Where else can you buy Chinchillas from?

[Pornosaur]

Does anyone know of any forums that are local in the GTA that I can buy chinchillas from? I'm looking to get a chinchilla as a pet but I really do not want to buy one from a normal pet store as those are usually hard to tame and have been abused due to kids poking at them.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks!

[malaco0219]

Does anyone know of any forums that are local in the GTA that I can buy chinchillas from? I'm looking to get a chinchilla as a pet but I really do not want to buy one from a normal pet store as those are usually hard to tame and have been abused due to kids poking at them.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks!

I don't know where you can find one, I am interested as well. I got mine from a pet store, but he is very hard to tame still after 6 months.

Have you tried googling?

[Pornosaur]

haha I actually googled and found a great local chinchilla site..

http://www.ontariochinchillas.ca

There's a forum and there's chinchilla classifieds too!

[Talamasca]

Chinchillas are like the cutest animals ever. I petted one once and it had the most incredibly soft fur. I'd get one if I had the room.

[Bree]

Try a pet store perhaps....

[Kommander_KornFlakes]

-
What the hell is a chinchilla?

[malaco0219]

haha I actually googled and found a great local chinchilla site..

http://www.ontariochinchillas.ca

There's a forum and there's chinchilla classifieds too!

I posted some pics on here before, but the thread died. I'll post them below.

If you have any questions let me know. Mine is almost a year old now and is quite healthy

just a few pics for your interest..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/RNSISPK/DSC04609.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/RNSISPK/DSC04614.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/RNSISPK/DSC04640.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/RNSISPK/DSC00005.jpg

[tancamp]

Say NO to pet stores!!! The OCA site is great! I have three chins and all are rescues. There is a chinchilla rescue in Mississauga, original chinchillas (just google it) and on that kijiji.ca site there are tons of chins looking for homes. As well as lots of breeders in Canada.
http://www.chins-n-quills.com is a great site as well as ontariochinchillas.ca

[fastlayne]

There use to be a chi farm on Winston Churchhill (north of Steeles) in Norval/Georgetown. Not sure if they sold to public.

[tancamp]

by appointment you can visit the ranch in norval. Very high quality animals there.

Norval, Ontario L0P 1K0
Riedstra and Sons Chinchillas
9575 Winston Churchill Blvd.,
tom@riedstra.com
905-457-4660
Notes: Approximately 2000 animals and over 50 years of combined experience.

[Gunz16]

Wow! What a rat.

[keanefan]

Say NO to pet stores!!! The OCA site is great! I have three chins and all are rescues. There is a chinchilla rescue in Mississauga, original chinchillas (just google it) and on that kijiji.ca site there are tons of chins looking for homes. As well as lots of breeders in Canada.
http://www.chins-n-quills.com is a great site as well as ontariochinchillas.ca

do you recommend getting a chinchilla?

are they hard to raise and take care of?

somebody on kijiji gave away his cage and chinchillas

:arrow:

[keanefan]

Oh another one...

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-to-give-or-donate-Chinchilla-W0QQAdIdZ53380886

:arrow:

[thesober]

dust bath, soooo cute...teehee.

I had one a while back but he developed a hair biting habit.

[tancamp]

do you recommend getting a chinchilla?

are they hard to raise and take care of?

somebody on kijiji gave away his cage and chinchillas

:arrow:

Start up costs can be a lot. You need a tall cage and they can't have plastic shelves so you have to modify it. I made my own pine ledges.
They are easy to to take care. Fairly cheap. Hay, pellets, treats and toys plus aspen for bedding is what I spend my money on. They make a big mess so you have to vaccuum a lot.
I love my chins. I have 3 and I have 2 bunnies too.
They are up all night long so if you are a light sleeper you won't want them in your bedroom. Mine are in a spare room and I can't hear them.
When I got my third chinchilla she had to stay in my room because of Quarantine for 4 weeks. UGH...I was glad that was over. She barks a lot and at 3 am I would be woken up by a barking chinchilla.
Check out the ontario chinchilla site. I'm on there too.

IF you get a boy though, you have to do a hair ring check monthly.....what's that you ask.....you have to check to make sure their penis doesn't have any hair wrapped around it or it can cause major problems....that's why I have girl chinchillas!!! there's a video on you tube on how to do a hair ring check..

[penipitcher]

You need to realize that chinchillas have life spans anywhere from 15-20 years. It is a long term commitment and you shouldn't be getting one just cuz it's "cute". Another thing is you have to be prepared for biting. They're not so cute anymore when you get bit and you're bleeding from it. As well, supplies are not as easy to obtain as walking over to Petsmart (some of the stuff they have there is overpriced and/or basically crap). Most chinchilla owners get their supplies shipped from some local suppliers or from the States.

As tancamp says, you need a tall cage. Most pet stores won't have proper chinchilla cages. Even if you get one there, you'll need to modify it. They can chew through plastic like it's nothing and wire-mesh shelving will give them a condition called bumble foot. They need wooden shelves which will have to be replaced periodically from them chewing it. You'll also need aspen shavings, food, water, bathing dust as a minimum. After the initial set-up, they ARE pretty easy to manage especially if you have school/work during the day. They're crepuscular meaning they're more active during dusk and dawn.

Vet costs can also be quite high because they're exotics. For example, I spent close to $1000 when my chin had a tooth abcess. I also had to go on several trips to the Veterinary College in Guelph because the Toronto vets weren't equipped to handle his illness. Mine you, that's just when things happen though. Chinchillas are usually pretty hardy pets. That $1000 I spent was the most I ever spent in his 13 years of life. He was never sick before that.

If you're really interested in getting one, then check the rescues/shelters first. After that, your next stop would be Riestra. Going to a breeder is always the better choice. Pet stores usually obtain their animals from 'puppy mill' type operations. Strictly for profit and no concern for the animal's health. Some hereditary problems don't crop up til later when it's too late.

If you have any other questions about chinchillas, then the best stop as mentioned is www.ontariochinchillas.ca. There are many experienced chinchilla owners there. Some even own more than 1 of them.

[tancamp]

I am going to be starting up an online chin supply store in the next month or so. Just getting things organized. I buy a lot of my items online and from Ren's in Oakville.

The items I spend my money on the most-apple wood. The need to chew!

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/8664/1005289lk1.jpg

Here is a pic of one of my cages. I have 2 chinchillas in there

[tancamp]

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/6796/1005286ds4.jpg

There is my other cage. My hope is to get her into the big cage eventually.

[SnowCrash]

If anyone is interested in Chinchillas, I have a friend looking to get rid of some. She had a litter from a few that she had before, not from a pet store and well taken care of. PM me and we can work something out. Forgot to mention, I am in Toronto and she is in Guelph but comes in fairly often.

[keanefan]

Do you let your chinchilla run around a room or your home?

Here is video of chinchillas running on a Flying Saucer Exercise Wheel:

http://www.chin-chillas.com/exercisewheels.htm

:arrow:

[tancamp]

My chins go out for a run every night and in the early morning. I have my "critter room" which is a safe room for them to run around. They will chew anything so you have to make sure there is nothing that will hurt them. When they come out of their cages I have a bunch of things for them to play with and every 3 days they get their dust bath. Some people let their chins run in their bathroom or kitchen. My guys have a full room. Last night though one of my chins did not want to go back in her cage. 30 minutes later I got her in.

I don't have a wheel for my guys. If I get one I'm going to get a chin spin which is more of a traditional wheel. The flying saucer is nice but I like the chin spin more.

If you get a baby chinchilla you have to make sure your cage is baby proof 'cause they will escape.

[malaco0219]

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/6796/1005286ds4.jpg

There is my other cage. My hope is to get her into the big cage eventually.

That is amazing..

my cage is only 1/3 of yours. where did you get it?

[tancamp]

That is the smaller of my two cages. That one I really don't like 'cause it has a plastic bottom (and she could chew her way out!) and the tabs to close the doors are plastic. It's a Marchioro Ferretville Multi-Level Home and came with that chin. Here's what it looked like:
http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-12962

When I adopted her, I had to make all new shelves for her cage. She didn't even know how to jump really because she was use to the tubes. I did make the hammock and the fleece covered tube. Now she is one spoiled chinchilla!

My other cage is HUGE, all metal too. 6 feet tall, 3 feet by 3 feet. I would like to get another one like that.

[tancamp]

That ferret cage with the tubes in it was at Ren's today. They want $399 for it.

[malaco0219]

That ferret cage with the tubes in it was at Ren's today. They want $399 for it.

Thanks for the info. I actually made a trip to Rens in Oakville today. I don't know of any other Rens, I wish they had one in Richmond hill. I saw that Ferret cage too. Why did you not keep the tubes? You wanted her to jump around more? :lol:

And yes, its very expensive of a cage. maybe when I adopt a second one I'll get that cage. Looks like a pain to clean too. Did you litter train your guys? I just got mine pee trained today.

[tancamp]

Plastic is really bad for chinchillas so I tried getting all the plastic out. The tubes just aren't meant for chins and being plastic I just wanted them gone. My sister's hedgehog got them!
I don't have a litter box in with any of my chins. They seem to go in one spot anyway, pee anyway. My bunnies have a litter box though.
The really big cage that 2 of my chins are in, I found on kijiji. I think I might get a ferret nation and get rid of the cage with the plastic bottom. I wouldn't bother buying that cage for chins, go for a ferret nation! They are cheaper than that and much nicer. You just have to get custom pans made and there's a guy in Ontario that will do that. I had him make a pan for me.

[malaco0219]

Plastic is really bad for chinchillas so I tried getting all the plastic out. The tubes just aren't meant for chins and being plastic I just wanted them gone. My sister's hedgehog got them!
I don't have a litter box in with any of my chins. They seem to go in one spot anyway, pee anyway. My bunnies have a litter box though.
The really big cage that 2 of my chins are in, I found on kijiji. I think I might get a ferret nation and get rid of the cage with the plastic bottom. I wouldn't bother buying that cage for chins, go for a ferret nation! They are cheaper than that and much nicer. You just have to get custom pans made and there's a guy in Ontario that will do that. I had him make a pan for me.

Thats wicked. Where can I get a ferret nation than? I feel bad for my chin cause its such a small cage, i honestly dont like keeping him cooped up. he just sits there and does nothing. Any idea where I can buy that hammock locally and also the ferret nation?

[tancamp]

petsmart has ferret nation cagesa:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752837

Or you can order one online. Even with the shipping from the US they are cheaper then petsmart:

http://www.ferret.com/ferret-cages/ferret-nation-cages/

model 142 is the best one! you can order metal pans from grandview rabbitry:
http://www.grandviewrabbitry.com/index2.html

Hammocks aren't really available I don't think, chinchilla safe ones anyway. They have to be made from fleece or else they will fray and your chin can get sick. Most that I have seen are cotton. I make my own. You just need fleece, a sewing machine and grommets. My guys don't really like their hammocks but I put it in the big cage in case they fall. They love their tube though. I bought the tupe at petsmart and covered it in fleece and just attached bolts, washers and wingnuts.

[malaco0219]

petsmart has ferret nation cagesa:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752837

Or you can order one online. Even with the shipping from the US they are cheaper then petsmart:

http://www.ferret.com/ferret-cages/ferret-nation-cages/

model 142 is the best one! you can order metal pans from grandview rabbitry:
http://www.grandviewrabbitry.com/index2.html

Hammocks aren't really available I don't think, chinchilla safe ones anyway. They have to be made from fleece or else they will fray and your chin can get sick. Most that I have seen are cotton. I make my own. You just need fleece, a sewing machine and grommets. My guys don't really like their hammocks but I put it in the big cage in case they fall. They love their tube though. I bought the tupe at petsmart and covered it in fleece and just attached bolts, washers and wingnuts.

thanks for the info.. Left you a pm