Chinchillas are fantastic pets. And as they are nocturnal, they are ideal for working people. Although they are not usually very cuddly as such, they do enjoy human company and interact easily with their owner when tame. My experience is that this also applies if they live in pairs or trios (as in my case). Chinchillas are very expensive to buy and so is the equipment. But once all is set up, they are incredibly cheap to keep. And here in the UK, there is now also the possibility fo having chinchillas insured for veterinary cost, so not even those costs have to be a burden. However, chinchillas live very long (15 to 20 years is not uncommon) and are therefore a long term commitment. Very houseproud owners would not be good owners either due to their urge to gnaw everything and due to their habit of leaving small poops everywhere. If however you accept this commitment and enjoy good entertainment, then the chinchilla might just be the right pet for you! Chinchilla Diary: the story of Roxie, our chinchilla baby, from the day she was born |
Chinchillas are fabulous pets, but they are exotic animals and if you would like to keep any, you do need some specialist knowledge to keep them happy and healthy. This short guide gives you the basics, but you will need to do further research on this site as well as on many other useful sites (LINKS can be found on this site). BEHAVIOUR Chinchillas are nosy animals. Everything has to be investigated and tasted. They are extremely agile and will jump onto everything within their reach. This makes them very entertaining to watch, but also makes them very destructive. As the chinchillas' natural main preditors are birds of prey, they are instinctively weary of anything approaching from above. This means that they do not like being picked up from above (they need to be scooped up from underneath and the sides and they do not like being restrained (they much prefer sitting on your hand). Chinchillas are sociable animals. In the mountains of South America they live in family groups. This is why I do t like seeing a chinchilla on its own. Two should be the minimum. Male/male and female/female is fine. Male/female is of course great too. But you either need to be happy with any offspring (keeping them or finding them good homes) or you need to have the male neutered.This is much safter than it used to be as there are new anaesthetics available these days. But the operation should still only be carried out by a specialist vet for exotic animals. Chinchillas are nocturnal. They must not be disturbed during the day. They need to have a nest box in their cage, where they can retreat from everyday noise and activity. |
Chinchilla Short Guide |
Chinchillas make great pets - but you have to understand them! |
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Cara and Roxie |
Chinchillas are fabulous pets, but they are exotic animals and if you would like to keep any, you do need some specialist knowledge to keep them happy and healthy. This short guide gives you the basics, but you will need to do further research on this site as well as on many other useful sites (LINKS can be found on this site). BEHAVIOUR Chinchillas are nosy animals. Everything has to be investigated and tasted. They are extremely agile and will jump onto everything within their reach. This makes them very entertaining to watch, but also makes them very destructive. As the chinchillas' natural main preditors are birds of prey, they are instinctively weary of anything approaching from above. This means that they do not like being picked up from above (they need to be scooped up from underneath and the sides and they do not like being restrained (they much prefer sitting on your hand). Chinchillas are sociable animals. In the mountains of South America they live in family groups. This is why I do t like seeing a chinchilla on its own. Two should be the minimum. Male/male and female/female is fine. Male/female is of course great too. But you either need to be happy with any offspring (keeping them or finding them good homes) or you need to have the male neutered.This is much safter than it used to be as there are new anaesthetics available these days. But the operation should still only be carried out by a specialist vet for exotic animals. Chinchillas are nocturnal. They must not be disturbed during the day. They need to have a nest box in their cage, where they can retreat from everyday noise and activity. |
HOUSING As mentioned above, chinchillas are very destructive - in fact they are in my experience the most destructive of all pets I have had so far. This means that a cage has to be very strong, usually made of metal. The chinchilla cage should be the biggest you can afford and accomodate. 90cm x 50cm x 90cm is however in my opinion the absolute minimum for one or two chinchillas. However big your cage is though, chinchillas should still be allowed free play time in one room on a daily basis. They should not be given the run of more than one room for several reasons: 1. They will gnaw anything within their reach. And there is not much which is out of their reach... Chinchillas jump high, fit into the tiniest spaces and are very fast and agile. You will need to chinchilla proof that room by encasing any free |
wires, filling or obstructing any gaps and by removing any dangerous objects they could hurt themselves on or eat. Chinchillas will eat anything they can. That includes carpet, wallpaper, even the walls themselves...! Unless you are able and you want to dedicate your whole place to chinchillas and turn it into some kind of giant cage, keep the chinchillas to one room only. 2. Even a very tame and "well trained" chinchilla can sometimes be very hard to catch. Getting hold of them when in one room is hard enough, you do not want to chase it around a whole house or flat! The cage: make sure that your cage does not contain any wire shelves and floor. Serious accidents have happened when chinchillas got a foot caught in the wire (i.e.amputation of a leg, death)! Take wire shelves out or cover them with hardboard or wood. Bedding: most people use wood shavings. Make sure you do not use cedar as it is toxic! Pine is ok if nothing else is available. I personally use finely chopped straw that is dust extracted and treated (called Russel Bedding). I find it works well and poses no dangers to my small animals. Furniture: shelves should be wood. Untreated pine is fine (DIY bookshelves are great). They should have a nest box, no bedding is needed in it. They also need toys to gnaw like wooden parrot toys, toilet paper roll, bark, twigs, sisal ropes, straw plaits etc. Make sure the toys are safe in any way. FOOD Chinchillas are terribly easy and cheap to feed. All they need is special chinchilla pellets (available in most pet shops now) and lots of hay. Please do not use any other kind of pellets like rabbit or guinea pig. Although it may not have an immediate bad effect, it could have long term effects are they are not specifially formulate for the needs of the chinchilla. Treats like apple (fresh and dry), raisins, greens, commercial treats etc. can be given, but only in literally minute amounts. One small piece of apple a day for example is more than enough. Some people do not give any greens at all, it is down to you to find out exactly what your chinchillas likes and can cope with. Although it is very easy to feed them, it is very hard to not overfeed them with treats - but it is absolutely vital that you resist. They need of course fresh water daily. HEALTH Chinchillas need daily sand bath (available from pet shops) to keep their fur in good condition. Sand baths are not a luxury for chinchillas, but an absolute necessity! A daily bath is ideal, every second day is also fine. Chinchillas on the right diet with plenty of exercise and a clean cage do not generally suffer from too many ailments. One problem that many have though, is a lack of calcium. And it seems that not even proper chinchilla pellets cover the need of calcium for some chinchllas. The signs are white teeth (instead of yellow or orange) and/or fits. Ask your vet to recommend a suitable calcium supplement. Fits can also have other reasons like stress, genetic etc. Whenever your chinchilla acts strange, stops eating and drinking or if anything at all is unusual, take it straight to an exotic vet to assess the situation. MY FINAL WORD |
My custom made cage, which is 1.50m x 0.70m x 0.90m. |
Chinchillas are fantastic pets. And as they are nocturnal, they are ideal for working people. Although they are not usually very cuddly as such, they do enjoy human company and interact easily with their owner when tame. My experience is that this also applies if they live in pairs or trios (as in my case). Chinchillas are very expensive to buy and so is the equipment. But once all is set up, they are incredibly cheap to keep. And here in the UK, there is now also the possibility fo having chinchillas insured for veterinary cost, so not even those costs have to be a burden. However, chinchillas live very long (15 to 20 years is not uncommon) and are therefore a long term commitment. Very houseproud owners would not be good owners either due to their urge to gnaw everything and due to their habit of leaving small poops everywhere. If however you accept this commitment and enjoy good entertainment, then the chinchilla might just be the right pet for you! Chinchilla Diary: the story of Roxie, our chinchilla baby, from the day she was born |
Cara. |
