Chinchilla Talk

What do I need

If you have decided to get a pet chinchilla and you have found one that you like, the next step is to prepare to bring the chinchilla home. You will need to have all the supplies beforehand so that your chinchilla can just go right in its habitat and begin to live its new life.

Cage
The first thing you should look for is the animal’s home. For most people, this is some sort of a cage. Your local pet store will sell cages, but there are other alternatives to this. Online sites such as Quality Cage and Martin’s Cage are highly respected manufacturers whose products are not found in the pet store. They both sell large chinchilla cages and owners of these cages are quite happy with the products. Additionally, their chinchillas are happy with the space provided. Alternatively, if you are handy, you can build your own cage.

Accessories
The most important accessories are a pellet bowl and water bottle. You will need these at a minimum. Some sort of hay holder is also recommended as you will find that loose hay is messy. You can use either a hay rack attached outside of the cage or a holder inside the cage. If you use a holder, be sure it isn’t something that your chinchilla can get their foot stuck in. You will also need cage bedding to absorb the animal’s urine and feces at the bottom of the cage. Pine bedding or aspen is recommended. Carefresh also sells bedding that can be used by chinchillas. You can find bedding at a pet store or a feed store. Chinchillas are chewers and need items to chew to wear their ever growing teeth down. Pet stores usually carry wood for small animals. Be sure that the wood you buy is safe for chinchillas as some bird safe woods are not necessarily safe for chinchillas. You can also look to buy untreated pine at the hardware store as wood to chew. Additionally, chinchillas like to hide in small spaces and it is recommended that you buy a hiding house for them. You can buy one at the pet store or make one out of pine boards. If you make one, it is recommended that it is put together using non-toxic glue instead of screws and nails to prevent injuring the animal. Finally, chinchillas take bath using dust. You will need to buy both the dust and a container in which to take a bath with. You can buy dust bath containers specifically made for chinchillas at the pet store or just use something like a large goldfish bowl. Pet stores will carry chinchilla dust, but the two best brands, Blue Cloud and Blue Sparkle are not found in pet stores. Search on-line for these brands to see if a local carrier has them.

Food and Water
Any type of clean water can be used by chinchillas. Some people use tap water and others used filtered or bottled water. Both are fine. For pellets, the place where you purchased your chinchilla should provide some pellets for you to last at least 2 weeks. You can either continue to use the same brand of pellets or switch to a brand you prefer. Be sure to do this gradually, putting more of your pellets and less of the original pellets over time. You may find that the higher quality pellets will not be found in pet stores, but rather feed stores and through on-line purchase. A high quality Timothy or Orchard hay is also recommended as a supplement for your chinchillas. You can find hay at your pet store, but your will often find higher quality and less expensive hay at a feed store or local hay farmer.

When you purchase these items before bringing home your chinchilla, you will be ready to just put it in its cage and enjoy it’s new life. Happy hunting, and remember that your local pet store will likely be more expensive and will probably not have the highest quality items.

For more information about chinchillas, visit forchins.com. For discussion of small pets, including chinchillas, rabbits, and guinea pigs, visit smallpetclub.com.

posted by forchins @ 10:34 PM