Question for all chinchilla experts/owners!

[Panda's_mommy]

Ok so Panda is my first hamster and pretty much first furry pet other than dogs and cats. I am so glad I finally got a hamster, he's definitely way more than I expected (just meaning out of all the tons of different animals/pets I've had he is literally one of the tops on my list.....and I've had almost everything you can imagine! I definitely want more smaller furry friends in the future. I thought about guinea pigs in the future but after reading the posts about them and their care and how messy they are compared to hamsters decided against it. I see the chinchilla's at petsmart and they are so cute. I know absolutely nothing about them. So for all you chinchilla experts/owners I have some important questions! First off what is the requirements for a cage as far as dimensions in inches? Second, how messy are they? Are they just as messy as guinea pigs or not as bad???? Can you use carefresh bedding for them? How often do you need to do full cage cleanings? What is their average life span??? I read they cannot be in temps above 80 degrees, if this is true how can you keep them cool in the summer if you can't run the a/c 24/7? I've seen grey and white ones, do their coats change color in the winter or do they come in different colors? What is the best kind of food to get them in the u.s.? How much human interaction do they require each day? What kind of toys are good for them??? Please all replies much appreciated. I think they are so cute!

[BrainGirl]

"I see the chinchilla's at petsmart and they are so cute. I know absolutely nothing about them."

That's the best starting point for chinchillas. My first chinchilla was unplanned. Someone dumped him and I caught him but the SPCA didn't have room so I kept him. I thought he looked like a rabbit so I'd treat him like a rabbit! That lasted less than an hour fortunately because I was a member here and asked for help and chin-experienced people came on and told me I was wrong. Probably saved his life :)

"First off what is the requirements for a cage as far as dimensions in inches?"

Depends how many chinchillas you have. The minimum requirements are pretty small, I think 24" x 24" x 18" for a single chinchilla. But they're very active animals and if you can't have them out of the cage a lot then you might want to go bigger. The Ferret Nation/Critter Nation cages are considered to be excellent units for them. I have one cage that's 30" x 30" x 18" for one (but I intend to upgrade) and one that's 24" x 24" x 72" for a pair.


"Second, how messy are they? Are they just as messy as guinea pigs or not as bad????"

I've never had a guinea pig though I've heard that gp's can smell. Chinchillas are adapted to high, cold desert on mountains so they produce small amounts of concentrated urine. They do however produce their own mountain of droppings! I like to entertain the notion that the mountains chinchillas were found on were made from their own droppings:-P Their droppings though are small, hard, and odourless. Another really neat thing about chinchilla poos is that they are ice cold when they are "laid". Sounds weird but that's the truth.


"Can you use carefresh bedding for them? How often do you need to do full cage cleanings?"

I don't see why not but that would soon get expensive! Most people use aspen shavings. I use cage liners as for guinea pigs. Makes for a lot of laundry but it's easy to keep them clean. I originally started making the cage liners because my second chinny was a rescue who had been kept on wire floors and had sore feet. I was afraid that she had bumble foot but putting her on padded mats saved her. Then I realized that she had potty-trained herself to use the mats as her pee spot so I could put a mat out at play time and she would use that. Win-win!

"What is their average life span???"

15 years or so.


"I read they cannot be in temps above 80 degrees, if this is true how can you keep them cool in the summer if you can't run the a/c 24/7?"

You can't. If you can't keep the temperature down don't get chinchillas. They will have seizures and die.


"I've seen grey and white ones, do their coats change color in the winter or do they come in different colors?"

They come in different colours. The grey with a white belly is called Standard and is the wild colour type. It's the most common. Other colours are called mutations and there are several. It's easy to find sites that show all these different types.


"What is the best kind of food to get them in the u.s.?"

Mazuri is probably easiest for you to get but in your particular area it may be different. DON'T get sucked in by wild claims of health benefits to your chinchilla on the packages of brightly coloured mixtures. That's candy to a chinchilla. The plainer the diet the better. Definitely don't give them anything like nuts or high fat foods, it will eventually kill them, and kill them horribly.


"How much human interaction do they require each day?"

Really depends on the chinchilla. But they all need stimulation and out-of-cage playtime, daily if possible. They're not usually "cuddly" in the sense that a dog or cat is cuddly. They often don't want to be held so much but want to run and jump and explore. It's like having a furry toddler about the house. You have to chin-proof your space just as you would child-proof for a baby, but with the added difference that they can jump 2 or 3 feet straight up and will chew wood, books, plastic, everything :)

"What kind of toys are good for them???"

Wood. Safe wood. You can find lists of safe woods for chinchillas online. Kiln-dried pine is good. Oak is not. NO PLASTIC.

Hope this helps :)

[Panda's_mommy]

It has. They are cute but don't think I'll ever have one. We can't afford to run the air 24/7 in the singer and it can easily get to 84-86 degrees in here. We use, ceiling fans in every room, open windows, when the air outside is cooler. We usually don't turn in the air unless it's 82-84 degrees.

[BrainGirl]

They are cute :) I don't mean to turn you off of chinchillas forever but they really are a different sort of animal; undemanding in some ways, very demanding in others. If you're up to it though they're a blast!

I'll leave you with a picture of my 15 month old girl, Poppet. She was born here :)

[Panda's_mommy]

you didn't turn me off! but the very, very hot summers here in southern, ca. and not being able to run the a/c 24/7 is what made me realize i can't have one. plus my dog hates panda and having a larger fury animal that needs a lot of playtime could turn into a nightmare with dylan (my dog) around the house. accidents can happen and i wouldn't want that. too bad cause they really are so cute! i wouldn't know how to keep one cool if not being able to run the a/c.

[BrainGirl]

Yeah, having another animal about the house could be tricky, especially as chinchillas can be...how can I say this without be banned by the mods? :D They can be a little like small siblings. Or worse.

My Pippa absolutely hates my cat. Not that my cat has done anything to her, she's afraid and runs away, but Pippa stalks her and if she can get in the same room with her she'll attack, usually going for the throat:shock:. If Mischka actually did decide to defend herself though I don't know that Pippa would come out of it so well; her claws are sticky sharp.

I keep them apart for both their sakes. Which is kinda sad because my cat and my first male chinchilla got along famously, even eating dry catnip out of the same bowl!