Chinchilla Care - What you need to know before purchasing your new friend

Chinchillas are probably some of the cutest and most loving small mammals you can choose for a pet. While each of them have unique personalities, most are happy to cuddle up in your pocket or perch on your shoulder. I am the proud owner of two adorable chinchillas and have nothing but good to say about them. Outlined below are some of the things you should know to keep your chinchillas happy and healthy.

I must start by saying that before buying a chinchilla you should know that they require quite a bit of responsibility on their owners part. They are not the right pet for a small child or a first time pet owner. They are very delicate and sensitive to abrupt changes.

Before choosing this pet you should know that they are fairly expensive pets, generally going for about 100-200 dollars (USA). This is even more expensive as you MUST BUY AT LEAST TWO. Chinchillas are social creatures that form close bonds with their friends. If you own a single chinchilla he will most likely suffer from severe loneliness (poor little guy). This loneliness can actually lead to lethargic behavior and even death. I guarantee it is worth adopting two. I get hours of entertainment from watching my two chinchillas cuddle and talk to each other. They even use each other as pillows when they nap!

Next, when you're in the store you should pay careful attention to the chinchillas personality. (I should also add that adopting a chinchilla online is also a cheaper alternative and a good way to help a chinchilla in need of a home). You should always handle your potential chinchilla before adopting him. A calm chinchilla should be content to sit in you hands. This personality type will probably be happy on your shoulder/in your pocket like I mentioned earlier. If you're looking for a more energetic pet, that will run around you're play pin/chinchilla-proofed room, you'll want to choose the chinchilla that's hoping around the cage and squirming to get out of your hands to explore. Keep in mind that chinchillas have different sleeping habits then us so their personality might not be too clear if you've just woke them up.

You should also keep in mind that chinchillas do not get the optimal amount of socialization in a pet store. If they're a little shy when you first meet them, they may very easily change. After taking them home wait a few days to hold them. I know this is hard as they're the most adorable things ever but this time period will give them time to adjust to their new surroundings and prevent stress. After the few days you can begin socializing them. With lots of care and treats you can earn the trust of even the shyest chinchilla.

Choosing a cage is very important and can greatly affect the quality of life your chinchilla lives. Chinchillas are very active and love to climb and jump. Because of this a simple rabbit or guinea pig cage will not do. Chinchillas need multiple levels in their home to get the exercise they need. Below I posted a picture of a great cage.

When buying a cage you need to choose one with a solid bottom and shelves. This is VERY important. If the shelves have slits in them or are some kind of wire grid your chinchilla will get hurt. Their thin feet and paws can get caught easily. Please do not let your chinchillas into a cage that will damage their delicate paws.

For my chinchillas I purchased a metal cage with plastic shelves from petco. This is what I suggest. It has the durability of the metal outside with the warmth and safety of plastic on the inside. You should be aware however that chinchillas love to chew. More then anything else in the world. They will most likely chew on your selves and ramps. Although this is annoying, it shouldn't harm them. You can try to prevent this by buying them hundreds of chew toys but the fact is, they are rascals and they'll probably do it anyway. They will appreciate the toys though.

As chinchillas poo ALOT you may want to look for a cage with side guards or a pull out bottom.

Another helpful tip: If you live in an area that gets warm I highly recommend putting some small slabs of granite on the bottom of their cage. When your chinchillas get warm they love to curl up on these slabs to cool down.

Chinchillas are a cleaning intensive pet. They poo about 200 times a day and much of that poo is going to get flung out into your room when they're playing.

My semi-solution to this was to get a large piece of wood to put their cage on. This allows for easy vacuuming and sweeping. Of course if you already have a tiled/wooden floor area this won't be as much of a problem. But beware of putting your chinchillas cage on dark hardwood. The poos will be very difficult to spot.

You'll probably have to clean their cage at least every two days.

When it comes to potty training you're in luck. Chinchillas will automatically pee on pet bedding before peeing on your nice clean shelves. I found this niffy little potty box at petco (I'm sure it can be found at petsmart or any other similar pet stores too) that's shaped to fit in the corner of the cage. I've attached a picture below but basically all you need to do is keep the box stocked with clean bedding and your chinchillas will do the rest. Unfortunately you cannot train them to poo only in one box so get used to vacuuming it up everywhere.

Choice of bedding is very important. You should avoid wood shavings and other bedding like that. The best choice is a fiber pulp bedding. I believe the main supplier of this is "Carefresh" and is available at most local pet stores. This brand comes in large packages that will last you quite some time.

Some people choose to cover the entire bottom of their cage with bedding but I highly recommend buying the corner potty as it will save you a lot of time and money.

Taking a dust bath is probably the cutest thing your chinchillas will do. This is partially because it is so unique and partially because they look so ridiculous. Chinchillas take dust baths to keep the levels of oil in their fur down. With healthy fur they are able to maintain the appropriate body temperature. Dust baths also keep their fur incredibly soft.

There are all sorts of containers for dust baths but the one I use is pictured below. I've found it to be the most durable and mess-free. I also like it because there is just barely enough room for two chinchillas in there and watching them both try to squeeze in there and roll around is hilarious.

Any type of dust labeled for chinchillas is fine to buy, I haven't noticed much of a difference in brands. However there is an interesting brand that sells scented dust. It does make them smell pretty good but only one of my chinchillas will use it. The other guy is much to manly to bathe in cucumber melon dust.

Be sure to only leave the dust bath house in their cage for as long as it takes them to both take a good bath. If you leave it in longer then 10 or 15 minutes they may start to use it as a pee box.

If, after their baths, there is still fine dust and no pee/poo you may be able to reuse it once more. I prefer to give my chinnies a fresh bath but this may help save a little money

Chinchillas should get a bath at least twice a week but would be happy to have a bath every day.

Grooming of these animals is not really required unless you plan to enter them into a competition of some sort. You should note that when a chinchilla becomes scared he will often let loose tufts of fur. If you see your chinchilla with loose tufts don't worry. This often happens when they play fight.

Choosing the right food is very important and can be difficult. I have tried just about every type of chinchilla food and have discovered that most of them are useless. Most of the food you find in pet stores has attractive and fun labeling with words like "food fiesta!". Don't be fooled. This food looks fun and delicious because of all the cute little shapes mixed in but it isn't always the healthiest choice. By feeding your pets an all pellet diet you can also feel less guilty about giving them a bunch of treats!

In my experience, if you buy the "fun" food with all the shapes and treats mixed in with the pellets you're chinchillas diet will be unbalanced. You're chinchillas will most likely pick out all the treats and leave the pellets untouched. The easiest solution is to buy food with only pellets. I know this will sound like a product plug but I'm going to give you my honest advice anyways. The food I've found to be the best and the food I use is "Mazuri" Chinchilla diet. It is all pellets and provides a good healthy balance for your chinchillas. You can buy this brand online or purchase them as Petsmart. The Petco in my area doesn't carry it but yours may.

IMPORTANT: Chinchillas have very very very very sensitive digestive tracts. Because of this you cannot switch their food abruptly. You must gradually mix the current food and the new food until their little bodies get used to the new. When you first buy your chinchillas you should ask what type of food they were being fed at the pet store. Buy a small bag of this food and slowly mix it in with the new.

In addition to slowly changing their diet you should carefully research any other type of food/treat before you give it to them. Even a small amount of some foods can kill a chinchilla.

It is fairly simple to find treats and toys for you chinchillas as there is usually a whole section in the pet store dedicated to fun things for small animals. Each chinchilla likes different things so I can't advise you on exactly which treats to get. Try out whatever they have in the store that catches your eye. You'll soon learn what your new friends like and dislike.

There are some other things you can buy in addition to store bought treats. My chinchillas absolute favorites are dried cranberries and raisins. They go crazy for them! They also love sunflower seeds and almonds. Just make sure that these things are pure natural, unsalted and unsweetened. This is very important. Giving them the nuts with the shells on or half cracked also gives them something fun to chew and destroy.

As far as toys/chew toys go I've found that the small mammal section in most pet stores is severely lacking. They usually have a few small wooden toys, maybe even some with treats hidden inside. These are great but as I've said before, chinchillas looooove to chew. They'll go through these wimpy little hamster/bunny toys fast. If you really want to find good toys, go to the BIRD SECTION. This is the best advice anyone has ever given me for my chinchillas. The bird section is full of perfect toys because birds like to explore and chew just as much as chinchillas. There are countless colorful-wooden-hangy toys to choose from. Just make sure to remove the bell that's on most of them because its annoying and not great for them to be chewing on. My chinchillas favorite wooden chew toys are the ones with the bark still on the wood and I highly recommend trying these with your pets.

My chinchillas also love the small twigs and pieces of wood that come with bark still on them. They like having little chew toys that they can hold in their paws. My chinchillas especially like the apple branches.

CHUBES. CHUBES. CHUBES. Every chinchilla should have the joy of playing with the simple toy that is the Chube. It is probably the simplest of all toys but it is absolutely perfect for chinchillas. A "chube" is a chewable tube. It's is basically an over-sized toilet paper roll with veggie dyed paper on the outside. Chubes are fun to eat and sleep in. The only problem with the Chube is that it rolls off shelves. But because my chinchillas had so much fun with these I found a solution. Simply poke a hole on the very edge of the Chube and attach it to the cage with one of those metal screw on things that almost all hanging toys have. I'll put some pictures below so you can see exactly what I mean.

I've tried out a lot of different houses for my chinnies over the years and have found that there's not much you can do wrong. Just make sure the shelter has more then one exit/entrance so your chinchillas don't feel trapped and they're sure to love it. The funnest houses are of course the ones they can chew on.

My favorite shelter is something I like to call the "rainbow house". It consists of multiple colorful logs of wood held together with wire so you can change the shape of it. It's must easier to see a picture so I'll put one below.

There are a lot of good chinchilla houses out there to I'll also add pictures of some of my other favorites.

The most common house I see is the round plastic hut with the castle like top. While this is cute, it is not the best because it only has one entrance. Before I cut a second hole in it my chinchillas refused to sleep there. If you do decide to buy one and cut a hole in it like I did be sure to smooth the edges.

I'd just like to let everyone know about a great site I've been using to get chinchilla supplies. It's called chinworld.com. I've never had any problems with them and they often sell things extra cheap. If you're planning on buying a large amount of supplies at once this site is a great deal, even with shipping.

Also, I've placed some potentially helpful site advertisements on this page. I hope they help you find what you need :)

I'm assuming that most people visiting this site are anti-fur but I'd just like to remind everyone out there that wonderful, sweet, loving chinchillas are being killed everyday for their fur. Please support any and all rescue programs.

I'm confident that after experiencing the joy of owning a chinchilla you will feel as passionate about the anti-fur movement as I do.

I would like to dedicate this page to Charlie the chinchilla.

I adopted him not knowing that he was sick and he passed away only a few months later. I will always love and miss him. His grave rests upon a peaceful hill overlooking a canyon and I like to think that he's hoping around chinchilla heaven right now.

Please pay close attention to you're chinchillas health. They often show only very slight signs of being unwell. Keep your eyes out for any signs of lethargy or anti social behavior as this is their way of letting you know somethings not right.

Rest in peace Charlie. I miss you.