Spring is in the air!

It's time to harvest wood for the chinnies and their toys. Lately we've been working on cutting and preparing apple, crabapple and pear woods to make new toys. I'm sure our neighbors wonder why we come home with our van full of branches!

It takes quite a bit of work to cut the pieces to size, boil, then bake the wood, but it's also a nice time to sit around, talk and laugh. We often find this chore a nice bonding time, kinda like knitting circles or bean snapping back when families used to do that sort of thing.

We're especially excited with the new "coins" we were able to make out of the larger branches. Look at what we've done!

Rehome, reuse, and recycle.

Whimsy’s Menagerie & Chinchilla Rescue supports going green. As a business run by a single mom, the idea of reusing and recycling items is a natural and fun challenge. One way we like to conserve is by using the chin’s old bedding in our organic garden. We’ve gotten lots of nice compliments on our “mulch” and have seen the lasting effects of its built-in fertilizer on our shrubbery and flowers. We have big plans this year to grow our own loofah for the chins along with our usual veggies.

Speaking of loofah, this weekend we’ve designed a new chinchilla chew toy! Many folks said to us that their chins especially love the softer, shred-like chews. So we’ve put together the topmost, highly consumable favorites (loofah, willow balls and fruit wood sticks) into a single fun treat. Check out our new SuperChew Softie!

Of course we let our own chins try out the new toys. Watching them devour the new chew toy was like watching a fluffy piranha attack!

We at the Menagerie have been keeping busy!

What started as a simple homeschool project has become nearly a full fledged business. We receive several emails and phone calls each week asking about chins for adoption, supplies, questions about chinchillas, and inquiries to surrender. It's really been remarkable the learning opportunities our love for the critters has afforded our humble family. We especially love the new friendships we've gleaned with all who we've meet this special way.

On Monday, we went back to the local high school to work with the students with cognitive disabilities to make more chinchilla toys. We were all thrilled that the students rose to the challenge of making our suspension bridges and swings!

Which reminds me... at this time, I'd like to honor our volunteer, Clarissa.  This plucky little girl is quick to jump in and help! We look forward to her visits to the Menagerie where she helps us clean cages, prepare items for the store, hand out hay and supplement, dust baths for the chins, fill water and food bowls and socialize the baby chinchillas.  Thank you for your time and energy,  Clarissa!

We have a lovely family of five here who would like to stay together. Check out our adoptions page for more information on Muddy, NuNu, Little Dude, Spawn and Pickles.

Is there a family who has been waiting for just the right group of chins for them?This small herd is already proven compatible, so no troubles trying to bond multiple chins.  The hard part is already done!

If you have a large family who each wants their own pet chinchilla, I have a deal for you!

For anyone who is willing to adopt this family and keep them together, I will provide you with a FREE EXTRA LARGE CAGE to accommodate the whole group. 

 Adoption fee for 5 chinchillas, plus the FREE cage, 10lbs feed pellets, a full flake of hay, and lots of goodies: $300. Making yours and this furry family happy: priceless.

Happy Monday, everyone!

I'm very pleased to announce that many caring individuals have stepped in with offers of help for the latest group of chinchillas that have come in. Some have adopted, some have donated cages, others have provided monetary cash donations towards extra feed. A warm and hearty thank you, especially to those who have followed through with their promises.

We've had a fun time helping new chins and new owners meet. For the month of January, fifteen (15) more chinchillas went off to new homes. That's a match of our high record in December!

So far this month, eight (8) chinchillas have gone to new homes. Our numbers are back to the pre-mass count, but we still have approximately 20 chins who need homes. During the recent wave of adoptions, some from the mass surrender were chosen, and some of our previous chins found new homes. In the meantime, other surrenders still continue to come in. Needless to say, we have lots to choose from.