So there I was, minding my own business, scrolling through craigslist looking for cage upgrades when I came across a post about our Menagerie! Imagine our pleasure when we read the following posted by an anonymous writer:

"I have had personal experience with the new chinchilla rescue. and she was great. very sweet, and caring. she keeps he facilities VERY clean. and takes time to allow all the animals in her care attention and out of cage time. if you need to find your chinchilla a new home. or if you are looking to adopt, then i would definitely suggest you check her out first. i will defiantly be keeping in touch with her so that next time i wish to adopt or am looking for support with anything i can contact her!"

I wrote a quick thank you note to the poster and asked who they were. Just so happens she was a young lady who had visited with her father and purchased a couple of cages from us. They were quite nice and were a wealth of information about ferrets! It's always nice to talk shop with other animal lovers. Thanks again for the good word Carol!

Well, it was quite a weekend. We attended our very first honest to goodness chinchilla show. There were many amazing animals there. We got to meet some new friends and learned quite a bit about judging by chinchilla show standards. And... we couldn't help but add one of these superb animals to our collection. Whimsy picked up a class champion black velvet bred by Silkrhine Chinchillas of Pennsylvania. The little fuzzbutt is built like a rock! He's massive with very dense heavy fur. We've named him Petra.

Pictures of Kiki and Layla are finally here! Aren't they darling? We found Kiki folded over in the play log grooming herself. Layla came to investigate.

Last night, another surrender came to our Menagerie. She's the tiniest little ebony I've seen yet! Her previous owner was concerned that he didn't have the time and attention to devote to her any longer and was especially concerned that she'd recently started chewing her own fur. Fur chewing can stem from many different sources. It may be related to a fungal infection. It could be caused by environmental stress, boredom, starvation, or simply a genetic condition. In this case, I'm convinced environmental stress was the trigger for her; in this case, her encrusted cage.

Chins are naturally very clean animals. They depend on their chinparents to care for their needs and to make sure those needs are met. Here at our Menagerie, we have a daily routine that includes vacuuming the ledges and chinroom daily (sometimes even several times a day). The ledges are wiped down with a special disinfectant/fungicide EVERY DAY and given a thorough cleaning and bedding change every week. Since the little fuzzbutts reside in our dining room, it not only keeps them healthy and stimulated, but also keeps our home nice and clean and fresh smelling.

The little chin mentioned previously is now housed in a new clean enclosure and has a new friend to snuggle with. She's a sweet little thing despite the fur chewing. So far she has only chewed on the plethora of chin treats offered her. We are sure her fur will grow back and she'll be good as new in a couple of months.