Renting with a Chinchilla- Tips?

Hello

We've had our 3 year old chinchilla Havoc for almost a year. She's happy, healthy, has no weird behavior problems, lives in a big big cage (Chinchilla Manor) and is a little love.

Now, we're trying to move. We've been subletting so she hasn't really been a problem, but we really want to get our own apartment without roommates etc. I don't want to lie about having a pet, that sounds stressful. But apartment managers think our pet is really weird and several people have told me that they have to check with their insurance companies to see if they can have a chinchilla living in the apartment. At first I thought, "Oh, they want to make sure Havoc doesn't chew on the walls." Apparently, they don't care about damage to property. I was told by the last guy I spoke to that it's more to do with proving she isn't going to cause people health problems or rabies. Health problems?! She lives in a highly controlled environment in a cage that is cleaned daily by moi and is the sweetest thing ever. She doesn't bite etc.

I'm getting nervous, should I be?
Does anyone have any tips for renting with a chin?
Has anyone else had this happen?

I think every landlord or property management group is different. But if it were me, I'd just be upfront about it. The worst that can happen is they say they don't allow pets, and then you have to find another place. So long as they give the okay on it you have nothing to worry about. Sometimes even if a place says no pets, they may really mean no cats or dogs. Caged animals are sometimes viewed with a little more forgiveness.

Thanks - I appreciate the advice. And I agree about being up front about it. I definitely don't know how I'd explain the cage/fuzzy rodent in the apartment during routine inspections Honestly, most managers I've spoken to have no idea what a chinchilla is, which I think is why it sends so many red flags.

When they ask what a chinchilla is I would light-heartedly joke and say something like oh it's kinda like a cute little fluffy bunny-rat or something like that (I know it sounds silly)... but people are afraid of what they don't know and a lot of times if your demeanor portrays it as non-threatening then sometimes that helps to put people at ease...not saying this will absolutely work but maybe try it and see if they buy it...couldn't hurt... Many moons ago I rented with a fairly large parrot and I just asked if I could bring my feathered friend...(I never mentioned how big it was...) never had any problems...

My land lord was strictly no pets until I told him its caged all the time and is like a guinea pig. If they don't know what a chin is I always said like a piggy since everyone know what they are and they aren't really that messy.

A lot of landlords are okay with caged pets even if they don't allow dogs or cats. I'd be upfront about it - like dreamlite's experience, you may have a pleasant surprise.

I've rented two places with an entire breeding herd of chinchillas (both were houses), so I would hope you could find a place to take just one.

Thanks for everyone's advice! I'm feeling much more confident. I have definitely thought of calling her a guinea pig, which people seem to be a lot more familiar with, and downplaying how much she actually comes out of the cage. I'm certainly hoping for a pleasant surprise.

We never told our landlord about the chins when we moved into our current place. One day he showed up out of the blue because the water company need to get under the house. He didn't say anything to us. When I went in to pay my rent that month the lady at the office asked me about my giant hamsters. They didn't really care, but said I should have just been upfront with them. Whatever you do, don't compare them to ferrets! Most landlords forbid ferrets because they stink. I also wouldn't compare them to rabbits. The guinea pig suggestion is probably perfect. Also just because a place says no pets in it's ad doesn't always mean no pets, usually just no cats and dogs. Good luck on your search!

I may have just been lucky but when we were in our apartment the landlord was fine with us having caged pets. She was more worried about dogs and cats messing up the carpet or tearing up the walls, the chins weren't an issue.

Most apartment managers or landlords don't see a problem with a chinchilla after they see one in person. The problem is getting caught with a chinchilla when no one has approved it. I've ended up with probably a few dozen rescues over the years because of that reason.

I've got two hamsters, a baby iguana, and I'll be getting a chinchilla when we move. We did make sure to rent a pet friendly townhouse - just in case - but we really aren't planning to tell our landlord about our pets. We figure the pet deposit is really more for dogs and cats. If they see the pets one day and ask us to pay the deposit, fine, but they usually only come in for maintenance and have to tell you before they come, so you can just shut the door on your chinchilla room. They sleep during the day anyway. We've had the hamsters and the iguana for months now in our no pet apartment and they've come in to replace our refrigerator and everything and they've never noticed. We just shut the bedroom door. They did notice when I had my mom's cat for a short whole, but that's because the silly thing kept jumping up and sitting in the window!

It might be better/less stressful to tell them up front. If you decide to tell them, I'd just tell them you have a small caged pet. They'll probably just assume it's a hamster or something. A lot of people I've told about getting my chinchilla don't even know what one is.

Some places would fine you, but generally they have to give notice or have permission to enter legally and maintenance people don't care. However, I always just say I have a small caged pet when apartment hunting. Usually they check that its not a cat, dog or ferret then say it doesnt matter. about 20% will ask what it is, then I say a, "a chinchilla, its like a fat guinea pig". never compare them to rats, ferrets, or rabbits as these animals are thought of as dirty, stinky or germ carriers by the average person. usually thats all i have to say, a very few will ask more detail and then I mention how they like to keep clean with daily baths, that they like to sleep a lot and enjoy their big cage, are hypoallergenic and dont smell. Once a place had a whole list of pets the do or don't allow and chins was on the dont list, I simply moved on to the next place with out wasting more time. Ive never had to pay a deposit but I would if they wanted it.

Keep the chin from rooms with fancy floor boards and dont let them eat the dry wall and you should have no fees on move out. 90% of places wont care about caged animals but its polite to ask.

The trump card for me was "Would you like to meet him? He sort of looks like a koala and a chipmunk had a wild night with some tequila, and he's super sweet." I got the landlord laughing, showed him a phone picture of the cage and of Crash, and he was okay with it.

That's hilarious, lol. Usually people see Havoc and go, "What is that thing?" I'm guessing when we move that's going to happen a few times.

I've always rented & never had issues with my landlords. I just always explain what a chinchilla is (i.e. bunny & squirrel made a baby), that he's caged almost all the time & he only weighs a little over 1lb. usually if there's any questions at that point they'll just ask but have even rented at "no pet" places with no issues.

When I had a prospective apartment I asked the landlord about pets because of my cat, and he asked a few questions about him (to which I honestly replied that he's always used the litter box and sleeps 23 hours a day.) in the paper application I wrote I had "one cat, an aquarium, and chinchillas (who never leave their cage)" and he only charged me for the cat. Even came by a few times (even when the floor was covered in poops WOOPS) but he wasn't concerned at all. He was a private renter so he was just happy to have someone pay on time and not tear up the house!

My landlord had never seen a chinchilla before mine, neither had his wife. I just explained and he was really open minded. He's had bad issues with cats and dogs in the past and had a no pet policy. He just met them earlier today and he was delighted by them. Him and his wife watched them take a dust bath. They were here fixing up one of the other places to rent and came by and asked to check out my carpet. It was newly installed and they wanted to see how it was looking (they bought real cheap stuff and they were worried it would roll up). Everything's worked out groovy here. I was very worried about getting my first place with the girls. Some places I called weren't as open minded.

3CsMommy said:

The trump card for me was "Would you like to meet him? He sort of looks like a koala and a chipmunk had a wild night with some tequila, and he's super sweet." I got the landlord laughing, showed him a phone picture of the cage and of Crash, and he was okay with it.

Click to expand...

I get asked what they look like a fair bit, so i think about it often. Ive come to the current conclusion that they look like pikachu!








Or am i just crazy?

Godofgods said:

I get asked what they look like a fair bit, so i think about it often. Ive come to the current conclusion that they look like pikachu!

Or am i just crazy?

Click to expand...

Nope I bought my first chinchilla about a year after Pokemon started becoming popular in the US... You can totally tell the Japanese artist saw a chinchilla and made a Pokemon based off it! I mean even pikachu's behavior, the way he walks, and attitude match a chin!

wow.. that picture was a lot bigger then i thought it would be lol

There actually is an official chinchilla pokemon now! Its name is Minccino