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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September 3rd, 2007 at 12:28 am
I have 2 cats and they do get alone with my chin he jumps on her back and lays on her and the other cat he just runs after it really kinda of funny. When he see the cat he has to get out of his cage and they run after each other. MY chins cage is all ways open he comes and goes as he pleases. The only time I lock up the cage is when I not going to be home for a few hours. If you call my chin he will come when he is called. The only thing that I worry about is he like to have a caption crunch. he will set right bye my daughter when shes eating at just wait for one or two to fell and he takes it and runs with it to eat it. I all so trained my chin to use the letter and he does use it. Takes a lot of time but you can train them they are very smart and very happy little animals.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Strider,
We generally advise against mixing chinchillas with other pets. Some have had success, but there really is no way to know ahead of time.
August 20th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I have two Newfoundlands and want a chinchilla. My dogs are well behaved and will not bug anything small and furry if you tell them it's a "baby". Should I still be concerned with it's safety and well being?
August 15th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Hi saving Grace, my chinchilla is a class pet. He has a cage at school and at home, I take him back and forth. He had become it seemed agitated and did not want me to touch him. I found out that one of the parents was teasing him and chasing him around the cage. That school year ended and he went home for the summer. It took a lot of patiences and soft touching and voice to bring him back to his sweet self.
August 13th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Saving Grace,
Sorry, but we're not going to be much help in this matter. We haven't had any experience with such a situation so anything we say would be pure speculation.
But we do wish you success and hope everything works out!