Playtime advice for a first time chin owner

Hi all,

My name is Heath, I joined this website to get information on how to properly care for a chinchilla. I have never owned or took care of one before, I did research about them though. I was hoping to get some information from experienced previous kit owners on how to tame and bond well when you meet your chin.

I'm getting one from a breeder, they are rare in New Zealand and the breeder doesn't sell them to anyone. I have ordered a suitable cage, wood chewing toys (natural wood), apple and kiwi fruit sticks, 12" exercise wheel, dust bath, tunnel, bed house, hideout hut, bedding, corner litter, water bottle, hay and pellets. Basically all the necessities they need. I also placed the floor with a fleece, many has recommended it. Given the cage spacing is 0.5", should I also be placing a cover on the ledges and ladder? The spacing for the ladder is close to an inch (0.7-0.8").

I have read that chinchillas are mostly active at night, which is a good thing since I sleep late and I'm free at night. I wasn't able to find an answer on when to start letting your chin out, is it from day 1 or it's better to let her/him out after we've bonded? Many say it's best to let them out for 1-2 hours and others for 45 minutes. Given that I'm free at night, should I be aiming for the 1-2 hour+ or is that too extreme? I know the little cuties are smart and follow a routine, which is why I thought I'd ask about their playtime schedule.

Another thing I had in mind is how to introduce an exercise wheel to your kit. The breeder will notify me when to collect once the kit is weaned (approx. 8-10 weeks old). Should I wait until s/he is a little older to let him/her run on it?

The place I intend for my chin to play in will of course be chin proofed. It's very safe, no holes or anything like that. Quite spacey as well. I thought I'd decorate the place with few chew toys, tunnel, exercise wheel and have his/her cage in the room for food and water purposes. Is there anything I should keep in mind or have missed?

I'd appreciate any information, advice or an informative link.

Thanks

First of all, a 12" wheel is way too small for a chin, you want one 15" or larger, 14" is the absolute smallest if your chin is not on the large side (some chins can grow to be over 1,000g). Chinchilla's backs are not meant to bend backwards like most other rodents, so running on a wheel that causes their back to arch backwards will lead to back injuries over time. Some good wheels include, the Metal Flying Saucer Wheel, the Chin Spin, and the Silver Surfer. You can also try making one using a large feed pan as the running wheel part, just keep in mind those are only a quiet as the bearings you use.
As for when to give the chin the wheel, you really want to wait until it's full grown, so 6-12 months, and monitor the chin, some get a wheel and go nonstop until they drop at first, and they can end up loosing weight, both of which can be dangerous. Kit need to use all their energy for growing, so you also don't want to do playtime just yet, or at least limit the playtime to about 5 minutes at most a day until it's 6 months as well. That does not mean you can't hold it, just no more then a few minutes of actual running around like a crazy chin. Kits don't regulate their blood sugar levels as well as adults and can end up with a sudden drop in blood sugar which can cause seizures and death. Most kits also don't know when to stop, and can become exhausted.

It really depends on the chin's personality how soon to take it out. Some chins are very outgoing and brave, others are very shy or nervous, and others are everything in between. It does take most chins at least a week to settle in to a new home though, so start by just working on getting the chin use to you. If you end up having to chase the chin you are just going to be hurting the bond. One thing with getting a kit is you have have months to work on a bond before letting it out to run free, so by the time it's old enough for playtime you should have a good bond formed.

Depending on your chin, once it's old enough I would still only do about an half an hour to an hour a day. They are like little kids at a playground, with most you have to tell them when it's time to go home and go to bed so they don't exhaust themselves. You can do longer if the chin doesn't go crazy the whole time, like for example some hop around for a few minutes, then sit and chew stuff for awhile, then hop around some more. Where as others are just nonstop from the moment they leave the cage, and will run and play until they drop. You do also want to keep in mind that longer play times also can cause you to not pay attention. Chins are like toddlers, they need to be supervised at all times, even in a room you think is chin proofed. Chins have died because people decided to leave the room for a moment or where doing something else in the room and didn't notice the chin eat something or go somewhere they thought was not accessible. Even an adult chin can get through spaces larger then an inch, and chins can easily jump 5'.

Back to a couple other things you mentioned, fleece is only safe so long as the chin doesn't chew it. A few test nibbles are normal, but if it's chewing holes in the fleece you have to take it away and use bedding instead. A small amount of fleece will likely pass, but if enough is eaten it can still cause a blockage. Most chins don't chew fleece though, it doesn't shred like other fabric so it's boring, lol.

You don't want ladders in the cage, they are just accidents waiting to happen, they can catch a foot or toe and end up breaking it. Chins really don't need ladders anyway, they are rock hoppers, so ledges and perches are what you want. You also want to make sure there is nowhere the chin can fall more then about 6" as a kit, or about a foot as an adult, a fall of that height can hurt or kill the chin. So either have shelves and ledges over lapping, or have fleece hammocks to catch the chin.

When you say the cage spacing is half an inch, do you mean the floor too? You don't want the chin to be sitting on wire bars or mesh if that is what you mean. If the floor is not solid they can get toes caught, and also standing on metal mesh or bars hurts and can cause foot issues. So if the ledges in the cage are wire too, I would cover them.
If you could link a pic of the cage (either to the website showing it or take a pic and use a photo share site, the forum has issues attaching pics) that would also be very helpful to give you suggestions.

They aren't truly only awake at night, they sleep the most during normal hottest and coldest parts of the day (though you should be keeping a constant temp in the room). So they are generally awake in the early morning, asleep until afternoon, up in the afternoon, then asleep again until the evening, awake in the evening, sleep in the middle of the night. Each chin seems to have their own schedule though and will adapt to your schedule to some extent too. For example if you get up at a specific time or get home everyday at a specific time they generally will try to be up then too to greet you. They are also up for a few minutes at a time throughout the day to get a bite to eat, a drink of water, or to go pee or poop then go back to sleep.

One thing you didn't mention was getting an AC unit, I'm not sure how hot it gets down there, but chins need to have a temp below 75F and below 50% humidity. Ideally you want it below 70F and below 40% humidity. Chins don't sweat (no sweat glands), are wearing a thick fur coat year round, and unlike a cat or dog their fur coat doesn't thin for summer. Temps above 75F can cause the chin to over heat and die. They can handle cold very well though, so long as their water doesn't freeze.

You also didn't mention what kind of bedding you got, not all are safe for chinchillas, the safest are pine or aspen shavings. You also don't want anything plastic in the cage, it will get chewed, so if anything you got is plastic you'll want to replace it.

I wrote up a care sheet awhile ago (and now reading over it I really should correct some typos and add more info) if you care to take a look. Another site I can think of off hand that seems to have a lot of good info is Cheeky Chinchillas.

Hi Amethyst,

Thanks for taking your time to wright me back a reply.

The cage spacing is 0.5" all over including the floor. I figured I'd place the fleece on top of the towel to prevent their feet and hands from poking through. I got the cage from herehttps://www.nicsons.co.nz/Small_Pet/Small_Pet_Cages/Pet_One_Chinchilla_Cage_Rat_Cage_61X37X60CM.

I'm glad chinchillas can live in cold climate, because the weather here is mostly cold. The temp spike only twice a year 35C (95F), where 4-23C is the norm. I have a humidifier incase there's high humidity and usually it's dry here.

I bought a paper recycled bedding from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00413A2R8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.