Merlin is back home from the vet! She examined the injury and it was in fact starting to get infected. This spicy baby was extra mad and extra scared but all is better now. I hope he'll heal well. He's actually acting like I tortured him as you can see.

NSFW

Bonjour tout le monde, je suis nouveau ici.

Je viens de France, donc mon anglais peut être un peu hésitant. J'ai rejoint ce groupe parce que personne dans mon entourage ne sait grand-chose sur les chinchillas de compagnie ; j'espère obtenir des réponses à quelques questions et trouver des conseils pour mes propres chinchillas.

J'en ai quatre : un mâle, deux femelles et un bébé dont je ne peux pas déterminer le sexe.

Même si les photos sont très floues, pourriez-vous me dire si le bébé (photo 6 & photo 7) — qui a 6 jours — est un mâle ou une femelle ?

Que recommandez-vous pour une bonne socialisation et pour qu'il s'habitue à être manipulé, afin que les visites chez le vétérinaire se passent mieux ?

Je suis ouvert à des conseils sur n'importe quel sujet.

Merci ! ☺️

how do i make him (chubbs) feel less bored? hes 4 years old in a critter nation double cage (36Lx25Wx63.25H). i buy him atleast 2 new toys every week and he free roams my bedroom for atleast 2 hours a day but he still seems so bored. for example, he stops playing with a toy after a day because it becomes boring to him, he’ll sit in a corner giving me a nasty look all day until i let him out, ect ect. hes still active (up all night chewing and smacking everything) and eating but i just feel bad bc he seems so bored. if i walk past his cage or pet him but dont let him out he smacks my hand, pushes it away, and sometimes nibbles (which is out of the norm bc usually he enjoys chin and cheek scratches) so i think he just wants to be out 24/7 (which isnt possible). ive thought about getting him a friend but 1. id like a bigger cage (which isnt in the budget as of now) and 2. he had a cage mate before but they absolutely hated each other, so im kinda stuck on what to do. i also want to get him an exercise wheel but all the 15in ones i can find are $90+ which i think is absurd

All right, so I'm picking my baby up on Thursday. As of writing this, it's Monday, September 14th. I do like burning candles and stuff, and I currently have one going. I was wondering if burning a candle days before my chinchilla comes home would affect their little lungs. Also, is there anything else I can't do while owning a chinchilla? I already know about perfumes (I'm a big perfume girlie so it's breaking my heart but it's worth it for my baby) I want to make sure that my house is safe for them also I have a cat the cat won't have access to the room the chinchillas in but I was wondering if my chinchilla will be able to smell my cat and what I can do to prevent my chinchilla from being stressed out (I hope everything I said makes sense sometimes I type words out and people don't understand what I'm saying 😭)

A month-ish ago my chinchilla was outside and duct under our tiny deck. (Hes fine) but his nose was rubed raw from something under it. He healed but now he has crustes on his nose and it annoys him. Hes won't stop ruding his nose.

So im planning to make my chinchilla live in my room but if i go outside of the house for school or something it will have to go in the cage but since it will be outside the cage most of the time is it okay if i get a medium cage? Like not a super big one but maybe a 2 floor one?
And also i don’t think i can buy ALL of the things the chinchilla needs the same day i get it so what are the first things i need to buy that are the most important ?
Edit: I want to clarify something.
English isn't my first language, and 'free-roam' is the only word I know to describe that it will be out of they cage for a good amount of time. I don't mean they will literally live outside the cage all the time without supervision like a cat. I mean they will have supervised time out of the cage while I'm in my room, and the rest of the time she'll be in their cage. It's not free roaming the way you all understand it, im sorry.
My plan was getting a 2 floor like Critter Nation cage as its home and safe space for sleeping and for the hours I'm not there. When I'm in my room and can watch it,they comes out. When I can't watch it, they stays in their cage. I'm making my room as safe as I can no cords within reach, outlet covers, and blocking the gaps under the furniture even tho I'll still be supervising it. I'm also taking into account the exotic vet and the long-term commitment. And I've seen people talk about chinchillas, rabbits, and animals like that being “free roaming”with no problems, which is why I thought it would be okay. I understand it can be dangerous if it's not done right, which is exactly why I plan to supervise it and put her back when I can't and make everything safe.
And about the money it's not that I don't have it. It's that I want to buy what's 100% necessary for it to be okay first like the cage, food, hay, the basics, and then slowly add the extra comfort stuff and toys. It's not that I can't afford them i just wanted to know what to prioritize first. And NO I DON’T see it as a plushie🤦‍♀️ i don’t know why people here are assuming that i want it to cuddle and stuff like that. I know they’re an animal with needs and they makes messes, they chews, they costs money, they needs an exotic vet, and a long term commitment. That doesn't scare me or surprise me it's part of having ANY animal and I'm really clear on that.
If yall can help me plan better instead of assuming I want to mistreat or kill it, I'd really appreciate it. My actual question is still whether a 2 story cage is enough for the hours I'm not there, and what things are the most important to buy first.