Getting A Chinchilla soon.

[Damandora]

Hello Everyone! This is my first formal post on here!
I am considering getting a chinchilla soon, first I have to make sure I have all the supplies, so far I have the cage and some dust bath, and bedding (I have a long way to go haha)
Anyways I had some questions that I couldn't find when researching about chinchilla care.

1) If I get a male, how often should I do hair ring checks?
2) Can a large guinea pig cage be used as a travel cage?/Should I travel with them.
3) What would I do with the chinchilla when cleaning their cage? Should I put it in a ball like I do with my hamster?
4) Lastly, can young chinchillas slip though 1 inch bars? I know i've seen videos of some of them slipping though 1/2 inch bars.

 

[ticklechin]

1: Hair ring checks IMO depend on the chinchilla. I have all single males, some get them weekly, some never. My earliest was 5 months old, my latest 16. Do it a few times, say once a month just so you know how. Other than that, if you see the chin has a lot of interest in the penis area, its time to check.

2: Smaller is better for travel, Ryersons chinchilla sells small travel carriers cheap. In case of a car accident or in case you need to walk you want small. The chin will also feel safer in small. Use the carrier to store the chinchilla during cage cleaning so it takes care of question 3.

4: I don't do kits but I have had full grown ones slip under house doors that the crack was only 1" so I would say yes. People have wrapped cages in hardware cloth to keep kits in.

 

[Woodsmoke]

And just a note that balls = really really bad with chins they can overheat and pop you have an ex chinnie..

other stuff as above

 

[Godofgods]

kits can get through 1" cage bars like they dont exist. 1/2 inch should be safe. If you really want you can get 1/4" hardware cloth and surround your cage from the inside with it.

No balls. They are called death balls for a reason. They can easily over heat and die in there. Also they have no control over there poop/ and if they pee there is no where for it to go. So it will just wash over them the whole time in there. It also puts there spine at a bad angle leaving them vulnerable to various spinal damage.

 

[Damandora]

Thank you guys so much! I was assuming that balls were bad because first off the plastic, but I didn't know that they were bad for their backs, thanks for the info! I'll also have to check out those travel cages!