I'm thinking about getting a pet chinchilla. Things to consider?

I always recommend a first time chinchilla owner to do as much research as possible before purchasing any chinchilla. They can be loving pets and are very friendly. They are hypoallergenic animals and very clean. They have light hair so the slightest breeze, even just walking past their cage will blow their loose fur out. If purchased as a kit (baby) you can tame them to love being handled. They require 2-3 dust baths a week and at least 2 hours out of the cage playtime. They love doing somersaults off the walls. You must have an exotic vet that treats chinchillas, as not all vets have the knowledge of giving proper care. They are fragile animals so they should never be handled by anyone 6 or under without supervision of an adult. They have the softest fur in the pet industry, which is why they are used to make fur coats. They don't need a huge cage, as they are jumpers, not climbers. I recommend this site for cages http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/chinchi... as they are the cheapest and their shipping is fairly cheap as well. If you decide not to purchase a cage from this site, please remember to get a wide cage, not a tall cage. So many chinchillas have died from the falls they have in tall cages. Chinchillas are so fragile, if they miss a jump and fall, it will most likely kill them. If the chinchilla survives the fall, it will have a broken bone or head trauma. The temperature of the room your chinchilla is kept in should never be under 50 degrees or over 75 degrees. If at all possible, try to keep the room at 70 degrees. Chinchillas have thick fur and therefore, they overheat very quickly. You should always have an air conditioner available for the hot days! Chinchillas have a slight scent that you cannot tell they have. I have 20+ chinchillas in one room and it never smells in there! You must be careful of the treats you give a chinchilla. Treats should be given in small amounts, 1 a day. Treats include raisins, dried apples, dried bananas, dried apricots, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, yogurt bites, cheerios, and posted shredded wheat's cereal. NEVER use cedar bedding, it will kill your chinchilla. Safe bedding's are pine, CareFresh, fleece and aspen. They should have free choice of timothy hay everyday. Your food choice should be pellets only, nothing with other stuff mixed in it. Some good pellets are Mazuri, Kaytee, Tradition, LM Farm, and Oxbow. Chinchillas are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and play at night. BUT, you can train them to be awake during the day and sleep at night. All my chinchillas are trained to be awake during the day and sleep at night. This does not stress them out, nor does it make them mean. I have quite a few people email me and ask which gender makes the best pet. In my opinion, males make better pets. Why do I say this? Because females tend to spray if they are not handled properly or if they feel threatened. Males are also easier to tame. Chinchillas can live for 15-20 years, sometimes longer. Be sure your ready for this long commitment! You should never leave a chinchilla unsupervised while it's running around the house. There are so many dangerous stuff around houses, in and out. Their thick fur is unsuitable for the development of fleas, mites, ticks, & lice.

Some necessities for the cage?

1. One or two platforms halfway up.

2. A wooden box to hide in.

3. A rabbit water bottle.

4. A food dish that hooks to the cage.

5. A hay rack.

6. A dust house

7. A cage bottom.

8. Lots of things to chew on (wood, chew blox, etc)

The diet consists of 4 components:

1. Drinking Water - Fresh daily

2. Pellets - Mazuri, Tradition or Kaytee

3. Hay - handful at each meal

4. Supplement Feed - raisins; no more than 2 a day, rose hips, dried thistle, small slice apple, salt block for rodents

If you still aren't sure about whether the chinchilla is the right pet for you (versus a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, or hamster) consider these unique aspects to the chinchilla:

*Chinchillas have a thick, furry coat, and fall between a rabbit and a guinea pig in size.

*Chinchillas are available in more than a dozen different colorations.

*Chinchillas are nocturnal, which means they prefer to sleep during the day and are most active in the evening and at night.

*Chinchillas are social animals but need taming and attention in order to overcome their natural shyness.

*Because chinchillas are delicate animals, they should not be handled by children under the age of 10, unless they are supervised by an adult.

*Chinchillas are more vocal than rabbits, and will make squeaks, barks, and other noises.

*Chinchillas are voracious chewers, and will gnaw on just about anything.

*Chinchillas need fresh foods provided daily.

*Chinchillas need care when you are away from home. While you can leave them overnight with a supply of food and water, any longer requires help from a friend or pet sitter.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to e

While your dogs may be friendly and would never intentionally hurt a small animal, accidents do happen. While my dog wouldn't intentionally hurt anything, he has accidentally stepped on the cats a few times. The cats were fine, but that could have easily killed a smaller animal. Make sure you can keep all your animals separate.

Chinchillas need a fairly large cage, something taller with shelves that they can jump to. This is a good one http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product... Any wheel needs to be at least 15", which Quality Cage also sells. Stay away from anything plastic, and try to stay away from any cages with mesh floors. You want a metal pan on the bottom.

Chinchillas eat pellets and timothy hay. The pellets should be something alfalfa based that is ALL pellets, with no "treats" in it. Mazuri and Oxbow are two good, easily accessible brands.

Using polar fleece for bedding is something many people do, and it cuts down the monthly cost of keeping them. Something to consider. They need dust baths a few times a week, either Blue Cloud or Blue Sparkle. Do not leave the dust in their cage, as this will end up drying out their fur/skin.

While the monthly cost of pellets, hay, and bedding (unless using fleece) is fairly cheap, you need to make sure that you will be able to afford any medical care that they need if they become sick or injured. Chinchillas do need exotic vets, which are more expensive.

It's not the best idea to start off with one and then add another one. If you get two who have been previously housed together, they are far more likely to continue to get along. If you introduce one later, they may or may not get along, and if they don't, you're stuck having to buy another cage.

Two males are actually more likely to get along, as long as there are no females nearby. Males will fight with each other over females, whereas females will fight with each other over territory (the cage). Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and as I said, it's easiest to get two who are already bonded.

A temperature of over 75 degrees can be lethal to chinchillas. If you live in an area where it gets this hot, you need to consider the air conditioning costs. Are you willing to keep the house a bit cooler than you might usually, or should you get a separate air conditioning unit? If you live in a hot climate, the air conditioning may get expensive.

There are many chinchillas in need of homes, check out http://petfinder.com/

A good place to do some more research and ask any other questions is http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/index.php Many of the members also sell chinchilla accessories, toys, food, and dust.

Do not ever put a chinchilla in those exercise balls. They can overheat very easily. Chinchillas need a daily playtime of 45min to an hour in a safe room that has nothing dangerous for them to get into. Bathrooms tend to work well for this, so long as the toilet seat is down, and there is no water or cleaning chemicals for them to get into.

Chinchillas are a hard undertaking. I had two, but one of them died.. They can live upwards of 20 years. It is easier to start off with two together than to try and introduce a new one because that could cause problems.

Chinchillas need a very large cage to move around it. Quality Cage Co in Portland Oregon has a website and they ship stuff with some good designs for Chinchillas.

Chinchillas need hay, food with a good amount of pellets in it (there are chinchilla foods labeled so at the pet store,) little treats, they also eat certain leafy greens. Vets can often give you a detailed list of what to and not to feed a chinchilla. They also love dried fruit, mine love craisins! Seriously. Luna can't get enough of them!

Also, you need bedding that is paper based, not wood, because it's better for the chinchilla. And a dust bath, which is this powdery stuff that they roll around in, and a dust bath container. They love and need that.

They need a lot of exercise and it is best to let them out of their cage quite often to run around...but you need to watch them. Really. They chew on everything. (Oh! chew toys, like pieces of wood, etc) But anyway when they're running around they chew on everything..keep them away from electrical cords! And they could (mine did once..) chew threw walls and cause a lot of damage.

Monthly cost? A lot. It depends where your at. the food is probably about 30 bucks a month, 30 bucks on the bedding. More stuff like chew toys and stuff. Vet bills if necessary - a lot - but chinchillas are pretty strong and usually don't need vet care...but it happens. I had a chinchilla that had serious health problems and died form it :( Very unfortunate. But my other chinchilla, Luna is in great health, has had no problems in the 5 or so years I've had her.

Also, chinchillas are not the kind of pet you get to hold and cuddle with. They may or may not want to be held. They'll run over your feet and hide from you. You don't want to just grab them because it stresses them out and can cause them to loose fur, anxiety, etc. They may or may not come to you to be held. But they are so cute.

If you get a male and a female, you can get the male neutered just like you can a dog. Mine were brother and sister and had always lived together which helped when I got them so they were used to each other and didn't fight or anything.

When introducing a new chinchilla you'll need to keep them in 2 separate cages next to each other for awhile so they get used to each other and don't fight, slowly introduce them to each other.

Anyway. Sorry this is so all over the place, but things just keep coming randomly too me. Hope this helps!

Ok well I have a female. If you go to Petsmart or Petco they have pretty much everything you need to get started. They have a decent sized cage there for sale, but if you want a bigger one, then either look online or build one yourself. They need things to chew on. You can find plenty of that stuff at the before-stated stores. They bathe in dust which you can also get at those stores. You'll need a little dust-bath house for it. My chinchilla LOVES these little yogurt covered timothy hay balls. So I give her one every day or so. They also sell chinchilla-sized hamster balls for them to roll around in. It's good if you don't have a large-sized cage for them. Also, you'll need a bag of timothy hay for it. They chew it for their teeth and whatnot. What else....oh, female chinchillas defense mechanism is pee. My chinchilla absolutely hates my girlfriend for some reason and when she tries to pet it, it rears back and shoots pee at her. Kinda gross. Chinchillas are hypoallergenic which is cool. Try not to keep it in direct sunlight. At least not all the time anyway. I think that should be good to get you started. BTW my Chinchilla's name is Enchiladito. Chinchilla's are weird creatures so don't be afraid to give it a little more of an unusual name. Good luck!

I know this is not the answer you want, but you should probably get another guinea, or a rat. Because chinchillas are not very friendly or sical at all. My best friend just got to brand newboys about a month ago, and they are very timid, never want to ocme out of their cage, theyre unfriendly, and they bite her and everyone else. This is not the answer you wanted but it is the truth. If you still want a chinchilla, here is some information. Sorry about my rant :) http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Park/6920/

ok so they make specific chinchilla food so just look for that... some things to keep in mind: they smell! so bad so you have to clean often. they like those plastic balls that you can open and put them in and roll around the floor in. they are super fragile; never hold them to tight cuz you could break a rib:/

you could try to get two at the same time. ive never seen chinchillas fight so i dont really know about that but i used to have a male and a female and they were awesome but i got them at the same time...

i hope this helps:)

good luck!

They do need it cold under 78 F. I have always had a fan point to the upper levels of my cage so they can stay cool. Try to avoid to much sweets. I had a chinchilla become diabetic. I would give her a couple of raisins every other day. the vet told me to watch what i feed them so it doesn't happen to my other ones. the vet also said to get the healthier food bags, instead of the ones that have all the yummy goodies because they will pick out what they want to eat first and it is usually the unhealthy foods they eat first.

One way to introduce another chills to one that you already have to put it in a smaller cage and close the smaller cage and place it in the cage with your older one. they can smell each other through the bars and stuff. both of them are a little More safe from each other if things don't go so well. once you fill like they are comfortable with each other you can let them run around together in there cage but be close by just in case thing get out of hand. they will probably pull hair from one another, mine did that but once they got to know each other they got along very well. or try to take them both out to a play pen area out of their cage to get used to each Other so the older one doesn't have the territory issues to defend.

they are not to expensive. i think i spend maybe 20 to 30 bucks a month on mine. i try to buy chew toys that are on sell to help save money and i geet ones that come in packs and i just store the extra chew toys for later. the sand that they bathe in comes in a 5 pack or a huge bottle and that will last you a few bath times. i have a snack bag will last for a while depends on how much snacks you give them. i just get a big bag of hay (they have lots of sizes of hay) and that lasts me for awhile as well.

my father built me a special 3 level 'L" shaped cage for mine. i have a kabob chew thing on each level and i also throw lose chew toys in as well. i just put in a little slab of granite on some of the levels. i read in a website that the chillas will lay on the granite to stay cool and if they chew it that is fine. it will help with the growing of their teeth and my mom said that is natural so it won't harm them. she worked at a carpet and floor store for a long time.

they do take some work. if your up to the work i love mine. each one will have it's own personailty just like cats and dogs so pick wisely! good luck hope you enjoy them as much as i do!

if you do get one make sure your room has air conditioner and buy a cage but make sure it doesnt get spotted by the light from the sun or your chinchilla will get hot and they usually are active in night time.

Hi,

if you do consider Two, Get two that already know each other Because

The chinchilla's Will fight,And you'll have to go through A huge process Of letting them out for 1-2 hours a night,Separating them when they fight , And Etc ,This can take months and you might never be able to house Them which equals Another big Cage in you're house, if you're like me i want the biggest cage i can afford, Even if it takes up some space , chinchilla's require HUGE cages , i have two chinchilla's and they love this cage : http://cgi.ebay.com/Marshall-Penthouse-Ferret-Cage...

It's Easy to wheel Around,And to clean, Except the Platforms *have* to be cleaned twice a day, Because chins make a huge mess on them With food,Urine,And feces. ( but not to bad).

As for Things in their Cage, You will need Some type of Plush house For During the day ( when they sleep ) , And at night A wheel for them to run around in, Chinchilla's are high maintenance animals and require 2-3 hours Of playtime a day, i clean the platforms once in the morning - while their running around for an hour, And once at night while their out for play time for two hours, it takes minutes , And it's best to use a vacuum

As for the bedding never use Ceder,Non kiln dried pine,Citrus beddings,Or scented bedding's these cause URI ( upper respiratory infections) i would recommend using Aspen bedding or kiln dried pine , Care fresh bedding is expensive,Dusty,& not good with odor.

Food: Basically they should be a on a diet, of unlimited *plain pellets* and timothy hay/Alfalfa Or orchard grass *unlimited*. You want to throw some fruits and veggies as a treat once a week, Just a few not many, i wouldn't recommend feeding any Home food, Or pet store treats these cause diarrhea/Constipation.Food And hay is available in pet stores like pet smart/Pet co.

Habit: basically What they need is an air conditioned room With no temperature Above 75 degrees ( since they overheat ) a Cage With Entertaining chew toys, A litter box, bedding,A water bottle,And a food dish. and a quiet household, They don't like to be held,And some female chinchillas tend to spray you if stressed (chins stress easily! beware LOL!)

Litter training: my chins learned how to litter train with a few days, This is costly buying The specialized litter for the litterbox, But it's best rather than using Aspen bedding, it stinks up quickly since the litter box is so small and being used up quickly, i would put 1-2 litter boxes out for playtime and one in their cages, Litter boxes for small animals are available in petstores.

it really all depends on the chinchilla's weather their fighters or not, But mostly likely have a tendency to fight more.

Baths: Chinchilla's do not need baths, Only *dust* baths,the dust/sand and dust bath house is available in any Pet store, Dust bathes should not be available to the chins 24/7 or when their in there Cage, Only for playtime once to twice a week. Blue sparkle, or Blue cloud, Are known To be the best brands leaving a chins for soft and silky Without Over drying out the skin , i would go with that but brands from petstores like "kaytee" are fine too.

Never use Wired Cages/Wheels This causes Bumble Foot,And never let a chin chew on anything Chin-safe such as color wood,Wall paint Etc.

** never use fleece Either, You can use a light pillow case or dish cloth To stop water leaks, For a Food/hay mat, Or just for sleeping, Fleece tends to overheat chins.

question to ask you're self:

Are you able to afford Vet care, chins need to get their teeth cut every 4-6 months, Sometimes it can be costly sometimes not, Were i live their is only one exotic vet which happens to be a emergency vet so i end up spending 200.00 For teeth trimming!chew toys help w/ their teeth, Try to find one emergency vet and one vet just for check ups, Check ups go for about 250.00 Can you afford that?

Tip:

never let you're chinchilla outside unless it has vaccinations and is in a chin proof Hutch under supervision and under the temp of 75.

* Chins live on average 15-22 years, Are you going able to make that big of a commitment paying 30+ A month For 15-20 years?

Oh i forgot!

Names,

my female chins names Are:

Rachel

And Caroline

But i like the names Daisy&willow

For boys, Scooter&Dr.chin

LOL.

good luck!

i got one...theyre not very friendly

whatever u do, dont put them in the same cage if u get two..theyll destroy each other, thats what happened to one of mine, even tho the book said it was okay