How much cage space?

[VillageVoice]

So currently I have one chinchilla. Only had him a week and still kind of unsure as to his name. He's a mosaic. I'm thinking Milo or Boston. Anyway I have him on the top section of my critter nation. I preciously had rats in them and had 2 groups that needed to be separated so I have 2 full bass pans in it. I am getting a little girl on Saturday and plan to put her on the bottom as there is no way they can get to each other. I did just order a 2nd CN, but it probably won't be in until next week or so. Then they will each have their own cage. I am getting another female the beginning of July so there will be 2 in one CN and 1 in another. Though I will probably be getting another male at some point to keep my boy company. I'll switch the bass pans and levels so each cage has one pan and one of the original plastic levels that come with the cage. Or maybe just not put the middle level in the new CN as I will have to build it. The other one is already built and will be too much of a pain to take it out and rebuild iut==t.

My question is, how much space does a single chinchilla need? He is young - 8 weeks and the new one I'm getting Saturday will be 9 weeks. Will they be fine in what is essentially 2 single CNs for a week or so?

Also how much time outside of the cage do they need? I have been taking my boy out for an hour a day playtime. Is that good or does he need more?

 

[Brittany]

So currently I have one chinchilla. Only had him a week...Anyway I have him on the top section of my critter nation. I am getting a little girl on Saturday and plan to put her on the bottom ... I am getting another female the beginning of July so there will be 2 in one CN and 1 in another. Though I will probably be getting another male at some point to keep my boy company.

New chinchillas need to be quarantined (separate cage, separate room) for a minimum of 30 days. So you are going to need 2 cages not just a separated CN.

Also, why the rush to get so many chins? Take your time, enjoy your pet and add another when you feel like you can handle it. I have 4 chins and they take a considerable amount of time compared to just one.

My question is, how much space does a single chinchilla need? He is young - 8 weeks and the new one I'm getting Saturday will be 9 weeks. Will they be fine in what is essentially 2 single CNs for a week or so?

Also how much time outside of the cage do they need? I have been taking my boy out for an hour a day playtime. Is that good or does he need more?

1/2 a CN is fine for his whole life. All of my chins have 1/2 an FN to themselves. In my opinion an entire CN is WAY TOO BIG for a baby that young. I kept my 9-week-olds in cages that were approximately 2'x2'x2' until they were 3-4 months old.

Babies need all the calories that they can get to grow. If your boy is in a CN or 1/2 a CN you shouldn't give him any playtime until he's 6 months old. When my babies were in the smaller cages that I mentioned above I would let them out for 5-10 minutes once or twice a week. Just to dust.

 

[VillageVoice]

Oooh okay I see. Kind of like with rats. I'll get a cage for her in the meantime until the other one comes in.

There's no rush really. Just how things happened to pan out. I'm used to having 7 rats then 5 then just 3. I had about 20 at one point when I had one of mine I'd had for a week have a litter of 14 on me. So I'm used to putting a lot of time and work into my animals.

Good to know about the cages thanks. I can keep them in a single level until they are older.

Why shouldn't I give him any time out of his cage? I heard playtime is good for them and also a good way to bond. Wouldn't he get very bored being in his cage all the time?

 

[Squeak]

Babies burn too many calories when let out for playtime. Young ones need to put on weight as much as possible when growing, and having out of the cage playtime can make them lose weight instead. He will play in his cage fine. He should be okay with maybe 5-10 minutes of out of cage time in a small area, but he doesn't need more than that. Get him plenty of toys and things to chew so he doesn't get bored in the cage.

 

[Lillybabe]

I think it's great you're getting chinchillas and going to shower them with love. However, I agree with Brittany, getting so many at once seems rushed. Are you prepared to have all of them as singles? Chinchillas are also more work and more expensive than rats in my opinion. Four chinchillas can easily get quite expensive. With just my girls they are going through about 5lbs of food a month and probably a large bag of hay. Their cage has to be spot cleaned daily or it gets gross. They have a much longer life span. So if you get 4 young chinchillas are you prepared to have them until you're in your 40s? A lot can happen in 20 years. Rats often only live 1-3 years.

You will also need separate cages for the chinchillas not only for quarantine. It can take a long time to get them bonded and sometimes they will not bond. My suggestion would be to not get a second chinchilla until you have the second CN in hand. Even then perhaps you should wait until he is bonded to you and adjusted to his new home. And then when you do bond him to another chin make very certain it's the same gender. Many people have miss sexed baby chinchillas and ended up with very young chinchilla moms.

The deal with out of cage time is first of all they need to get to know you from their cage. They need time to get use to their new environment, being away from mom, and put on weight. Playtime before you can handle them more easily can scare them. As well as the fact that playtime can make it harder for them to grow properly. They need all the calories they can get. That being said personally I don't see 6 months as the hard and fast rule for playtime. Once they're about 4 months I don't see much risk in slowly getting them use to small amounts of playtime. Perhaps just 10-15 minutes a week for the first few weeks. Then maybe a couple times a week. I'd keep it 30 minutes or less until they really are 6 months. No use spoiling a good thing by having them suffer weight loss or stunted growth.

Chinchillas can do plenty of bonding from inside the cage. My girls climb all over me if I open the doors and stand next to the cage. I would definitely handle them as soon as you get them. It's important they get use to it incase of vet visits. Most chinchillas aren't snuggly though. Keep in mind though that my take on this comes from the fact my girls are both in the 500 gram range now and will not be 4 months until next week. I would not give an underweight chin any playtime.

 

[VillageVoice]

Okay no more playtime until he gets older. Maybe just a couple of minutes a week or I'll just play with him inside of his cage. I definitely do not want to do anything to make him suffer and lose weight and thus not grow properly.

Thanks for all the info!

 

[VillageVoice]

I have taken everyone's advice and passed on getting my 2nd chinchilla so quickly.
I am getting a 2nd one though, but after I have had my little guy for a month and everything is going well.

I have learned so much from this site and my little guy is so super spoiled thanks to here!

Oh, and he has been named Pooka (from Anastasia)