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 crepuscular, 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.
Entries (RSS)
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:00 pm
I'm getting a chinchilla, and I did a lot of research about the climate and a chinchilla but I'm not sure a chinchilla could live where I live, in Alaska. Do you think it could?
August 2nd, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Monee,
Assuming you plan to keep your chinchilla indoors, we don't see a problem with having one in Alaska. The same issues apply as they do in any other location. They need a quiet area during the day to sleep, a place to run around at night, cool temperatures below 75, and protection from direct sunlight.
August 6th, 2006 at 1:18 am
How big do fully-grown chinchillas get?
August 13th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
Why can chinchillas not bathe in water? This has baffled me for years and I have 2 chinchillas!
August 13th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Danny,
What we've read is that chinchillas lack the type of hair that many other mammals have that facilitate proper drying. As such, a wet chinchilla will have fur that remains moist enough to allow fungus (ringworm) to grow.
September 16th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Chinchillas can vary. I have 7 chinchillas and their weights range from 450 to 625 grams. I have seen some breeders whose chinchillas are the same size as mine and I've seen another who didn't have a chinchilla under 650 grams. They can get up to 12" long (not including tail).
September 16th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Danny D:
I have tried to get an answer for that, but can only related an experience I had with a wet chinchilla. My son had put our first chinchilla in the bathroom to play but forgot to put the lid down on the toilet. We collected her tunnels and boxes to play with and went back to the bathroom to find her trying to get out of the toilet. That poor girl shivered like you wouldn't believe. I wrapped her in towels and I put her in my shirt. I used baby blankets as well but nothing I did stopped her shivering, even after she was dry (which took a long time). So I would have to say that is probably one reason to keep them from getting wet.
December 10th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Can chinchillas get too cold? I was keeping mine in a room with no heat and it got down to 18 one night. I live in a mobile home in central Alabama.
December 10th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
Donna,
Yikes! 18 degrees is really cold. Chinchillas are built for the cold, but that's too cold even for them. Now a group of them huddled together in a small enclosed space can probably deal with temperatures that low, but you really should look at keeping them in the high-60's range. Remember also that they're nocturnal which means they'll be up and about at night when the temperatures are usually the lowest.
April 27th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
How do you know if a chinchilla is stressed or not? Or bored and just not up to do stuff?
April 29th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Hi, I can tell when my chinchilla gets stressed he makes this noise like a dog whining. Also they say their hair will come out.
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.
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!
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?
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 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 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!
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 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 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.
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.
September 9th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
hi, im getting my baby male chin in a week and im having abit of trouble working out where to put the cage. i know they do not like drafts, and you cant put them where it would be uncomfortably warm. it doesnt get very windy where i live and i wondered if it would be better to put him under the window, where it would be cooler but maybe a slight breeze now and again, or on the opposit side of the room where on the night it may get warm. please help me! thanks, Kimmey.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Kimmey,
Sorry for taking so long to answer you. Hopefully you've figured out where to put the cage by now. If you provide your chinchilla with some protection against the breeze (like a wooden house) that should be fine. Better to keep your chinchilla cool by the window. Make sure the cage isn't exposed to direct sunlight though as that will really warm it up.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:18 am
Strider,
I've got two English Mastiffs (similar temperment) and two chinchillas. They get along very well. The dogs are interested in them but very calm. They want to be friends so they have learned to stay very calm when they are around. Plus, chinchillas are WAY too quick for a dog that size especially if they dont think of them as food. The dogs love to push their noses into their cage. The chinchillas will run up and greet them and nibble on their noses. I would sugggest letting them all do a lot of smelling and sniffing between the cage bars before letting them all run loose. I would also fully excercise the dogs before their first full on interaction. Give the chinchilla time to settle in as well before introducing the dogs into the mix. It can be stressful being in a new environment without mysterious drool falling through the cage bars =) I trust my dogs completely but I still dont let the chinchillas run around without me being close by, you never know….
Hope this helps!!
August 26th, 2008 at 3:06 am
I just bought my first chinchilla and I read that they like cooler temperatures not to exceed 75degrees. What would be to cold. My room is like an ice box and is the coldest in my house. It ranges from 68-71 degrees. Is that ok? I had a ferret a long time who got sick because it was to cold. Also do chinchillas like those swings that ferrets and sugar glider use? Or any type of pouch or something?
August 26th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Lacey,
I think it'd be safe to say that a chinchilla can handle any cool temperature you can handle so I wouldn't worry about it being too cold in your room. Some chinchillas like hammocks, but I haven't seen them use swings. They do like wooden perches though.
August 28th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I'm getting a chin pretty soon, but I'm still undecided as to where to place his cage. I was thinking I would put it in my bedroom. The only problem: my small dog (a Yorkie) likes to sleep on my bed at night. Would it be a bad idea to have my Yorkie and chin in the same room?
August 28th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Emelle,
Unless you're a deep sleeper, your chinchilla is likely to keep you awake at night. Chinchillas are active at night and sleep during the day. They're particularly noisy when they run in their wheel.
October 27th, 2008 at 8:06 am
I just bought two chinchillas and a very large cage. The cage is too large to bring inside our house so I planned on keeping it cool with large tins filled with water and then frozen but today I realised that the tins are doing almost nothing for the temp. in the cage. I decided to move them into a smaller cage and bring them inside. Will this stress them out if I do this every time it gets hot during the day?
October 27th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Ane-mie,
Moving your chinchillas between cages could easily stress them. Is there no way to dismantle the large cage to bring it inside?
October 27th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Unfortunately not. But won't careful handling in this way at least cause them less stress than the heat? Maybe they will accept this as a routine when they see I am moving them to a more comfortable place?