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CHINCHILLA CARE (Life expectancy is 15-20+ years)



Habitat:



I recommend a 24x24x24 wire cage for up to 2 chinchillas. You can use a solid bottom or a wire bottom. Wire bottoms should be 1/2 in x 1/2 in wire. If using a wire bottom cage provide your pet with a ceramic tile or kiln dried pine board to rest off the wire. The cage wire should be 1" by 1/2" for baby safety.

I do not recommend multilevel cages due to chinchillas possibly falling and potentially sustaining life threatening injuries.

Chinchillas like places to hide, you could provide them with a large coffee can, a wooden house built from kiln dried pine or a heavy duty pvc tube.







Bedding:



Kiln Dried Pine or Aspen bedding can be used. NEVER USE CEDAR it is toxic. Paper litters will cause digestive issues.



Feed, Hay, Treats and Water:



I free feed Mazuri chinchilla. Other acceptable feeds: Oxbow chinchilla, .

There are also some acceptable rabbit feeds: Manno Show Pro Rabbit and Purina Show Rabbit


A second cut timothy hay, grass hay or timothy hay cubes, should be available daily.


Treats should be given vary sparingly: plain cheerios, plain mini shredded wheat, whole oats, rose hips. A very occasional raisin (I only use these if poo is looking small and hard)


Do not feed fresh fruits or vegetables. No sugary treats. Just because a treat is advertised as a treat for chinchillas, doesn't mean it is appropriate to feed them.


Water, I use filtered water, you can also use spring water. Do not used distilled water.



Bathing:



Chinchillas do not take baths with water but should be offered a bath especially made for chinchillas from volcanic ash. They can be given a bath a couple of times a week or as needed. I do not recommend the sand.



Location and Temperature:



The cage should be kept in a dry area, not in direct sunlight and with good but not direct air flow. The temperature should be under 75 degrees in the summer with low humidity(highly recommend air conditioning) and above 50 degrees in the winter.

Chinchillas have very similar hearing to humans, they should not be kept where there will be a lot of noise and commotion. I play a radio in their room 24/7 at a reasonable sound level.



Misc.



Never ever place chinchillas in a pet ball, they will overheat and die.Make sure if you use a wheel you do not use a regular wheel but a special saucer type wheel designed specifically for chinchillas.You can allow your chinchilla to have supervised out of the cage play time, but be aware they can over exert themselves and this can lead to death, so minimize play time and it should always be supervised. Make sure the play area is chew safe.Chinchillas do not need to have companions single animals are perfectly fine. Even animals that have been together can suddenly break out in a fight to the death, so always be prepared with an extra cage.Make sure your chinchilla is drinking water, they can only survive three days without water.Chinchillas have constantly growing teeth, you can offer them pumice stone chewing blocks, pesticide free fresh apple boughs or kiln dried pine blocks,