Welcome Bijou to Our Family

Bijou sitting on Pynk

Bijou has arrived!

Pynk and Erik have taken the Chinchilla Challenge.  First they hurdle over spiny hedgehogs, then skip from stone to stone in a lake full of koi.  After dodging various horned lizards and snakes, they find the chinchilla pit.  Closely inspecting each adorable fur baby, they find the chin with just the right amount of fur, sass, energy and love to complete their circle.

Here is a diary of our Chinventure.  The first day…

“8:58pm September 6, 2012″

Pynk gets all the essentials.  You need most of these for any animal companion, along with a few chinchilla specifics listed last.

• Food.  For a chinchilla that includes a high quality alfalfa based pellet, such as Oxbow, and a constant stream of fresh Timothy hay.


• Toys.  Chinchillas require a lot of attention and get bored easily, so Pynk snagged lots of toys to keep Bijou happy.


• Water dish and Food dish.  Everyone has to eat.  Use a heavy enough dish that your companion can not knock over.


• Habitat.  For Bijou, we spared no expense and got the largest cage our house could accommodate.  The 3′ x 2′ x4′ steel wire zinc free bird cage works great with a few modifications.


• Munchies.  Sticks to munch on are vital for chinchillas.  Their teeth grow constantly, so they chew to file their nibblers down.


• A ceramic Chinchilla Bath.  This serves 3 purposes: the ceramic keeps her cool, shelters her, and a place to bathe.

 

“11:48pm September 6, 2012″

Erik assembles the habitat for Bijou.  He would love to let Bijou run, jump and frolic around the house all day and night. Most small pets get in too much trouble to be able to run freely over the whole house.  Any small pet owner should know that gerbils, hamsters, mice, rats, bunnies, chinchillas and any other rodents will chew up walls, baseboards, wires and anything else they can get their paws or teeth on.  Since this can be harmful to them they need a good habitat. Erik and Pynk put together the spacious steel bar cage for Bijou. Most standard steel bar cages have a rows and columns on the bottom so droppings can be easily caught in a tray below. These bars are fine for birds to walk on, but unfortunately for us chinchillas’ long toes can get caught in the grate, leading to sprained / broken toes or nails.

After getting the steel wire cage together, Erik cuts some ceramic tile. Any high quality ceramic tile or frost resistant porcelain you can find should do. Make sure it is high quality and a pure material, free from oils and resins. These can seriously harm a chinchilla. If you have a hardwood floor, wooden furniture or any other surfaces that are treated with any kind of oil or resin DO NOT let a chinchilla run around there or chew on it. Using a diamond-toothed saw to cut the ceramic and porcelain tiles to the exact proportions of the bottom of the cage using as few loose pieces as possible, Erik formed a solid, easy-to-clean surface to cover the grate in the cage. This forms a solid surface that protects chinchilla feet from getting caught in bars, and also serves to keep her cool.

DO NOT use grout, spackle, or any kind of glue or sealant to set the tiles. Chinchillas have a strong urge to chew pumice and grout seems to attract them the way pumice does. Pumice is a natural stone formed from volcanic rock and ash. It is the main ingredient in chinchilla dust.

It is delightful to be a Chinparent! Bijou is adorable, friendly, loving, cute, and smells like chocolate. From time to time it may be challenging or frustrating to keep an animal, but remember there are benefits of animal companionship. Try to think about this: it may be your job to keep your animal companion fed, clean, and healthy, but it your companion’s role to make you happy. Treat your companions with love and respect.

Welcome Bijou to Our Family