Chinchillas will be happiest when you provide an environment that meets their needs and doesn't cause unnecessary stress.
By their nature, they don't like loud noises or a lot of movement. Such things will scare them causing them to remain in their cage. Even something seemingly innocent as a rain shower can seem scary to a chinchilla. As such, you'll want to keep them away from young children and other pets.
Although chinchillas can live in a cage, they will be healthiest if given a room or hallway to run in for a few hours each night. This gives them an opportunity to explore and to get some exercise beyond what a wheel can provide. Ideally, their cage should be up against a wall or in a corner. Doing so will provide your chinchillas a sense of safety especially if their sleeping box is also in the corner with the opening facing the wall.
Speaking of wheels, every chinchilla cage should have one. Getting a wheel big enough for a chinchilla can take a little searching, but they do exist. We prefer wheels that are solid so that our chinchillas' feet don't slip through the bars.
Being from the Andes, chinchillas are used to cooler temperatures. In fact, they can die if the temperature gets too high partly because they can't sweat to cool themselves. A good rule of thumb is to add the humidity and temperature together. This number should never exceed 150. We try to keep our chins in a room that doesn't exceed 75 degrees. This gives us a little buffer.
Chinchillas also like to chew on things. This includes doors, baseboards, and wires. Be sure to protect these areas with cardboard, wood, or plastic.
And finally, since chinchillas are nocturnal, you should keep them in an area during the day where they can sleep. No need to keep them in the dark. In fact, daylight will allow them to sense when to go to sleep and when to wake up.
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August 13th, 2007 at 11:46 am
HI!!!
I have a friend who has a chinchilla. I have done a great deal of research on them and was wondering if one that has been badly frightened can be rehabilitated back to being friendly… She was badly traumatized (STILL not sure of exactly WHAT happened) by some of the kids in the family and my friend and his wife are contemplating getting rid of her because she is no longer people friendly… I was thinking about taking her in and rehabilitating her (my husband and I have no kids) if its possible to do so, would you be so kind as to send me anything you can find on the rehabilitation process and the best way to go about it??
Thanks EVER so much!!!
SG
August 10th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Hi Steph,
You won't likely have to worry about your chinchillas being too cold. They do come from fairly cold environments and even domesticated ones should be OK in a basement. More important to consider is whether you can keep the temperature below 75 degrees in the summer. And keeping humidity levels low would be good too since basements tend to be damp.
No sun should be OK, but some way to simulate daylight might keep a chinchilla's internal clock synchronized. Admittedly we haven't read much about doing this so we're only speculating about the need for simulated daylight.
August 10th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Hi!
im thinking about getting a chinchilla. I live in massaschusetts though so the weather gets pretty hott in the summer and pretty cold in the winter. there is a possibility i could keep it in the basement but there wouldnt be any sunlight…but it would be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. what should i do?
July 13th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Hi, I was thinking of getting a chinchilla and l have a question. The best place to keep the cage in my house is the basement, where there is a fair sized easily chinchilla proofed room, and no disturbances during the day while the chinchilla will be sleeping. My question is this: could it be too cold? It gets awfully chilly down there in the winter. Would a chinchilla be okay in temperatures that are too cold for me? Thanks bunches!
June 8th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Hi. Does anybody know where to buy a good wheel. My wheel seems kind of small and I wanted a metal one. Also, I would like to know how to build one. Please respond quickly as possible.