Oregon Chinchilla Rescue

The decision to re-home your furry friend is a hard one and we appreciate your consideration in placing your chin(s) in our care. We are an in-home chinchilla-dedicated rescue and have dedicated our lives to helping critters of all shapes and sizes. First and foremost we welcome any owner to come visit prior to any potential surrender AND any owner is welcome to drop off their animal(s) if they prefer. 

We strive to play chins in homes where they will be properly taken care of, treated with love and compassion, and treated like a member of the family. Therefore every potential adopter is required to read our sites information on chinchilla care. This helps to ensure that they have the proper knowledge to properly care for a chinchilla.

OCR does accept found/stray animals. We follow all local and state laws in regard to attempting to locate the animals owner. These chins will only be put up for adoption once those requirements have been fulfilled.

Surrendering Information

When surrendering a chinchilla please be sure to provide any known information about them and if you feed something other than Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla Pellets, please send 1-2 cups of their pellets so that we can properly transition them onto our pellets.

If possible, bring their cage with them as it will help reduce some of the stress that comes with moving them to a new home. If you desire, OCR will return the cage to you when the chin(s) have acclimated to their new surroundings.

OCR does not in any way require a cage or other supplies to be sent with a surrendered chinchilla. In the case that our rescue cages are full, a cage will be needed to take in a chin at that moment OR we are happy to put any chin on a surrender waiting list for when a cage becomes available.

Generally, we can accommodate picking up from your home, meeting at a mutual location, or allowing you to drop off. However, from time to time we are not able to offer all surrender options. Please let us know which one works best for you and we will try to do as requested.

Proper Cages and Supplies
In the event that a surrendered chinchilla does not have the appropriate cage or supplies, they will be provided for them for the duration of their stay. This includes, but is not limited to bedding, chew toys, cages, wheels, hay holders, treats, dust bath containers, pellet dishes, and hay.

OCR currently houses all rescues in Midwest Ferret and Critter Nation cages that have 3" deep metal pans, exercise wheels, handmade wooden ledges, and other chin-necessities. Our home is kept between 68*F and 72*F with central air.

Proper Diet and Treats
Unfortunately, the majority of chins that we take in are not being fed the appropriate food or treats. Therefore we take the time to transition them over to Oxbow Chinchilla Essentials pellets and timothy hay.

Treats are limited during their dietary change, afterwards we only give them chin-appropriate treats. All chins are provided with reverse osmosis water.

Evaluation and Quarantine
All surrendered chins will be quarantined and evaluated for a period of no less than 30 calendar days. During this time we will give them a brief exam, evaluate their temperament, bodily functions, weighed weekly, be introduced to grooming, females may have an extended stay for pregnancy watch, and we will work with chins on being handled. 

If at the end of their Evaluation and Quarantine period they are found to be healthy and well-adjusted to human interactions, they will then be put up for adoption.

Exceptions To This Rule
The only exception to this rule is if the chin(s) being surrendered has be owned by a state-licensed veterinarian (of a period no less than 30 calendar days), is healthy and not requiring any special care, medication, or treatment, and is not possibly pregnant. Any chin meeting this will be immediately available for adoption.

No Breeding, Live Testing, or Live Research/Education
Regardless of your chinchillas background, they will not be bred here or adopted out to homes where they will be bred. Surrendered chins will only receive live testing upon the recommendation of a state-licensed veterinarian for the purpose of diagnosing a health concern. And we do not adopt (or otherwise send) out animals for the purpose of live testing or live research.

Possible Testing or Research/Education for Deceased Chins
When a chinchilla passes away in our care we may donate their remains for the purpose of testing, research or education. If you feel uncomfortable having your chins remains donated for such purposes, please let us know that you would like to opt-out your chin(s).

Ear Tag Identification
Chins will have the time to adjust to their new surroundings and then we will place an ear tag on them. This serves as a type of semi-permanent identification for the chin, particularly after it has been adopted.

In the event that the adopters (or a future owner) forget any information, someone can contact us and give us the animals ear tag number and we can then look up their information and possibly provide them with potentially useful information.

We generally place the ear tags on the chins right ear. On one side it will have RESQ to signify that it came from our rescue and on the other side it will have a number. This is the chins identification number and will be the number that correlates with the chins information and paperwork.

Unhealthy or Injured Surrenders
Over the many years of rescuing and owning chins I've sadly become experienced with caring for ill and injured chinchillas.

When you surrender a chinchilla that is known (or found) to be ill or injured, we do not list it on our Facebook page, or Web Site. I don't want people to get hopes of adopting a new surrender, only to have it pass away. Furthermore it helps up keep our pages and web sites as kid friendly as possible, along with not bothering an ill/injured chin. 

Should the concerning issue be something that we are experienced with, we will provide the proper care ourselves and save the chin the stress of a vet trip. Should the illness/injury be serious in nature, or otherwise be something we cannot treat ourselves, the chin will be taken to a vet.

Transportation Available
If you are unable to transport the chin(s) to us, please let us know and we will do our best to arrange picking them up from your home or a mutual location. When we are picking them up from you I typically bring a helper to load things, tools to take apart any cages that can be broken down, and metal/wire chinchilla carrier.

While most people prefer a quick meeting with little questions, we are happy to answer any questions that you may have at the time.

It would be helpful if you would be able to do the following:​

• Please gather up any items coming with them, prior to our arrival, and have them easily accessible upon our arrival.
• If they don't currently eat Oxbow Chinchilla Essentials, please make sure to send 1-2 cups of their pellets. This is very important so that we can properly switch them over to our pellets and limit any potential digestive issues.
• Provide them with access to their food and water until our arrival.
• Don't worry about dirt on supplies you're sending with them. These will be cleaned and sanitized upon their arrival.

If you are interested in surrendering your chin(s) please send us an email at Contact@ChinRescue.org