For the month of January, ten (10) chinchillas were surrendered, and six (6) chinchillas were adopted. Four (4) chinchillas have come off of maternity watch without kits and are now available as a bonded group. At this time we have approximately twenty (20) chinchillas who are waiting for their new homes.  

One of our visitors commented that it must be difficult to re-home pairs and groups of chinchillas. On the contrary!  We have found those who research first the decision to adopt an exotic pet understand the unique needs of chinchillas and the fact that they desire the comfort of their own kind when we are not available to interact with them. That is, assuming the chin in question is not overly aggressive or neurotic. 

With caged pets, it's just as easy to care for multiples as it is to care for a single...within reason. But the largest consideration is the size and layout of their environment. A well provided home offers approximately 2x2x2 square feet of cage space per chinchilla. Overlap on space can occur withsmall groups, but in general these are the dimensions you'll want to shoot for. Having plenty of ledges, shelves, hiding places and other forms of environmental stimulation is absolutely necessary to keep your pets happy and mentally healthy. Too many times we've received (or seen) horrible cages that look more like jail cells than homes. Which is why we offer complete cage setups in our "pre-owned cages" page of our store. 

Folks often ask how much it costs to get/own/maintain a chinchilla. After the initial sticker shock of the pet, cage and accessories, regular monthly upkeep is minimal, depending on where you purchase your supplies. ;) *cough* If you haven't already, come check out our co-op style store. 

Happy New Year Everyone!

For the month of December, 14 chinchillas were given up for adoption, and 10 chinchillas were adopted. For the entire year of 2011, 134 fuzzbutts were adopted to new homes! Not only is this a remarkable success, but some of the amazing people we've met through our rescue efforts have been a blessing in many, many ways.

We have quite a following now of young volunteers and hard core customers who religiously return for supplies while eagerly looking forward to our newest creative cage accessory or chew toy. We've even had our first completed international order!

This year has had its share of struggles too while we have played the role of supportive care for chins in hospice, advised people in emergency situations, become privy to, and called to help alleviate some rather shocking living conditions, been a relief agency for various animal control facilities, and dealt with the occasional broken contract.

All in all, it's been quite a learning experience. Thank you, everyone, for a year well spent.

For the month of November, two (2) chinchillas were surrendered and seven (7) were adopted. It's been a rather nice imbalance of numbers on a happy side for a short while, however, so far for this month we've already received six (6) more surrenders. 

We've been working on bonding the singles and have had a fair amount of luck. One family found a pair of boys who complement their single fella perfectly. Another family had no such luck finding a compatible female for their lone girl. A second little guy who is boarding here while his owner goes through allergy testing found a new friend too. And we have another adult fella coming to stay for the weekend while we work our magic to find him a snuggle buddy. Perhaps we should rename our site: Whimsy's chinchilla rescue/adoption/store and...matchmaking!

At this time we have about 20 chinchillas who are waiting for permanent homes with several more still under evaluation. We would dearly love to see them off to good homes, especially the "special cases," those who desperately need someone with a soft heart and patience enough to gain their trust. This year we've met some amazing people who have specifically come looking for exactly that sort of challenge. It is truly amazing to see how a troubled little furry personality can blossom in the right environment. If you've been waiting for the holidays to adopt, we'd love to hear from you.  

Happy November everyone!

And Happy Anniversary to us!!!

Whimsy's Menagerie & Chinchilla rescue started on this day in 2008. 

What began as a homeschool project has now become a serious full time job!

Operating the only chinchilla-specific small animal rescue in almost a 500 mile radius means we serve those who are willing to drive several hours to adopt, or surrender chinchillas. We've had people come as far as Richmond, Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania and as far south as North Carolina, South Carolina and even Tennessee! We have found homes for more than 200 fuzzbutts to date. We take pride in the fact that we are able to help chinchillas and their owners by offering such specialized care. 

For the month of October, 13 chinchillas were surrendered and 8 were adopted. On any given month it is not unusual to have an average of 10 chinchillas in and 10 adopted. We've even received and found homes for mass surrenders from various animal control facilities, breeders who have decided to call it quits, and many, many "oops" litters. 

Our work here is fully funded by adoption fees, cage and supplies sales, and donations.  We were giddy with delight by the fact that folks literally started begging us to make our cage accessories and chew toys available for their chins. It's been a wonderful creative outlet working to determine the BEST and safest combinations and designs for the little critters. And as always, we couldn't have done it without the support from all of you who have found your way to our humble little website. So from the bottom of our hearts (humans and chinchillas alike) we say thank you. :)

For the month of September, 5 chinchillas were surrendered and 11 were adopted. I'm also happy to announce that the single boy who came in was successfully paired with another single. Ricochet and Walter were lonely boys and Ricochet had actually taken to chewing his own fur. The introduction of the two was amazingly heartfelt. Walter was sooo excited to have a friend. He immediately started grooming Ricochet who at first was taken aback by the ministrations, but quickly relaxed.  Now the two are deeply bonded and Ricochet's fur is starting to grow back. :)

And speaking of growing...our homegrown loofah looks amazing! The vines have spread across the dividing fence between ours and our neighbor's yard, but is quickly trying to overtake both homes. Harvest time is starting and we're learning how to time it just right.

And also speaking of growing....our generator challenge has been a remarkable success! In only one month's time we have almost met our goal.  As of today we have just over $2500 towards our $3000 end. We did not expect to meet this endeavor so quickly, but this is all thanks to our returning and new friends. Thank you everyone for the encouraging outpouring of support!