We've got a couple things to work on before we're ready to go home.
Rhody
We estimate Rhody to be about 1 1/2, so his birthday is around October 2008.
Rhody is a very sweet little guy. He loves attention and will sit for scritches for hours on end. Rhody was an owner surrender. He was going to be transferred to another rescue, but upon his arrival here we realized he had signs and symptoms of malo. After discussing it with the other rescue, we both decided we should work with him here. We took Rhody to the vet due to his symptoms, and discovered that his teeth had points. The vet couldn't get a very good look in his mouth, so we decided Rhody should have his mouth examined while he was getting the points filed down. He went in a couple days later to have his teeth filed and have his mouth inspected. At that time there were no signs of root problems. Rhody has recovered very well. His appetite has picked up, and his fur is softer and more sleek.
Rhody loves to eat hay and pellets, he loves treats (particularly crushed rosehips), and Rhody loves to chew on a variety of toys. Rhody came with his own cage, and it is a decent size (40" x 20"), but he'd do better if he could stretch out in a 2-level Ferret Nation, in our opinion. Rhody does not pee on his shelves, and he is a good candidate for litter training. Rhody does have a wheel that he loves. His last family custom-made it from a blue barrel. It's more quiet than the Chin Spin, and although it is plastic, Rhody has not yet chewed on it.
Rhody appears to have dental issues that are genetic. We are working with his diet for now. For now, he requires tooth-point filing about every 2 months. We do think we can get the time to be longer between filings if we can get him on just the right kind of pellet, hay and supplementation. Rhody is currently on a mixture of Beaphar Xtravital Care+ for Chinchillas and Manna Pro Rabbit Pellets, alfalfa hay, and a special supplement we have designed for chins who need a little extra calcium supplementation. He is also getting 1 TUMS a day.
Muffin
"Little Miss" Muffin came to us from a loving home in Cincinnati in 2009. Muffin is about 8 years old, with a birthday estimated to be in March of 2002. She is a very sweet, darling, independent girl. Muffin loves scritches and getting new chunks of wood to chew. She loves her playtimes, and bathes at every chance she gets.
Muffin came in with a ton of treats and had very sweet breath. She was quite shocked to find herself in our rescue, and stopped eating and drinking for 5 days. Marne had to sit by her cage in quarantine and pipe tiny amounts of water to her, and hand feed her. We both promised Muffin that if she would just trust us, it'd be worth it to try to do her best. We showered her with love and encouragement, and finally, after 5 days, she started to eat her Critical Care on her own. After quarantine we moved Muffin to a quiet-yet-active part of our home so we could keep a close eye on her. The first day, she fell off her shelf due to seizures she experienced during her sleep. They were short seizures, indicative of poor nutrition (related to all her sugary and fatty treats!). Over time, with good nutrition and only rosehips for treats, Muffin's seizures have subsided.
Muffin has come out of her shell since being here, and we think she would make an excellent single-chin with a doting parent (or two). She is currently in our "working" wing, because her placement process will differ from most chins'. Due to the shock she went through when she arrived here, we feel she must be a foster chin first (with her adoptive home), and if she does well, she can be adopted. Her situation will have to be monitored closely to ensure her future parents and Muffin all get the proper support to see Muffin through any potential issues.
Gwyn (approx: June 1, 2007)
Adara (January 19, 2008)
Princess (May 12, 2008)
Gwyn
Adara
Princess
Gwynevere and her two daughters Adara and Princess, were owner surrenders (with Zaki). They came to us on March 17, 2010. The place where the girls and Zaki & Snape were being borded was starving them to death. Unfortunately, Snape died. Gwyn nearly died, she was having seizures and was kept in the animal hospital for 3 days while she stabilized and recovered. The girls were underweight when they came, all under 500 grams, but they are now gaining weight nicely. All three girls have excellent appetites. Adara and Princess do show signs of food aggression, but they have separate, large bowls to treat this behavior. Over time (with regular feeding), this behavior will diminish and eventually disappear.
Gwyn and at least one of the girls, we think Princess, were still having occasional seizures when they first arrived. They were due to malnourishment and poor nutrition. We have not observed any for the last week and a half, and it's likely they will not have any in the long term. We do want to observe them for one more month just to be sure.
Gwyn is a little shy, but she loves to get pet on her head. Gwyn loves their hammock. Princess LOVES attention and willingly comes up just to chat, though scritches are something she loves as well. She seems to prefer to sleep on the shelf, though this could be due to the crowdedness of the hammock. We're going to be giving them a large double hammock. Adara is a little more skittish, but she is starting to let us pet her hands. Adara loves to snuggle up with Gwyn in the hammock. All three girls are hearty chewers, they demolish every toy we give them, be it willow, wood, shredder or cardboard. They eat very well.
Gwyn, Adara and Princess are currently working on their trust issues with people. It seems to be the case that when a chin is deprived of food for extended periods of time, the trust it has in humans is broken (which does make sense). We are working intensively with the girls to see if it will be possible to re-establish bonds with them.
You may notice, in the pictures, that the chinchillas here have fleece sets in their cages. When a new chinchilla arrives here, we buy fleece and then sew him/her a hammock, pillow, house, fleece tunnel and two liners for his/her cage. We believe that the softness of fleece is reassuring to the chins, and that having such things helps smooth the transition to the new surroundings encountered here. Our belief has been furthered by the fact that each chinchilla that's come here has taken to its tunnel immediately, and for the first few weeks, will rarely leave it. These fleece sets belong to the chinchillas, and each pattern/color combination is unique to each chin.