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This is a page where ill put tips up. Have you experianced something with your chipmunks and solved it, which you could tell other people about, incase they come across the same problem? If you have any tips that you would like to share with other chipmunk owners please let me know ill be glad to post it on this page.
Ice Cubes
I recently read about zoo keepers putting giant ice blocks filled with fruit and nuts in the cages of their animals. So i decided to the samewith normal ice cubes. I used a ice cube try and put peices of fruit and nut in more than half way and the rest water and froze it. Paddy tried to pck it up when i put one in the cage and he was very shocked, lol! But they enjoyed licking it to get the food out and it cooled them down too.
Putting chipmunks back in their cage
The easiet way to get a chipmunks back in its cage is bribary!
1. Put nuts or a treat in the toe of trainer(they love trainers) and the chipmunk will go inside, you then carry it to the cage.
2. If your chipmunk is tame you can cup it in yours hands and take it over to the cage.
3. The more often a chipmunk is let out of its cage and the longer it is left out the easier it will be to put back, somtimes they go back in by themselfs for food or a drink so keep the cage door open.
4. Let the chipmunk jump onto you and walk over to the cage then use a treat to bribe it of you and into the cage.
Any more tips to get them back in the cage, email me.
Tail Loss
As you know if you read my page Max lost her tail.
This happens as part as a natural defence mechanism that the chipmunk has. If it is caught by a predator its tail will shed to give it a chance to escape.
When Max lost her tail we didnt no we just found it on the floor after shed been out for a run.
We didnt let her out of the cage for few days after that incase she got anyhing in it and got it infected. I also took her out of the cage a couple of times(as i can hold her without being bitten) and bathed it in salt water.
This doesnt have to be done as the tail can heal naturally and sometimes they grow back. I just did it as a precaution as i didnt want her to get any infections etc
A wobbly bridge
If you go back to the 'Housing' page you will see a photo of my cage, you will see inside it a line of circles, this is the bridge.
I made the bridge with loo rolls. I peirced them in each end right through both sides(dont worry about squashing them abit you can reshape it after you thread it)I then threaded them all onto a peice of coated wire(it was string at 1st but this didnt last very long). You can the tie the ends of the wires on to the mesh of your cage. My chipmunks love it!
Twigs and Branches
If you want to put twigs and Branches in your cage you must make sure they arent poisonous.
You can put in branches etc from fruit tress i.e apple or pear.
Also what we did was go to a wooded area which is like the natural habitat for squirrels and chipmunks and take dead
branches from common trees i,e birch or pine.
You can also buy suitable branches from pet shops which are either fake or suitable for rodents, please ask the shop assistant first.
Environment Tip
To create a entertaining and natural environment i use a wooden frame (Sides Only) 15" high and 3' square set on slabs, I fill it with fruit tree wood chippings from a local tree surgeon who keeps them segregated. This has provided an area for them to burrow and play which never freezes i have now got seeds germinating within the frame which adds to the diet of the chipmunks as they love the young shoots. i also use a large apple tree trunk offcut as a feeding area (see pictures on pic's page) which the chipmunks love to gnaw and scratch at, when i first got it i hollowed a small hole in the top but now the chipmunks have opened it up and they go crazy when i feed them
Thankyou to Carl Barnfather for this tip and his wonderful photos on the 'your pics' page.
Intoducing Chipmunks
Introducing chipmunks can be difficult and needs to take time and patience in order for it to work.
Obviously it can be easier to introduce male to female and this can usually be done quite quickly with no problems.
Introducing is best done between younger more sociable chipmunks. If you have an older chipmunk in need of a friend, it would be easier to intoduce a young adult. Indroducing to elders can be very difficult.
First you must keep them in seperate cages and have 1 side of both chipmunks cages touching for a week or more if you feel it needed. Through this they can get used to each other and you can judge how they are reacting toward each other. Through the week you can also swap half of each chipmunks bedding with the other, this helps them get used to eachother scent being in the same cage/bed.
When you come to introduce them the cage they are both moving into should be completly cleaned out and re arranged so that when you put both chipmunks into it they have no dominent scent and they are both entering a 'new' place together.
Keep an eye on them and see how they are together and its a good idea to have a plan incase you need to seperate them quickly. You should expect the odd scuffle between them, this will just be to determine the pecking order and you musnt panic about it, its normal.
If you need any furthur help or have any more tips please email me. I did do this when i introduced Elle to Max, Paddy and their 2 sons and it worked out alright.
Melon
Give your chipmunks some fun with this melon idea from Nick Rochdale...
Box Licking
This is a weird one. Mrs Dale Childs chipmunk, Fidget who may have already spotted around this website was caught licking her nest box haha!
Anyway she had just given birth to 10babies 2weeks earlier so we figured she must need something and is trying to get it from the wood. So we talked to squirrel rehabbers etc and decided to go with cuttle fish and mineral block. After Mrs Dale Childs went out and bought these and gave them to Fidget, Fidget was verry pleased and ate alot of both. Since shes had those she hasnt been licking the nest box. So if you see your chipmunks doing this try the mineral block and cuttlefish. Also i would recommend you buy these anyway for nursing mums its a good source of calcium and minerals, their also a good buy for any chipmunk.
