilla owners, vet clinics, pet stores and other outreach and education opportunities. Whimsy holds several college degrees in Psychology, Speech/Language Pathology and Special Education with an emphasis in Autism Studies and Behavior Management. She and her children volunteer at Princess Anne High School with the special needs students where together they make chew toys and cage accessories to fund and support the chinchilla rescue. Visit our website at: http://whimsys-menagerie.com/

Happy 2014 everyone!

For the month of December five (5) chinchillas were surrendered and three (3) chinchillas were adopted. For the 2013 year we had a total of 111 chinchillas adopted! To date we have found homes for well over 400 furry little beings.

There has been a huge drive the past couple of years to not give live animals as Christmas gifts. This is due to the assumption that surprise gifts lose their appeal after a very short time. In actuality, this is the case year around and not just at Christmas time. We are saddened to see that many homeless animals are left homeless at a time when historically people tended to open their hearts and homes to rescue animals.

We have, however, met with some very nice families who have taken the choice to adopt seriously. We love when we hear of individuals who carefully consider the needs of the animal first and seek to gain a solid foundation and understanding of their chosen pet before they fall victim to an impulse buy. 

Still, much misinformation is readily available online and even in books. As much as we love to hear that people have done the research, often we hear the research gleaned is faulty, low quality, or just plain dangerous. While many hard-core chin folk hold their personal chin philosophies near and dear to their heart, some information is truly more about what is good and proper and not simply a matter of opinion.

Our archives offer a lot of good information and we do our best to provide a rationale. If you are seeking to adopt for the first time, or believe you are a seasoned chinchilla owner, you may be surprised to find that some practices are literally killing your pet with kindness. With this in mind, be prepared to have your belief system challenged.  We look forward to meeting you. *insert maniacal laughter here*