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Arnie: It all started when I bought my first Chinchilla, January 12th 1998. Arnie only cost $18 because she was an adult... and she & her sister had a genetic mutation: neither had a tail, only a 1 inch stump. However, it wasn't known until late 1999 that she, wasn't a HE! She was mis-sexed. Even the book I used to verify (store wasn't quite sure) had the pictures mis-labelled. Oops. Her name came from the movie 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape.' She rubbed her nose like Leonard DiCaprio's character (Arnie). Sheryl dubbed her that, and no matter what, that name stuck! She was born May 12th 1997, and she did not like me too much from separating her from her sister. But she never did shoot pee at me!! Phew. So, I guess she didn't mind me so much afterall! She learned the hard way that chinchilla's and water do not mix. She jumped in the toilet one night after I first adopted her and then decided to try and clean herself in her dust. What a mess!! I used to let her run in the 'loft' bathroom. Easier to catch her in there. Grace went in and forgot to put the cover back down. I'm surprised the poor thing didn't drown! I had a Netherland Dwarf rabbit (Sable) at the time as well (born July 8th 1997). They got along great until I moved back to Nfld. Sable went to a nice home, where he lived out his days (died summer 2001 of some sort of illness, poor guy).
Jasper: my little boy showed up 3 weeks early. I told the pet store not to have him come for a month because I was going to do a Marine Mammals course in St. Andrew's, NB in a week, and I won't be back for 3. The day before I left for Huntsman, I went to the pet store and saw a cute little guy. They ordered him too soon. He was only 6 weeks (born June 8th 1999) and I wanted to have a bond with him for Arnie and I never really connected (she cursed me out non-stop unless she was having a sip of some alcoholic beverage... she loved blue kool-aid and vodka. Hey, just a sip people! I am an animal lover you know). So I took him with me. He was the mascot for the group and loved to steal pens while I was writing papers for Catherine! Haha. When he hit sexual maturity later that year (just before Christmas) me and Michelle found out pretty quick that Arnie didn't have what he did. (NOTE: for those of you who do not know the difference, in males, there is a space between the genitals and anus. Females look like males, but their genital area is all one piece). It took almost 8 months to get those two in the same cage. Arnie did not want him anywhere near her space. So, he was in his own house until April 2000. Poor thing. Even then, there houses were joined so they could get used to each other. It wasn't until late June 2000 that they occupied the same space (new, extra large ferret cage 4'x3'x2').
Chilli: what can I say, she was a complete surprise. Born October 26, 2000. It was Hallowe'en weekend, so after feeding them I never looked in the cage again until the 30th. She didn't show any signs of pregnancy. None! Though I was secretly hoping that they would start having babies. Hehe. Chilli acted just like mom towards me. Guess Arnie filled her in! Brady named her Chilli. He was five, and the name stuck because he exclaimed "I know it's a chin-ch-i-ll-ia, but Chilli is easier to say." It was too cute! She broke her thigh bone on March 4th 2001 from jumping around the cage in between the ladder and back wall. Probably snaring her leg in the 1cm square mesh I had put around so she couldn't escape through the bars. Dr. MacDonald and I figured out how to set it and hold it in place. She was in that cast of popsicle sticks, gauze and sticky bandage wrap for 8 weeks. I had no chance of her liking me- especially when I kept putting vinegar on her cast to keep her from chewing. Only had to do that 3 times, so she got the hint really fast! She was isolated from her parents for that time and the triplets were born half way through her ordeal.
The Triplets: while Chilli was in Arnie's old cage, three new arrivals came on April 5th, 2001 just after 11am. This time I knew Arnie was pregnant and that she was having more than one. She was HUGE! There were two girls and a boy. The smallest female died the next day, less than 24hrs later. Where she was so small, and weak I figured she died of heart complications. A lot of multiple birth fatalities occur because of heart problems. I don't know why. At 8 weeks of age, the now twins were put in Pet City to be sold. I said if any babies were born, I would keep the first. And I did. The rest couldn't stay because I didn't have the room and at the time I was back home with the parents. Not the greatest scenerio. That and they wouldn't let me make the room in the basement a full chin room. That will come soon enough, and when it does.... look out!
Arnie's Sickness: one morning I checked on the chins to discover that Arnie had impaled herself with shavings. At the clinic, we managed to clear most of the shavings from her throat, but she was sore. For over 6 weeks I fed her fruit baby food mixed with powdered pellets through a syringe. She took her water this way as well. She was looking good for a while. Even stayed at the hotel during Ruby's wedding on June 30th(I wouldn't leave her). She seemed to be getting better, then one dreadful day... July 17th 2001 exactly one year after mom's kidney surgery... she took a turn for the worse. She couldn't move and was lying on one side. X-rays revealed that she was full of gas because of a blockage that just didn't pass through her. Dr. MacDonald had to open her up and chins are extremely sensitive to anestesia. She was gased to sleep. It was discovered after opening her up, one of her caeca (tube going to the colon that is supposed to be whitish and about as thick as the ink holder in a ballpoint pen) was black and full of gas. It just popped right out of her little body. There was nothing we could do. Arnie lost her battle at 2pm that afternoon. She was pregnant with one baby. She was burried at my cabin in the spot where my cat Friskey was supposed to be placed (she left to die). There is a rock statue I made to look like a chinchilla marking her grave, as well as a beautiful flower. That afternoon, I brought back the little male from the store. The female was spoken for, so I left the little girl take her. Rugrat (aka Indigo or Indy for short) was his consoler. Rhonda was confident that she could perform the spay on Chilli now. She wouldn't do it before because she was afraid that Chilli wouldn't make it. She was spayed in August and put back in the cage with her dad and little brother.
The Heat Wave: Never in my nightmares did I ever think this would happen. I came to Quebec for an internship and I wished that I never came when I woke up to find my boy, Jasper and the first born, Chilli dead from heat exhaustion. Rugrat was moments from death himself. It was Wednesday July 3rd 2002. For two weeks before that the heat kept rising. The apartment only had 3 small windows and never any cool air blowing through. I had 3 fans operating, but without an air-conditioner, the fans only pushed around hot air. My apartment was never lower than 35 degrees no matter what I did. I tried everything to cool them down. But chins don't cool like normal mammals. They adapt to the environment more like a lizard. They can't cool themselves. The A/C I ordered was already 2 days late. The night before, my apartment reached around 45 degrees. My lizard tank only registers that high, and there was no colour on the thermometer so it was probably closer to 50. The humidity was unreal. If you moved away from a fan, you were instantly sweating buckets. It was a sauna. It cooled a bit by 2am so I went to bed. I woke up at 4 and they were still okay. I swore I would take them to work no matter what anyone said. I awoke just after 6... Akasha was all funny. I found out why. Jasper was on the bottom of the cage, in the fron right section on his side with his eyes and mouth wide open. Chilli was behind the homemade perch with her eyes closed. I suspect that Jasper died of a heat induced heart attack/stroke and Chilli died of heat exhaustion. Rugrat was still alive, but barely, lying in the little 4" plastic pipe. He stayed at the office for 2 days. On Friday I found out that my A/C was sitting in the warehouse 30 mins away since Wednesday. It may have been sooner, but no one wanted to make the trip to bring it to me unless there was more items going this way. If they called, I would have picked it up myself. My parents came to visit later in July and mom took them home and buried them with Arnie. I hate July more than ever now.
The Beige Twins (Cayenne & Rayden): Rugrat (Indigo) seemed to be doing okay for a while without his dad and older sister. But he was never alone for a day before this tragedy. Towards the end of August, he stopped eating, drinking and became listless. Lethargic even. I was scared. Like love birds, chins can die from loneliness if they were never separated when they were quite young. Some people think this is an old wives tale. I don't. I always wanted a black/ebony chin so when I had to go to Nova Scotia to pick up a harbour porpoise carcass, I stopped in Moncton and Charlottetown pet stores to find a small black male. All I found were standard grey's, like my own. Before I left for NS, I saw a young beige chin at a pet store up here. The day after I came back (Thurs August 29th), I went to this store and by sexing the animals myself (clerk didn't know how and I couldn't explain it in French), I came home with two babies instead of one. Figured that it would be an easier transition for the young ones to make if they were together. If they were comfortable, Indy would be comfy as well. Easier to mix them when they are all calm. However, the parents were also in the cage with the beige ones (one standard, other pale/rose beige). Apparently, the pair was thought to be of the same sex (males) but then they had twins. The owners put them all up. If I had more room I would have taken the parents as well. Perhaps, if they are not sold (doubt it because they are adults) I will get them and upgrade the cage when I leave here. Indy was so excited (so was Akasha) when I showed him the cat carrier with the little ones in it. He perked up instantly. But it still took 2 days to get them into that cage overnight. They were born around the 23rd of May. The store wasn't sure, so I used dated pics of my babies to approximate the age (roughly 10 weeks). The one with the smallest nose is called Rayden (he's shy), and the other more brazen and vocal one is Cayenne. It's been almost three weeks since they arrived here and they have already doubled in size. I didn't know how long I should wait before I let them out to run with Akasha... They got here just after 5 and they were out with my rodent loving cat at 6. Oh well, they held there own. It's hilarious to see a 13lbs cat play submissive to a chin that is the size of her head! She flips over on her back, on the floor with her paws all up in the air. She freaks out when Rayden chases her. Almost like Jasper and her, except for the size difference. She does the craziest stuff when the little terrors are let out for a run. When Chilli was still here, her and Akasha played together even when the chins were not out of the cage. Akasha would reach in and take playful swipes at her. Akasha slept in front of the cage for at least an hour a day, and if her fur was close enough, Chilli would give her a wake up call. Akasha is trying to get Rayden to do the same thing. He hides in the little white T pipe, and Akasha would reach in. If I move the pipe back in the cage, Rayden would pull it forward, close to the bars so he could play. The excitement in the apartment is unreal when they are playing around with each other, be it in or out of the cage. And yes, Akasha does climb in the cage when they are running around. She barely fits on the top shelf, and she hates the large ladder. When Akasha used to jump on top of the cage, her and Jasper would play together. She would either reach in or he would stretch to try and touch her. (Yes I have picks to verify every statement here. The ones with her in the cage still need to be developed. I really need a digital for this kind of stuff... much faster). She is a real skittish cat so anything makes her jump. Every now and then she will lie across the top of the cage, and look solemn. No one plays with her up there anymore. (She misses him as much as I do). Good thing she doesn't use her claws or teeth on anything. She hasn't even killed a fly! She stunned one once and she was out of sorts, and stayed that way long after it came around. I still don't think I own a cat for that reason. I guess she figures that anything that moves belongs to me and that she can play, but not eat (basically because I have or have had more weird creatures as pets than most people have ever seen). What a great trick I never taught her.
Black Velvet (Bauco): well, as of Sunday, October 27th 2002 I am the proud owner of a black velvet chin. It took a while but when I saw his beautiful little face in a pet store in Québec City... I could not leave him. It was a trip I won`t forget because mom finally agreed to go to the city to see a pet show. I thought I would find a little guy there but there was only one chin breeder and it was for standards. At first I thought it was two standards in the cage but I am glad I took a double take. Mom tried to convince me that I already had three and that there wasn`t much room... same old story. I sent her to the cafeteria and well, once the little one was in my arms he stayed there. He is sooo calm. He reminds me a lot of Jasper and that is another reason why I couldn`t leave him there. He is such a baby! I do not have an exact birth date but by using my old photos of when my babies were born I have figured that at the time of "adoption" he was about 6 ½ months old. So he was born roughly May 4th 2002. He has been named Bauco... Jimmy had all the rights and previlages for that one. I will be adding the story behind the name to this site... But it is in French for now.
How Bauco Got His Name! ~ Danica
Monday, September 16th 2002.
Updated Wednesday November 13th 2002.
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