Chinchilla Care While You Are Away

It is inevitable that you will need to leave your chinchillas unattended while you travel. The ideal is to have someone come to your home and check in on them as well as to replenish food and water.

But for short trips, you can do without a babysitter. When you go away for a few days, fill up your chinchillas' food dish with pellets. If the food bowl you use isn't very big, consider adding another full bowl to the cage before you leave.

Also, put extra hay cubes in the cage. Put enough in to last while you're away plus a little extra to provide a buffer in case your plans should change. And you'll need to give them their fortified seed mix. They'll eat all of this in one sitting so don't give them more than double the normal amount.

Top up the water to a level you think is sufficient given your expected time away. Chinchillas don't drink too much so most water bottles can hold enough to last a short trip.

If you keep your chinchillas in a spare room, leave the door open while you're away. This will ensure good air circulation. The exception to this is if you are in a warm climate and need to ensure cool temperatures via a window A/C unit.

In closing, it you are thinking about taking your chinchilla with you, please read our post on the issues with traveling with your chinchilla.