Author Topic: How long can you leave chipmunks by themselves? (Read 798 times)

Timor · « **on:** July 06, 2010, 05:39:03 PM »

I was just curious about how long time chipmunks can be by themselves, like if you go on a holiday or just a weekend. I havn't got any chipmunks but just for preperation. Also if they cannot be left for very long I thought that people could take care of eachother's chipmunks whilst others are away.

Timor

hollysmithy · « **Reply #1 on:** July 08, 2010, 05:24:03 PM »

hello my daughter looks after mine n i look after hers, havent left them alone really for more than 2 days with the water supply as it dont last long lol but most cases we look after each others just in case

Timor · « **Reply #2 on:** July 08, 2010, 05:44:53 PM »

Ok, just make sure you don't have a family holiday.

Timor

tarcus · « **Reply #3 on:** July 08, 2010, 06:12:06 PM »

48/72 hours as long as they have plenty of food around and a supply of water they will be fine but do not expect them to come running when you get home as they will sulk

if any longer than 72 hours then make sure you have some responsible adults to care for their well being.
Mine regularly have enough food to sustain them for a month in their nest boxes and underground bunkers which they build but if I am going away I always make sure they are topped up in any case

Timor · « **Reply #4 on:** July 08, 2010, 09:10:44 PM »

Ok thank you Tarcus. But I mean more like if when I get chipmunks my parents want to go on a family holiday somewhere for like a week then theoretically if they had a weeks of food and water, they would be fine then? Just to be clear I am not going to leave them alone for 1 week but I just mean in theory, would it work?

chris · « **Reply #5 on:** July 08, 2010, 09:18:45 PM »

I left mine for a week last year but left them loads of food especially dry food which as Tarcus says can store. The only thing I had people do was check the water bottles to make sure they were full. They sulked for about a day when I got home. They soon came round as they did a body search the next day for any treats I may have been hiding lol.

DaveB · « **Reply #6 on:** July 09, 2010, 07:41:38 PM »

Hi Timor

Like Chris and Tarcus said the food isn't the problem due to hoarding and whats buried, it's the water. I was only discussing the same subject with my wife the other night when talking about hols, I came to the conclusion that loads of water bottles and possibly a small water dish will last them possibly a week but then decided it would be best getting someone to check on the water every other day and still leave more water bottles than normal.

Belt and Braces approach

chris · « **Reply #7 on:** July 09, 2010, 10:47:00 PM »

The advantage of leaving more than enough food and only getting someone to check the water is that it can be done without anyone entering the cage or aviary thus preventing any chance of escape and distressing phone calls while you are away. Obviously I also asked the people that changed the water to look to see if there were any obvious signs of illness or injuries.

Regards

Chris

Timor · « **Reply #8 on:** July 10, 2010, 01:28:48 PM »

Wow thank you all for the replies. I am grateful for it all and now understand how long they could be left alone.

Thank you all

Timor

Timor · « **Reply #9 on:** July 11, 2010, 11:10:09 AM »

I have another question concerning this topic. How much water is it that you put out because you say lots of water but how much is that?

chris · « **Reply #10 on:** July 11, 2010, 11:35:00 AM »

Well thats kind of a mathematical question.

You need to note how much water your chips drink over a given period of time multiply that by the length of time you plan to be away = the answer of the minimum amount of water you should leave + at least 50% extra. Even so, better to get someone to go in regularly to check there is enough water and make sure there are no other visible problems.

Regards

Chris

tarcus · « **Reply #11 on:** July 11, 2010, 11:44:22 AM »

A 40 gallon drum with a feeder hose to the top of a water bottle would do the trick

depends as well as to the heat within the house if they are inside there are many variables so the exact amount is unsure but i would say if they drink a bottle every two days then you are going away for 7 days count it as eight days and add an extra one so that would be

5 bottles or 6 depending on how paranoid you would be when you went away.

Timor · « **Reply #12 on:** July 11, 2010, 12:51:27 PM »

Ok thanks.

DaveB · « **Reply #13 on:** July 11, 2010, 03:32:18 PM »

40 gallon drum, LOL, Tarcus you crack me up

jennyb · « **Reply #14 on:** July 11, 2010, 06:31:27 PM »

Something to bare in mind for people with outside chippies, is in summer the water will evaporate in the heat and sun and in the winter the water will freeze so that does make leaving water bottles for the time you are away difficult if noone is there to change the water regularly.

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