I've been giving this some thought for a while now. The other half isn't keen on chins but has said we could have a pair when we can afford them and their vets bills. As you can see from my signature we are much more familiar with rats and mice so I am spending some time working out if its all feasible and what their needs are. Please bear with the questions and I would appreciate any advice.

1. Cages. Read alot on how they need metal cages, I prefer without a mesh base. i can't work out whether they need long and low or taller cages. I'd prefer to go for something that will last their whole lives rather then getting another cage later on if something happens meaning they can't climb so well. A few peeps have said that chins are rock hoppers and are happy in a long and low type cage. I've looked at this:-

CRITTER NATION SINGLE UNIT - DiscountedPetProducts.Net

and this:-

John Hopewell (Marketing) Rotherham South Yorkshire, Chinchilla Cages - Degu Cage - Degus Exercise Wheels - Cages - Animal Cages - Rat Cage - Ezi-Filla - Ezi - Easy - Automatic Water Drinking Systems - Guinea Pig Runs - Rabbit Feed Hoppers - Birds -

I wonder if either of these are suitable for a pair? The only cages I have here are an Abode and a Furet Tower. The Tower being unsuitable as its plastic bases, the Abode I don't know if that can be modded to make it chin proof.

With the Hopewell type cage, do they go manky with time? Rusty or pee soaked? Not had a mesh type cage before and I'm not that big a fan but obviously want to do right by the chins.

2. Would two girls get on together or is a mixed sex pair better (neutered)?

3. Noise. I read that chins can be intolerant of noise. Now, given we are a relatively busy house and the rats can make a racket at night I wonder if this would stress the chins out. Or is it something they adapt to? I'm talking about regular household noise so hoover, low TV, occassional small dog bark?

Thats all I needed clarifying on, it will be some time yet so can ask other questions later if thats okay

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Mum to the meece:- Milly, and Bramble. And the rats:- Blossom, Vimes, Mort, Teppic, Leo, Hex, Oats, Binky, Kevin, Honey, Blu, Pixie, Patch, Vyrt, Havelock, Squibbles and Newt. And Charlie the dog x

http://scritches.webs.com

chinchillas are rock hoppers, not climbers, so a long cage, with variouse ledges and hamocks ect, is much better then a high cage, they can easily break their backs or necks in high caes, they are very very fragile

the shelf in the critter nation is not chinchilla safe, we had a chinchilla hanging by a leg after getting it trapped in the tiny gap between the frame and the covering with those style shelves, it also has a plastic base, however john hopewell makes metal trays to order, for about £20, he made the metal trays for our high rise mamal cages for the chinchillas

johns cages do not rust or rot, they are very good quality, PS any of his cages can be made with a solid base for around £15 more i believe it is, you are better off asking him

either pairing will work, i have a mix of girl & girl, girl & boy, and i even have a boy & boy pair (intact) who live in my room away from the smell of girlies

chinchillas can adapt well to day time noises, we have 5 in our living room and they dont bat an eye lid at anything

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Thank you very much for your reply. Do you think an Abode could work with careful furnishing or is it just the wrong shape?

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Mum to the meece:- Milly, and Bramble. And the rats:- Blossom, Vimes, Mort, Teppic, Leo, Hex, Oats, Binky, Kevin, Honey, Blu, Pixie, Patch, Vyrt, Havelock, Squibbles and Newt. And Charlie the dog x

http://scritches.webs.com

iv not seen an abode in person, it might work with some modifying, but i think the door would make acses a bit of a pain

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My cage is abou 5 foot tall, i have various shelves for them to jump on and have some hammocks and fleece tunnels Ive got two girlies and i think the bigger the better because they can have the space to jump around and there is also enough room that they can snuggle togetheror be independant if they wany to

The Abode is surprisingly good access, I rate it quite highly as a cage it works for me. They do a bigger version in the Tower but I'm not sure that would work as well. If its not big enough though it won't work but it is the same size as the Hopewell cages recommended for two.

I have it here and its a big cage BUT I don't know how big chins get having never seen adults in the flesh so its hard to tell.

I have a feeling we may either try the Abode with a modded metal tray and if its too small go for a Hopewell after that.

Your post raises a questions for me Siany. Do they fall out with each other? The rats scuffle when statuses change but otherwise are generally amicable. Do Chins scuffle with each other once bonded or is there a risk of major fallout?

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Mum to the meece:- Milly, and Bramble. And the rats:- Blossom, Vimes, Mort, Teppic, Leo, Hex, Oats, Binky, Kevin, Honey, Blu, Pixie, Patch, Vyrt, Havelock, Squibbles and Newt. And Charlie the dog x

http://scritches.webs.com

the only 2 of my bonded chinchillas to scuffle are my 2 intact boys, and they only scuffle if they have run out of pellets and im late filling it up
mooshu some times gets stressy if she sees another chin near her cage, she sees this as an invasion of her space and will get stressy.

generally a bonded pair, that are a good match, do not fight, a lot of care has been put into choosing the right partners for all my chins

siany what is the base foot print of your cage? tall cages are not that good for chins, they do need a decent sized foot print, and they can not have any possibility to fall farther then about a foot, otherwise they could injure, or even kill them selves

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Sadly this may not happen. OH is trying to support it but is not keen and I dislike having animals in the house unless we are all happy to bond with, play with,handle and clean etc.

Thank you all for the advice though anyway, much appreciated x

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Mum to the meece:- Milly, and Bramble. And the rats:- Blossom, Vimes, Mort, Teppic, Leo, Hex, Oats, Binky, Kevin, Honey, Blu, Pixie, Patch, Vyrt, Havelock, Squibbles and Newt. And Charlie the dog x

http://scritches.webs.com

My chinnies are quite a good pair and dont really have fallouts, one will tell the other one off if they get too carried away with grooming but continue to snuggle and i think its more of a "hey too rough" lol. The only real issues i have had with my girls is that Lola is more dominant than Dotty and if Dotty tries to be more dominant Lola will wee on her back.

Also my cage isnt one of those ones that are tall and thin, the cage height worried me at first so i made hammocks out of fleece to catch them if they was to fall (which has come in handy when one of them gets too comfy next to the other and rolls of the shelf). The chinchillas having a fall was one of the main concerns i had because i did not want anything to happen which is why i placed the hammocks and im thinking about placing another one lower down.

This is the cage but i got it new from a different seller for £80, also i have removed the metal shelves because i got scared about the chinnies feet falling through the gaps and hurting their legs and the ladders are just not needed. The cage also has a metal tray thing that goes on top of the plastic tray which worried me so i made a a fleece cover to cover the plastic and the metal, the fleece didnt go well as the chinnies kept lifting it up a going underneith and i now have a metal tray to replace currently being made for me.

NEW LARGE LIBERTA RAT CHINCHILLA FERRET DEGU CAGE 26900 | eBay UK