Adoption Policy and Form

Here is where you'll find the adoption policy and form.

Adoption Policy

By submitting the application to adopt a homeless chinchilla, you agree/understand that:

1. The chinchilla will remain in your care. If you are unable to care for the chinchilla for the remainder of its natural lifespan, you agree that you will not give away, trade or sell the chinchilla. Any chinchilla unable to remain in your care must be returned to Finally Home Chinchillas, at your expense.

2. The chinchilla will receive proper daily care, housing, attention and medical care, as outlined in the care sheet that you will receive at the time of adoption.

3. The chinchilla is NOT to be used in breeding.

4. Chinchillas are sensitive creatures, subject to stress of relocating and new environments.

5. The chinchilla has a life span between 10 and 20 years, and you are dedicated to the lifelong care of the chinchilla.

6. You agree to allow Finally Home Chinchillas to perform home visits. If you are approved to adopt a chinchilla, we must make a home visit. If you adopt a chinchilla, we will make two follow-up visits to make sure that you and the chinchilla are adjusting to the new arrangement. The first visit will be within a month, and the second visit will take place sometime within the next 6 months.

7. If, at any time, you need assistance with behavior or health issues, Finally Home Chinchillas will be available to offer it.

8. Finally Home Chinchillas does not make any guarantee that you will be approved to adopt one of the chinchillas at the rescue. In the event your application is denied, Finally Home Chinchillas will provide an explanation for the decision.

As a part of the application process, your non-refundable application fee will be used to cover the costs of a criminal background check in order to reasonably ensure that our rescues will go to appropriate, safe homes. The application fee is $20.

Adoption fees

The fee to adopt a single chin is $60. This is to ensure s/he is going into a secure home that is willing to provide more than the bare necessities.

The fee to adopt a pair of chins is $95. Pairs will not be split up, chinchillas bond for life. This is to ensure they are going into a secure home that is willing to provide more than the bare necessities.

The fee to adopt two single chins is $95. Single chins are not to be put together under any circumstance. The chinchillas that are living alone here are doing so because it is what they prefer. We do make every effort to socialize the chins, and to find them chinnie-friends, but in some cases, it is better for them to live alone.

What the fees include:

A one-month supply of the following: Manna Pro Sho pellets, Orchard grass mix hay, Alfalfa hay, dust, and rosehips.

It also includes all the fleece that belongs to the chin(s): an example is 1 hammock (double hammock for pairs, single hammock for single chins), 1 fleece house, a fleece-covered tunnel per chin, 2 liners (if the chin is litter trained).

You will need to supply, before you bring the chin(s) home:

an appropriate cage*, an Edstrom bottle**, a food dish (metal or ceramic), a wood hidey house, at least 2 hanging toys, at least 2 kinds of carry-around toys (like loofah or shredders or cholla), a sheet for the cage, shavings (aspen or kiln-dried pine), litter boxes (if appropriate), wood shelves and a 15" exercise wheel (either a Chin Spin or an Ed wheel, which you can get at www.qualitycage.com).

*You can find excellent cages, in order of preference, at:

Quality Cage Co (www.qualitycage.com)
Ferret Nation Cage (www.ferret.com)
Martin's Cage Co (www.martinscages.com)

We recommend a minimum of 24" x 30" x 36" for single chins, and, depending on the pair, 24" x 30" x 48". The Quality Townhome is suitable for a single chin, and the Quality Mansion is suitable for a pair.

**Edstroms can be purchased at:

Woodland Bird Supply (www.woodlandbird.com/text/WBuddy.html)
Amazon.com (www.amazon.com/Water-Buddy-Topfill-Bottle/dp/B00123WWEQ)

For other supplies, we suggest:

Nick's Animal Place (www.nicksanimalplace.ecrater.com)
Wunderchins! (www.wunderchins.com)
ForCHINate Chins' Chincessories (http://www.geocities.com/forchinatechins/chincessories.htm)

Adoption Application

If you're interested in adopting one of the chinchillas at Finally Home, please fill out the application in its entirety.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

I would like to be considered as an adoptive parent to a chinchilla in need of a new family.

Name (First and Last):

Your email address (required - communications will be via email):

Address:

City, State Zip:

Phone (including area code):

Are you 21 years of age or older? Yes No

Have you ever had a chinchilla before? Yes No

Maintaining a healthy chinchilla can cost $20 a month or more; being the parent to a happy, well-adjusted chinchilla can cost $30 a month or more. Vet costs will vary depending on what is done, but they generally start around $50 and go up. A healthy chinchilla should have at least one wellness check a year. Are you financially able to care for a happy, well-adjusted chinchilla?

A chinchilla's life span is from 10-20 years. Are you prepared to make this commitment to a new pet? Yes No

Chinchillas have special needs, such as bathing in dust, temperatures below 75 degrees, and needing things to chew on to wear down their constantly growing teeth. Are you prepared to offer things things (and more) to your future chinchilla?

Occasionally, chinchillas come down with some expensive illnesses. Things like malocclusion and seizures can be expensive to diagnose and treat. Are you prepared and willing to pay $300 or more for proper vet care?


If your chinchilla would need to be hand fed, given medications, or watched constantly (as in the case of seizures), would you be willing and able to do this for him/her? If not, would you be willing to return the chinchilla to our care?


Please describe the housing (cage) you will provide for the chinchilla (dimensions, type of shelving, material it's made of, etc):



What will you accessorize with?



Where will you locate the chinchilla's cage?

Is your home air conditioned? Yes No



FAMILY LIFE

How many adults live in your household?

How many children live in your household?

If you have children in your household, what are their ages?

Do you rent or own your home? If you rent, does your landlord allow chinchillas? Please list your landlord and his/her phone number:



Have you ever surrendered a pet? If yes, please explain:




In order to place a chinchilla in the best home possible, we need to know what it's new home environment will be like. Please tell us what other pets you have, and how many.



What kind of accessories will you provide for your chinchilla?


What kind of toys will you provide?


What will you feed your chinchilla (brand of pellets, type of hay), and what kind of bedding will you use?


Where do you plan to purchase your chinchilla's supplies? (Food, hay, toys, etc)


Chinchillas need daily interaction, and time outside of a cage (at least 3 hours a week, if they have a ChinSpin, or an hour a day if they do not have a wheel). Are you prepared to offer this to your future chin? Where will you play?


What role will a chinchilla play in your home? For example, we consider our pets to be members of our family, and we treat them with the respect that comes with it.




REFERENCES

Chinchillas at Finally Home Chinchillas often have abusive or neglectful pasts. We need to make sure that they are going to stable, caring homes. In order to help us know more about the type of life one of the chins will have with you, we need the names and phone numbers of personal references. We ask for three references: one must be a vet, and the other two should be people not related to you, who you interact with on a regular basis. One should be someone who's known you for 3 or more years.









Please tell us why you want to adopt a chinchilla:







Please tell us how you found our site:




*

By submitting this application to adopt a homeless chinchilla, you agree that the chinchilla will remain in your care. If you are unable to care for the chinchilla for the remainder of its natural lifespan, you agree that you will not give away, trade or sell the chinchilla. Any chinchilla unable to remain in your care must be returned to Finally Home Chinchillas, at your expense. You agree that the chinchilla will receive proper daily care (as outlined in the care sheet that you will receive at the time of adoption), housing, attention and medical care.

By submitting this application, you agree that these chinchillas are NOT to be used in breeding. You agree that these chinchillas are not to be used in testing, not to be used as bait, in animal fights, or by any other means contrary to a loving, supportive, understanding home.

By submitting this application for chinchilla adoption, you understand that chinchillas are sensitive creatures, subject to stress of relocating and new environments. You also understand that the chinchilla has a life span between 10 and 20 years, and you are dedicated to the lifelong care of the chinchilla.

As a part of the application process, your non-refundable application fee will be used to cover the costs of a criminal background check in order to reasonably ensure that our rescues will go to appropriate, safe homes.