Mourning Chinchilla (and Owner)., Bereaved Chinny Options

[Wiserabbit]

I've not been on the board for about four years now so won't expect anyone to remember me, but I hope you can help me.

We bought two standard bucks for pets four years ago from a breeder;Bilberry and Columbine. This afternoon we had to have Bilberry put to sleep after he developed malocclusion. An x-ray showed that two upper teeth were into his eye socket and a lower teeth had ruptured the lower jaw.

We feel terrible that we didn't see this sooner - he must have been in so much pain but it was only recently he began to show symptoms - he wasn't losing weight and only started to become lethargic and display symptoms like gooey eyes and a wet chest in the last week. Even the vet said the symptoms were mild so we were shocked by what the x-ray showed up.

What we need help with, is how best to help his brother, Colmbine. Col was also checked by the vet and shows no symptoms of malocclusion and he is only four years old. Firstly, how can we help him get over losing his cage mate and secondly, how will he cope on his own? Should we get a companion for him? I feel so callous about talking about getting another chin so soon but I just don't know what's going to be best for Col.

Can anyone advise?

[chinquest]

Hi, welcome back I am sorry it's under such sad circumstances

Try not to feel guilty, their instinct is to ignore/hide pain otherwise they would be more vulnerable to predators, it's not always easy to spot when something is wrong.

I do think they benefit from another chin around even if just in the same room but you would need to quarantine a new first and then IMO the best introductions are done slowly so it's not a quick fix solution.

See how Col goes, loss doesn't seem to worry some chins while others it does. A chin safe cuddly toy might help if he isn't likely to chew it plus lots of attention which might help you too

[Trish]

I am so very sorry you lost one of your boys. I too find they seem to benefit from other chins around, I personally always pair, and I have a trio which came about because one lost a partner and was introduced to another pair. Each chin is different though. Whatever you do take it slowly. Give yourself and the chin time to adjust before you make any decisions.

[Wiserabbit]

Thank you both, it's appreciated. We both had a good cry last night and feel a bit better for it - though I wish Columbine could do the same.

We are going to give it a couple of weeks before we make a decision. Col is certainly being a lot more tolerant of fuss than normal. He's always been the stand-offish one of the two but this morning he actually snuggled into my husband's hand while eating his morning mini shredded wheat. He's coming up to the bars every time we come past the cage which makes me think he must be feeling lonely.

Our fear is that he may develop malocclusion too as he is brother to Bilberry, even though he is showing no signs at all. We are going to clean him out tonight to make sure that the small "poorly-poos" were all coming from Bilberry. We're aware that into-ing him would be a long hall but luckily we have room for quarantine and a friend at work with a spare chinchilla cage that we can borrow. Like I said, we are going to give it at least a few weeks before even starting to make a decision but the inclination at the moment is to find a pair of rescue boys who are slightly older (5 to 8?) so there is a lesser chance of malocclusion showing. If intro's go well, a herd of three reduces the chance of one lonely chin and if it doesn't they can be a pair in the same room at least.

Please let me know if that's bad idea!!

[Trish]

I would go with a single chin rather than a pair. My reason for this is that if you intro a pair they are already bonded and a trio doesnt always bond as a trio, sometimes you end up with a close pair and a single chin who for whatever reason doesnt quite gell with the others, and as you are specifically thinking of a cage mate for your existing chin IMO you would be better going for a single to intro.

If you are able to get to R&J Chinchilla Rescue they have an awful lot of beautiful chins looking for their forever home. Definitely worth a visit if you can get.

[Dawny]

Me and Josh are wondering a similar thing.

In about 3 weeks time, (25th nov) its gonna be a year since we lost Nikomi, also to the dreaded teeth problems

Since then Bertie has been fine, but since we inherited Hyde and Zeke, Bertie has been really interested in them and after the quarantine period was over, has always run straight over to their cage for a sniff and to say hello to them. But we don't wanna let them out together as our new 2 are only about a year old and are WAAAY to boisterous for our little old man to deal with. Plus Zeke seems to be fine with him, but Hyde gets a bit snappy

So we have been wondering whether to find a new companion, for him to snuggle up to, of a similar age, or whether at 18, it would be too much of a big deal at this point in his life.

what do you think?

[chinquest]

introductions are pretty stressful on all I'm not sure it woulld be a good idea for an 18 year old to go through but I have no experience with that great age

[Trish]

I think I have to agree here, 18 is a nice old age, and intros would be very stressful for him. Maybe just put his cage next to the couple so he can see them and talk to them.

[Wiserabbit]

Sorry for continuing to twitter on but really not sure what to do!!!

We have given Columbine a cuddly andrex puppy to snuggle up to. When he doesn't accidentally knock it off the shelf he is cuddling up to it when he sleeps. We've also noticed that whenever we come into the room he's much more eager to come to the door and be fussed whereas previously he would pretty much ignore us.

I've actually taken a photo of this which I'll post up tonight when I am not using work time.

[chinquest]

He will rely on you for company a lot more now he's on his own , good that he cuddles up to his puppy.

Bearing in mind the time quarantine takes if you yourself feel able you might want to be looking out for a suitable boy for him now?

[Dawny]

introductions are pretty stressful on all I'm not sure it woulld be a good idea for an 18 year old to go through but I have no experience with that great age

I think I have to agree here, 18 is a nice old age, and intros would be very stressful for him. Maybe just put his cage next to the couple so he can see them and talk to them.

yeah thats what we thought too. The cages are next to eachother at the moment, but with a big bit of cardboard so they can't see eachother.

for now we will just remove the cardboard and see how they react, and if that doesn't work, i like the andrex puppy idea so will find a cuddly toy for him. Are there special chin friendly ones or can i use anything

Sorry for continuing to twitter on but really not sure what to do!!!

We have given Columbine a cuddly andrex puppy to snuggle up to. When he doesn't accidentally knock it off the shelf he is cuddling up to it when he sleeps. We've also noticed that whenever we come into the room he's much more eager to come to the door and be fussed whereas previously he would pretty much ignore us.

I've actually taken a photo of this which I'll post up tonight when I am not using work time.

sorry for your loss

[Jaina_OrganaSolo]

Best thing to use for a companion is either a baby safe (newborn) toy, a dog safe toy or a Hammocky Stuffie - which are the most suitable as they are stuffed with fleece - so even if they do manage to open one up, it will be safe until you find it and bin the remnants..

Stitch has a love/hate relationship with Mr.Ghostie. Some days he throws him face down on the floor (not very dignified!) and other days, like today he is sleeping on top of him P.s. To explain, Mr Ghostie is a hammocky ghost stuffy from a previous year.

link here (when sarah has some!) -

http://www.hammockyhammocks.co.uk/store_stuffies.htm

[Dawny]

Best thing to use for a companion is either a baby safe (newborn) toy, a dog safe toy or a Hammocky Stuffie - which are the most suitable as they are stuffed with fleece - so even if they do manage to open one up, it will be safe until you find it and bin the remnants..

Stitch has a love/hate relationship with Mr.Ghostie. Some days he throws him face down on the floor (not very dignified!) and other days, like today he is sleeping on top of him P.s. To explain, Mr Ghostie is a hammocky ghost stuffy from a previous year.

link here (when sarah has some!) -

http://www.hammockyhammocks.co.uk/store_stuffies.htm

oooo thanks i will have a look round the site and show Josh when he gets home

[Wiserabbit]

We had a chat with Jane at R&J yesterday and she's suggested that we wait for a good while and just make sure he gets plenty of fuss from us, which he is doing! We've extended his run time a bit and bought him lots of interesting chewy toys to keep him occupied while he is out and in.

I will get round to posting the photo!

[Trish]

Sounds like a good plan. There really isnt much point in rushing these things, when you consider quarantine time before you can start intros, a lot of time will have passed anyway. You also need to be certain you are able to commit to 2 seperate cages just in case intros dont work. Give yourself and your chin time, if you feel in the long run he would benefit from a friend then R & J have plenty of chins looking for that forever home.