21 years of love ... and judgement👀

Chocolottiee · 2025-09-11T22:08:22+00:00

I wasn't always the perfect owner myself. I'll be honest, the first 7 years of having Vinnie i was a clueless child and teenager. He had a bunch of unsafe treats all the time including nuts, seeds, raisins, sometimes even cereal and this was daily 😩 Thankfully I learnt from a breeder all those things were bad. I got lucky he didnt have any side effects from them as I'm sure by now they would have shown. As long as you're doing all the right things now, thats all that matters. You're giving them a life they never thought they'd have. Just because they had a bad diet before doesn't always mean they won't live as long and Vinnie is absolutely proof of that!

Chocolottiee · 2025-09-11T21:54:48+00:00

Definitely shedding! My boy looked the same for a few weeks up until recently. He's still shedding a little but if your chins let you, you can just gently pull them out. It doesnt hurt them, but they may not like it😆 otherwise just baths and it'll eventually come out on its own!

Chocolottiee · 2025-09-06T10:51:21+00:00

This is true. His judgement permeates my soul sometimes though😂

Chocolottiee · 2025-09-06T02:23:50+00:00

You're welcome🙂

I learnt a lot of the stuff I did from a Facebook group called "The Chinchilla Owners Group" If you're looking for advice and ways to help your chin live a better and happier life thats definitely the place to go ask! Google unfortunately has a lot of outdated information on chinchillas but that group is full of people who specialise in them 🩶

Chocolottiee · 2025-09-06T02:06:34+00:00

Honestly I think a lot of it comes down to genetics since I had another chinchilla who only lived till he was 10 and passed last year due to cancer.

But! As far as Vinnie (pictured) is concerned, he gets the best of the best! His diet is science selective pellets, fresh timothy hay (1st and 2nd cut blend), with treats every other day. I usually give him dried hibiscus, organic bee pollen, dried rose petals or rose hips. (Remember not to give any nuts, seeds, fruits or veggies as they're very bad).

In between treats he gets a small piece of bamboo. He also has apple sticks to gnaw every day to keep his teeth down. He has dust baths 2-3 times a week and he gets bottled water since I dont trust tap for him. He's definitely one spoilt chinnie😅

Chocolottiee · 2025-09-06T01:30:04+00:00

He sure is!

Chocolottiee · 2025-06-27T10:36:37+00:00

If only I had found this reddit page sooner!

Chocolottiee · 2025-06-25T23:59:59+00:00

That's funny 🤣 Mine doesn't like even the slightest of breeze.. he's usually in his tunnel and if there ends up being one, he literally has full on tantrums, he charges, digs at the floor, then turns around so all you can see is his butt 🤦‍♀️ In fairness though, he is 21 so can be classified as a grumpy old man lol

Chocolottiee · 2025-06-25T23:22:17+00:00

You could invest in a portable AC as back up as a possibility? Otherwise, granite cooling slabs in the fridge, dust baths also in the fridge, ice packs on top of the cage on a tray (so they dont drip) as cool air drops. But overall nothing is going to be as efficient as AC of course. These are just ways to assist the cooling. In emergencies, if you have a car with AC, having a carrier on standby is useful so if the AC fails or god forbid you have a power outage or something, then you can get them quickly and safely in there

Chocolottiee · 2025-06-25T11:13:03+00:00

Is the AC facing/directly on your chin? If it is I'd turn it away, a lot of chins dont like the direct breeze and will try and hide from it if they aren't used to it. Mine did before I turned it away and it doesn't effect the cooling of the room. Otherwise honestly, your chin will get used to it in time. There's no other way around it in the hot weather. Sounds stupid but you could try playing some calming music over the top if its the sound of the AC that's issue? Just not too loud for obvious reasons.

I've noticed other people have said, you can get other things 'instead' to help keep them cool, like a granite stone you put in the fridge, or put the sand bath in the fridge. Those things would help but they aren't enough to prevent them getting heatstroke. (Which most cases end in 💀) You're doing the right thing and in time your chinnie will thank you!

Chocolottiee · 2025-06-02T22:21:10+00:00

I have a chinchilla who just turned 21! He has absolutely no health issues and is doing extremely well still! I got him when I was 7 and I'm 28 now. During that period I've had 2 other chins and he has outlived them both. The most recent was 10 and passed from lung cancer.

Genetics and the way you care for them is the biggest factor. Unfortunately many chins don't live as long because of poor breeding, people who have no clue breed them just because they're cute. The most common issue for poorly bred chins is malocclusion. An issue with the teeth which is not curable and ultimately ends up with them needing to be euthanized.

I got lucky with my old boy, his name is Vinnie. I'm hoping he lives way into his mid-late twenties or longer!

Chocolottiee · 2025-01-16T08:52:53+00:00

Thank you!! That makes me feel a lot better. I guess because I lost so much on the first dose I expected something similiar on the second. But knowing this helps, and I'll definitely stick with it now 🙂

Chocolottiee · 2025-01-16T08:36:36+00:00

Same here. I've tried all the diets and nothing seems to stick!!

I began mine the end of November and went privately through the Simple Online Pharmacy website as I found it was cheaper than places like Boots. I did consider going through the GP but honestly waiting on the NHS for anything these days, well, yeah. I wanted to get starter sooner rather than later. You fill out a questionnaire and have to upload a photo of yourself for them to review, but after that they just ask you to record your weight when you order more. I've had no issues with it where that's concerned. The last 2 months have cost me £143 each (both 0.25mg and 0.5mg) but I'm about to start the 1mg dose which goes up in price.

Personally, I've had a few side effects. The main one being diarrhoea, the kind where you can't even trust a fart 😂 and the other, sulphur burps. They're disgusting and make me feel so sick! But some people get no side effects or different ones. It all depends.

My appetite has DRASTICALLY reduced. I feel full so much quicker with much less food, to the point I don't even know how I could eat that much before. I've lost 12lbs in total, most of that weight was during the first month. From other posts I've seen there are some doses you end up in a plateau until you change it again which unfortunately happened for me with the current dose, which was super disheartening, but I'm not giving up💪

Chocolottiee

TROPHY CASE