Chinchilla Cages: As chinchillas love to run around, choosing as large of a cage as you can accommodate comfortably will make your chin very happy. Nevertheless a cage shouldn't be no smaller than 24"wide x 24"deep X 18" high as this will allow a single chinchilla some running room. If you are looking at breeding chinchillas make sure that the wire mesh on the cage is no larger than 1" x 1/2", for babies are great escape artist at can get through anything larger than that. Most breeders and other chin enthusiast suggest using a flat bottom cage, with a wire bottom cage chins have had the tendency to get their feet caught in the floor especially babies.
Wood Shavings: We have found that there are many types of wood shavings out there to use for small pets but beware that not all wood shavings are safe for your chinchilla. We personally only use kiln dried pine shavings, we have used in the pass kiln dried aspen. If the shavings do not say kiln dried beware that the shavings may still have moisture in them that can breed mold and or other harmful toxins that are not good for your chinchilla. Do not use Cedar Shavings, they are toxic to chinchillas causing them respiratory problems. Beware not too use any shavings that have been made from treated lumber.
Toys: It is important that chinchillas have adequate items to chew on as their teeth continually grow. We often supply untreated wood blocks or sticks, pumice blocks, and cuttlebones for this purpose.
Food: A good diet is extremely important to a chinchilla living a long healthy life. We use Mazuri Chinchilla Diet and Purina Advanced Nutrition. Other good feed brands that are used by breeders across the country include Tradition, Oxbow, and Evergreen, Purina Advance Nutrition. We give our chins a daily serving of fresh timothy and/or alfalfa hay that we purchase directly from Oxbow Hay in Nebraska. We also provide our chins with an alfalfa hay cube which helps not only with their digestive needs but with their desire to chew on stuff as well. You can never give a chinchilla too much hay for it is the best food for their digestive needs. Always be sure with any food, timothy hay, or alfalfa that it is fresh, free of mold, mildew, and toxic weeds.
Treats: Do not give your chinchilla too many treats. We usually give ours a piece of dried raisin. A lot of chinchilla ranchers give their chins sunflower seeds, and a supplement made of rolled oats. Too many treats can cause diarrhea. Chinchilla's can not digest large amounts of oil in nuts or corn, if fed either of these on a regular basis could lead to an untimely death.
Water: Chinchillas need access to fresh chlorine free water at all times . It is important to change their water regularly and keep the water bottles clean so as not to breed bacteria. We use filtered tap water using a purifier like "PUR".
Dust Bathing: Offer chinchillas a dust bath at least once a week. You can use many types of containers form Pyrex, Rubbermaid, Bread Pans, and etc.. Remove the dust after about 5 minutes otherwise the chinchilla will soil the dust with droppings and/or urine. We use Blue Sparkle dust for most of our chinchillas and Blue Cloud for the chinchillas that we are showing.
Temperature: Chinchillas originate in their natural habitat from a cool dry atmosphere, and thus thrive in such an atmosphere like that. We keep our chinchilla room at around 65 degrees, the humidity no higher than 85, but the lower the humidity the better (The humidity percentage and the temperature degree should always equal 150 or less). Chinchillas will generally not survive in temperatures over 75 degrees for extended periods of time. If kept over 80 degrees chinchillas will suffer a heat stroke and die. Please be aware of this in the summer months. Keep your chinchilla in a cool place, being careful to avoid drafts; and it is important to have good exchange of air in the room. We also recommend the use of an air filter system like the ionic breeze to help with odors, dander, and dust. If you are not able to provide this type of atmosphere for a chinchilla then you should not consider having one for a pet.
Final Thoughts: Having a chinchilla for a pet is a wonderful experience, they are exceptional animals with great personalities and provide hours of enjoyment by just watching them. The are very social animals and therefore do better in groups verses alone. If you choose to have just one chinchilla it will desire your attention and interaction with it on a regular basis. If tamed properly chinchillas have been known to sit on ones shoulder for extended periods of time, but please remember that chinchillas are not like cats or dogs, and generally don't like to be petted too much. Having a chinchilla can be very joyous relationship, they will even learn their names the more time you spend with them. If you choose to bring one into you life remember that it is a long term relationship, for if taken care of properly, they can live 15 to 20 years. We hope you have found this information helpful in your decision of bringing a chinchilla into your family. Below you will find several websites that we have found helpful in regards to taking care of and breeding chinchillas, just remember to respect that every one has their own opinion on what has worked for them in regards to raising their chinchillas.
If you have more questions regarding chinchillas feel free to contact us at chenlouchins@windstream.net or give Louie a call at 405-570-5482. We will do our best to answer your questions or direct you to someone who may be able to help you.
OUR FAVORITE SITES ON CHINS:
Chin-Cross Calculator Silverfall Chinchilla Breeding , a cool site where you can put in the different Chinchilla Mutations and see what kind of baby chin you could possibly have.
The Chinchilla Club , a wonderful online club of Chinchilla Lovers and Breeders.
Oxbow Hay Company , the best and freshest hay we have found delivered to your door directly from the grower.
Underhill Chinchillas Resource Guide , a great resource for questions you may have concerning breeding chinchillas.
Chinchillas.com , a wonderful site with information on chins, chinchilla auction, a place to purchase supplies and other chinchilla related items.
ChinWorld.com , a great place to purchase the things your chinchilla needs.
Ryerson Chinchilla Ranch , is one of the top chinchilla ranches in the U.S. located in Ohio, they are a great source for chinchilla supplies also.
Mazuri , the exotic animal feeding resource, we have been using Mazuri feed for our chinchillas for over four years.
Sooner Chinchillas , a hobby breeder in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area that specializes in quality ebony and violets.
BOOKS ON CHINS WE RECOMMEND:
Breeding and Caring for Chinchillas, by Egon Mosslacher, T.F.H. Publications, Inc.
A New Owner's Guide to Chinchillas, by Audrey Pavia, T.F.H. Publications, Inc.
After Forty Years.... Alice Kline Talks About Chinchilla, by Alice Kline
WE RECOMMEND CAGES AND SUPPLIES FROM THE FOLLOWING:
Ryerson Chinchilla Ranch , is one of the top chinchilla ranches in the U.S. located in Ohio, they are a great source for chinchilla supplies and cages also.
kwcages.com, a great resource for chin supplies and cages, especially replacement bottles.