Help with my Chipmunk Housing

[Teresa]

I've ordered an aviary to keep chipmunks in it will arrive in 2 weeks.
Has anyone got any advice on nest boxes. My particular concern is creating a safe place for them to hibernate in come winter. Should I privide something for them to dig in and how do I best do this.
Any tips and advice, what to put in ect
The aviary is 4ft by 6ft with an attached 4ft by 4ft shed that also acts as an safety door.
Many thanks

[sarah-J]

Hello Teresa,

Welcome to the site, I bet your really excited, and hope that you get some soon. Did you put your name on the list at addlington, I'm fourth on the list and hope it's not too long before I get the call, I Have bought a white male today, so he's going to be lonely, but fingers crossed not to long.

My aviary is 5ft x 3ft, with a porch on the end, I sectioned one end off and have built a base round the bottom on the inside, so I could put bark in it, It used to fall through the mesh. I am now adding more wood to the base so that I can add more bark and a section for some soil. At the mo it is only about 12inches high, but will make it at least 3ft deep. Also will make the front section removable for when I change the bark. It has a flagged base so they can't dig any further.

you can get finch boxes or just use bird boxes, they only need a small hole to fit through, I made mine so that I could have a hinged lid to spy on them. and fixed them with a hook so that I can swap them when cleaning. You will need a box for each chip, but you will find that the outside ones tend to all sleep in the same box and store food in the others.

Will you be planning on letting them use the shed also?

Hope this was some help

Sarah

[whistler6752]

Hi Teresa, the best and safest way to keep outdoor Chipmunks, is to not let them hibernate underground. The best way to do this is,to not give them any more than about 6 or 8 inches of soil or bark in the bottom of the pen. You can put a deep tub of soil in for them to dig in during the summer, but take it out before hibernating time. Make sure that all tubs and heavy objects, logs and the like are standing on the base of the pen,so the chips cant dig underneath, if they can dig underneath and they remove all the soil it will come down and squash them. Now for nest boxes, they need to be 12 inch cubes, this allows them to make a big enough nest to keep themselves safe from frost when they hibernate, if indeed they do, for not all chips will . Good luck with yours , Mike.

[sarah-J]

Hi mike,

thats a good idea about only having a small amount in, after listening to everyone waiting for them to come out of hibernation. I will reduce the amount before the cold weather starts, as none of mine over the years have hibernated and i wouldn't like to not see them for months on end. I'm only giving them  more playing area, so they can dig deeper rather than along which mine could only do, makes it more fun when I can hide their treats.

All the help is great for all of us no matter how Long we have had chips, it's a learning curve all the time and when we get it right they make great friends.

Sarah.

[jennyb]

Hi Teresa, i use bird nest boxes for mine, my first box was made and it was quite deep but unfortunately the Chipmunks chewed it up, they like to burrow in the hay, cockatil boxes are probably a good size, you will need one for each chipmunk but you may find several will share like mine do, even smaller boxes they often share aswell as cram with food. How many Chipmunks are you getting? I put hay and recycled paper pets at home bedding which they like aswell as give them tissues and leaves to make their own bedding, they do like making their own nest. Mine get extra bedding from chewing up cardboard kitchen rolls. However much bedding i put in their boxes they always add their own.

[Teresa]

Great advice thank you. I'm thinking of lining the base with a small layer of bark and perhaps provide a pot full of earth  to dig in.
Is there a certain type of bark I should use. When I went to B&Q they had a few types. I was thinking of the children's play bark as this will not be toxic.....??
Sarah I was not aware of a waiting list at Adlington I'm probably some way down, think I may be waiting some time unfortunately.

I would like 2 females to start with and see how I get on. Then maybe get a male later to have a go at breeding.
How many would you suggest would I be able to keep in an aviary 6ft by 4ft.

Thanks for all your time
Teresa

[tarcus/Kevin]

 :)6X4 Would house three chippies quite comfortably, if you are thinking of breeding later then I personally would try to get two females and one male from this years litters and get them at the same time so they are used to each other, otherwise trying to introduce the male next year will be fraught with trouble, chippies tend to be teratorial and the only really safe time to introduce a male to two females would in my opinion be on the exact day they are calling for mates otherwise it is a long drawn out proces to get them used to each other over a period of weeks.
I think if your pet shops are anything like the ones round here (north east) you will be hard pushed to find one female let alone two as most professional breeders tend to keep females for their breeding programme.
You may be able to source females on here later on or perhaps in the local/national papers or on-line add mags such as pre-loved.
I find most bark is quite safe as they tend  to know if they are able to eat it or not.
Wishing you the best of luck in your search.

[sarah-J]

hi Teresa,

I use the small bark from b&q, ( the big bark is too chunky and not as nice for them to dig through)  I keep the spare in a old dustbin and change the base about 3 times a year. Don't forget to put a small wooden base around the edge as when they dig they will pile it all up and it falls through the mesh.

When I set up my aviary I got 2 males and 3 females all within a week of each other, also the same age and they all got on fine, not long after I accidentally stood on dash one of the males and he died, that is why i section of the bark so the floor is clean and flat where i walk in to feed them etc. So snowey was left with 3 females and when it came to season time, boy did he have his work cut out!

they all had litters, with babies being born days or a week apart and they kept them all in the same house, only the first litter from one of the mums, caused me to worry as she tried to move them. And only twice did i see that the mums ate a baby, i never saw the dad do it, But when they had the babies they made him leave the nest, I guess not enough room for 3 females and the babies, at one time I had 7 babies.

You should always have more females than males, and you have to think of what you will do with the babies, so as Tarcus says 2 females and 1 male would be a good choice.  Addlington will get females in but from selling my babies they are always desperate for females, also they sell females as a pair so they don't fight.  Also try to get the male from a different family as I was told they shouldn't interbreed, but maybe some one else could let me know also as knowing if they come form a different family is always a worry, which makes it difficult to get them at the same time.

Fingers crossed we both hear good news soon.

Sarah