Chinchilla Care Sheet
Proper things for chinchillas
• Chinchillas need a decently sized cage that will allow them to hop around and have fun in. One recommended cage that is very popular is the Ferret Nation 142. You can purchase this cage at your local Pets mart store or online at Ferret.com, Ebay.com , Amazon.com , or Dr.fosterandsmith.com. Sometimes you can catch them on sale at one of the sites listed or you can try to price match at your local Pets mart. All you have to do is print out the
ad, bring it to the store and ask if they would price match it.
• Chinchillas need lots of toys and things to occupy themselves while they are in there cage. It is highly recommended to buy them lots of wooden ledges to jump on, chew sticks, and other things for them to chew on also. Chinchillas love to chew to keep there teeth filed down and wood is a very good thing for them to chew on. There are many people who make and sell chinchilla toys online. You can also buy some of these things from pet stores but prices are much better online.
Might want to add that some wood is harmful to them and suggest the reader find a list of safe and unsafe woods. I believe www.chincare.com has a decent list somewhere on their site
• It is important to have an exotic vet that handles chinchillas
in case of an emergency. You may never need to go to the vet but
it's best to have one available if any thing were to happen to your chinchilla.
• Chinchillas should not eat just any food. Some great foods for chinchillas are Mazur
i, (sp?)Purina Advanced Nutrition Rabbit Food
I think they stopped making that. I believe the replacement is Purina Show Natural AdvantEdge Rabbit., Oxbow Pellets and (some others please chime in). Chinchillas should not be fed food with seeds, treats, and fruits in it. It is NOT healthy for them and they pick out all of the treats and leave the pellets. They also should not be fed cheap
guinea pig or rabbit food from your local grocery store. You can purchase these bags in large quantities online, but shipping may be expensive, or you can purchase some of these from your local feed stores in 50lb bags which will last you for a long time. Oxbow can be purchased from Pets mart or online.
• Chinchillas should have filtered or distilled water. There water bottles should be cleaned atleast 1-2 times a week to keep it from getting nasty inside.(im not sure what can happen if you give them regular water so please explain and I will fix it.)
There are minerals and bacteria which are either helpful or harmless to us. Chinchillas react negatively to some of these things in our tap water.
• Chinchillas also need fresh timothy hay or alfalfa hay. You can purchase this at your local Wal mart or Pets Mart. They should be given fresh hay daily along with there food. Alfalfa should not be given as there primary hay. It is high in calcium so should not be given daily.
• Chinchillas should be kept indoors at all times due to
their sensitivity to heat! They should not be kept in temperatures over 75 degrees! It can cause death to your chinchilla.
• It is recommended that you take your chinchilla out for daily play time in a supervised area. This means that you should play with them in areas where there are no open
cords that they could chew on or small cracks and crevices that they could become lost or stuck in. Bathrooms are highly recommended for play time or you could purchase a play pen for them to be in during play time.
Not sure if bathrooms are highly recommended but people like them because they are small. Maybe just say small areas are suggested to control the chinchilla better so it does not harm itself. It’s best that you find a tall play pen due to there ability to jump out. They also make play pen covers that can prevent this from happening.
• It is also recommended that you buy a wheel for your chinchilla's cage. They enjoy to run on there for exercise . 2 recommended wheels are Chin Spins and Flying saucers. These wheels are made for chinchillas and they can not destroy them from chewing on them.(recommended places to buy these??)
• Chinchillas should have a dust bath anywhere from 1-3 times a week. This keeps
their fur nice and clean. You can purchase good quality dust online. One good dust is called Blue Cloud. Some dust
s are not good for chinchillas and are poor quality and can cause issues like eye infections and other health issues. You also need to buy a container to put
their dust in. There dust should NOT be left in there cage permanently. It should be placed in there cage for 10-20 minutes or you could place it in
their play pen with them during play time.
• Chinchillas have different types of bedding that are safe for them. You can use Pine or Aspen shavings. Do NOT use Cedar shavings. Or you can purchase fleece liners online. These should be changed 1-2 times a week and washed.
Things you should NOT do to your chinchilla
• Do NOT put your chinchilla in a rolling ball! These are NOT safe for them and can cause them to get
too hot!
• Please give your chinchilla treats sparingly. Raisins can be given on different occasions but should not be given daily!
A single Cheerio is a good daily treat for them.
You can also mention rosehips, certain prepared sticks like apple, pecan etc wood, plain sugar-free shredded wheat and others
• Please make sure you do NOT have plastic items in your chinchilla’s cage! They will chew on these things and if
ingested can block up
their intestines which can lead to an emergency vet visit or death.
• Please do NOT bring your chinchilla outside to play. There are many things in the grass that are not good for them if they digest them
; they can also escape and be lost outside. They have no way to defend themselves if this were to happen.
Here is a link which may help you if you ever have any questions or you are looking for supplies for your chinchilla.
Chinsnhedgies.com is a great forum to learn about your chinchilla. If you ever need help many of the people on that site are experienced breeders and can help you if it's not an emergency. They also have many people who sell chinchilla toys and supplies on that website. This includes ledges, treats, dust, food, hay, toys etc…I highly recommend this site to new chinchilla owners.
If you have any questions about anything please feel free to contact me, I will assist you as much as I can at the moment and if you need further assistance I will be happy to try and help you in any way that I can. Thank you for being a loving home for my baby !