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AnneMarie

Active member
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Messages
39
I would like to get a chinchilla. I have a large cage, around five feet high by four feet long and three feet wide, is this big enough? The bar spacing is an inch.

I read that chinchillas need dust baths, how often would you let them have one?

Is oxbow or Mazuri a good brand of pellet to feed? Oxbow hay is what I will be using for hay.

How much wood should I add to the cage for the chinchilla to chew? Is a couple wooden perches and chews enough?

Is it true that chinchillas can only drink distilled water? I read this on a site I was looking at for research and it sounded odd to me.

Do chinchillas need a companion since they live in groups in the wild?

Do chinchillas need wheels?

Thank you for your help! I want to learn all I can before buying a chinchilla because I want my chinchilla to be happy with me for life.
 
I just found the FAQ, so that answers some of my questions. I'm such a scatterbrain, sorry I didn't notice it before! So they do need a wheel and saucers are preferred? The largest saucer I can find is 12 inches, is that acceptable? Dust baths 3 times a week, that's doable. I've seen videos of chins in dustbaths and I am very much looking forward to seeing it for myself! lol It is okay to keep chinchillas by themselves then? I only wanted one and then possibly get a same sex companion later when I'm more confident, is this okay? Thank you all for your help, hopefully this post gets through before anyone posts because I'll feel very rude for not acknowledging someone but I have to be approved still. It's all fine though, most forums have you wait for approval before posting for the first posts.
 
Some chins like saucers, some like wheels. It just depends on the chin. Three times a week should be fine for dust baths. Yes, you can keep a single chin. I would suggest though, if you really want to get one later, that you start with two young or two bonded adult chins. It can be hard to introduce a chin who is used to being along to another chin. You might just end up with two separate cages. You may end up with that with a pair of chins in any case, because chins can suddenly for absolutely reason decide they hate each other.

Also, I'd like to say thank you for your comment about posts being approved. You are probably the only new person who has joined the forum who hasn't sent nasty pm's to me telling me that this forum is a bunch of jerks and they have NEVER had to be approved on any other forum ever. Just for that, I'm going to change your status and you won't need to be approved anymore. :)
 
Those dimensions sound decent. Id suggest you post a pic of the cage if you can. Some times there are hidden hazards you might not realize. Or there could be other suggestions for them.

The amount of dust baths can depend on the chin, temp, humidity and what not. Personally my chins show a little bit of needed a dust bath about every 5 days. But i DO it once a week. Others do it twice a week. Depends on your current needs.

Wood is not only good to chew on, but wooden perches allow them to hop around which is more natural for them then a ramp. A lot of ramp designs ive seen are dangerous for chins as well. Especially if there is spacing. A chin can get there leg caught in them which can lead to some pretty bad things up to death. You do want to make extra sure that the wood used for anything in the cage is a wood that is safe for them like Poplar or kiln dried pine.

I don't used distilled water, but i do make sure it is filtered. And if you use one, you want to make sure it filters out specific things like Giardia.

Chins don't need a companion. Some prefer to be alone. But many like having partners as well. If you have a single chin you want to be sure your giving him plenty of attention. If you want a chin pair then i suggest you make sure they are same sex. And learn to tell for yourself because its not an easy thing to do, and many ppl get it wrong. And its not a surprise you want to deal with (trust me on that.)

Since you don't have any chins you could look for a reputable breeder that has a pair of chins that are already bonded. That could save you a lot of work and time with introductions. Just remember that not all chins get along. And even two chins that do get along can one day turn on each other. So if you have more then one chin, you need the ability to be able to separate them on a permanent basis should the need one day arise.

Chins don't need wheels if they get enough exercise. If there in the cage a lot then its probably a good idea to get them one. A quality wheel can sometimes be expensive. But the right quality kind can last the life of the pet or more. While cheaper ones often fail. And plastic ones should be avoided no matter what kind. You don't want to give anything plastic like that to a chin. They will likely chew on it and ingest some of it which is a serious health problem.

Items like this death ball and this wheel should be avoided. They can cause more health problems then you can imagine.
There are a few types of good safe wheels out there tho. I personally use a large metal flying saucer. It is expensive, but it should last for ever. And if something goes wrong, theirs a high chance it just need a barring replaced with is about $2-3. You can read about the wheel on there website.
 
Also, I'd like to say thank you for your comment about posts being approved. You are probably the only new person who has joined the forum who hasn't sent nasty pm's to me telling me that this forum is a bunch of jerks and they have NEVER had to be approved on any other forum ever. Just for that, I'm going to change your status and you won't need to be approved anymore. :)

:laughitup: I was the one that got changed TO needing approval lol. It wasn't until it was pointed out to me and i went back and looked at some of my posts that i realized how horrific they were. So yea.. it was kinda hard to argue with that decision' lol

I did want to mention that 1 inch bar spacing is good for an adult chin. But a growing chin can have issues with that. And baby chins can get through it like the bars are not even there. - The issue with that is once they know they can do it, they will keep trying to do it. Even after they start to get too big for it; which can lead to them trying and getting stuck in them.
 
Some chins like saucers, some like wheels. It just depends on the chin. Three times a week should be fine for dust baths. Yes, you can keep a single chin. I would suggest though, if you really want to get one later, that you start with two young or two bonded adult chins. It can be hard to introduce a chin who is used to being along to another chin. You might just end up with two separate cages. You may end up with that with a pair of chins in any case, because chins can suddenly for absolutely reason decide they hate each other.

Also, I'd like to say thank you for your comment about posts being approved. You are probably the only new person who has joined the forum who hasn't sent nasty pm's to me telling me that this forum is a bunch of jerks and they have NEVER had to be approved on any other forum ever. Just for that, I'm going to change your status and you won't need to be approved anymore.

Thank you for the advice! I decided to just get one chinchilla. I don't think I have room for two cages at my current address but I am looking to move so hopefully I'll move into something roomier. I have a bit of an aquarium fancy (read:eek:bsession) and they take up a lot of room in my house, plus I have an old cockerspaniel who needs a bit of room as well!

Why would people complain? I thought it was normal. A lot of forums have the waiting period where you have to be approved. I know the puffer forum does, so does monster fish keepers I think, can't remember all the forums I'm on right now! lol

Those dimensions sound decent. Id suggest you post a pic of the cage if you can. Some times there are hidden hazards you might not realize. Or there could be other suggestions for them.

The amount of dust baths can depend on the chin, temp, humidity and what not. Personally my chins show a little bit of needed a dust bath about every 5 days. But i DO it once a week. Others do it twice a week. Depends on your current needs.

Wood is not only good to chew on, but wooden perches allow them to hop around which is more natural for them then a ramp. A lot of ramp designs ive seen are dangerous for chins as well. Especially if there is spacing. A chin can get there leg caught in them which can lead to some pretty bad things up to death. You do want to make extra sure that the wood used for anything in the cage is a wood that is safe for them like Poplar or kiln dried pine.

I don't used distilled water, but i do make sure it is filtered. And if you use one, you want to make sure it filters out specific things like Giardia.

Chins don't need a companion. Some prefer to be alone. But many like having partners as well. If you have a single chin you want to be sure your giving him plenty of attention. If you want a chin pair then i suggest you make sure they are same sex. And learn to tell for yourself because its not an easy thing to do, and many ppl get it wrong. And its not a surprise you want to deal with (trust me on that.)

Since you don't have any chins you could look for a reputable breeder that has a pair of chins that are already bonded. That could save you a lot of work and time with introductions. Just remember that not all chins get along. And even two chins that do get along can one day turn on each other. So if you have more then one chin, you need the ability to be able to separate them on a permanent basis should the need one day arise.

Chins don't need wheels if they get enough exercise. If there in the cage a lot then its probably a good idea to get them one. A quality wheel can sometimes be expensive. But the right quality kind can last the life of the pet or more. While cheaper ones often fail. And plastic ones should be avoided no matter what kind. You don't want to give anything plastic like that to a chin. They will likely chew on it and ingest some of it which is a serious health problem.

Items like this death ball and this wheel should be avoided. They can cause more health problems then you can imagine.
There are a few types of good safe wheels out there tho. I personally use a large metal flying saucer. It is expensive, but it should last for ever. And if something goes wrong, theirs a high chance it just need a barring replaced with is about $2-3. You can read about the wheel on there website.

I will post a pic when I get one. Right now I am replacing everything with wooden levels. It's a process lol Thank you for letting me know about the dust baths! Out of curiosity, what would happen if you left the dust bath in the chin's cage all the time? And what happens to chinchillas that don't get dust baths?

I will use filtered water then, seems a bit cheaper than buying RO water, although I do need RO or distilled water for my pitcher plant so...I guess it wouldn't make that big of a difference since I buy it anyway, but the little pitcher doesn't take much.

I am replacing all the plastic in my cage with wood right now. I've ordered a lot off of Amazon and expect it within a week, maybe less.

I read on here how to tell the difference between sexes and it looks pretty easy. I visited the pet store today to see the chinchillas and buy a few things and the people told me they can't sex animals for legal reasons. The girls were very hesitant to touch the chinchillas, they acted like they would break the second they touched them. It made me wonder if one got hurt being handled in the past. At least they were being gentle though, I respect that. I've seen people whip ferrets around like it was nobody's business and it's aggravating. I don't want babies anyway, it sounds like a very stressful ordeal. lol I don't need the stress!

Thank you for the info on wheels! It helps a lot.

I was the one that got changed TO needing approval lol. It wasn't until it was pointed out to me and i went back and looked at some of my posts that i realized how horrific they were. So yea.. it was kinda hard to argue with that decision' lol

I did want to mention that 1 inch bar spacing is good for an adult chin. But a growing chin can have issues with that. And baby chins can get through it like the bars are not even there. - The issue with that is once they know they can do it, they will keep trying to do it. Even after they start to get too big for it; which can lead to them trying and getting stuck in them.

LOL You're so funny, I'm sure it wasn't that bad =D

Ideally I'd like a young chinchilla, maybe not an eight week old baby, but young. How old should I shoot for with 1 inch bar spacing? 6 months or so? Thank you!
 
Thank you for the advice! I decided to just get one chinchilla. I don't think I have room for two cages at my current address but I am looking to move so hopefully I'll move into something roomier.

You already mentioned having a cage for the chin, but just as an example a Ferret Nation cage (which is very popular with a few alterations) is also nice because you can block off the second floor access point if need be, and you suddenly have two cages.

BothCages_zpsf5eda001.jpg


Those are my two Ferret Nation cages if you haven't seen one before. You can see the cut out spot to the second floor in the front left. You can cover that up, and it becomes two cages.

Out of curiosity, what would happen if you left the dust bath in the chin's cage all the time? And what happens to chinchillas that don't get dust baths?

If you leave sand in all the time, or if you give it to them too often, there skin can become very dry. Theirs probably more to it then just that, but i don't recall atm.


I read on here how to tell the difference between sexes and it looks pretty easy. I visited the pet store today to see the chinchillas and buy a few things and the people told me they can't sex animals for legal reasons. The girls were very hesitant to touch the chinchillas, they acted like they would break the second they touched them. It made me wonder if one got hurt being handled in the past. At least they were being gentle though, I respect that. I've seen people whip ferrets around like it was nobody's business and it's aggravating.

It can be harder then you think sometimes. When my girl had her second litter, i myself mistook the sexes. I though they were males. Since i had separated all males and females to avoid any more babies, i was intro the kits to there father and brother. I had posted a pic on here about it, and im glad some ppl pointed out that they were in fact females. That would have been a disaster otherwise. But now mommy has some company in her cage, so im happy about that.

As a ferret owner my whole life, as an animal person, heck even as a decent human being, let me say i wish those ppl had the whips taken from them and used on em instead of the pet. Thats horrible.
On the other side, i don't even see what they were trying to accomplish. You cant rly train them very much.

As for the delicate handling of a chin, there actually is a good reason for that. They are in fact very delicate. They also have a floating rib cage which can be injured from too tight/hard a grip on them. - When you hold one you will see how smooth that fur is. It makes it much easier for them to escape your grasp, even if you have a good one. Most ppls initial reaction to to grip harder. Thats where some danger can come in. You can do some serious damage of your not careful and grip to hard.


LOL You're so funny, I'm sure it wasn't that bad =D

oh, in there defense... it was lol.
My comp was lagging up a lot. So i would type a few sentences and the comp would be trying to catch up. As a result it would type part of a sentence, then part of a different one, then part of the original, then part of yet another different one. It got bad. That combined with my less then stiller grammar and spelling.... it looked horrendous.


Ideally I'd like a young chinchilla, maybe not an eight week old baby, but young. How old should I shoot for with 1 inch bar spacing? 6 months or so? Thank you!

Its more a question of size then age. And i don't have an exact answer for that. The trouble i came across with my kits growing up was as they got bigger and could no longer fit between the bars, they would still try. And they would get themselves stuck.
One time my girl tried and got her head through but couldn't get her body through. And she started panicking. So glad i was right there at the time to help her, or she may have seriously injured herself.

That being said, i would guess 6 months is likely a decent age to not worry. But it depends on the chin and there size rly. (Its been about 3 years since my youngest's were at that age.)
 
I like the ferret nation! Very nice cages. =) I like the one I have because it's wider and I can set a lot of wooden shelves up in it. I'll try to get a picture. It's just a pain uploading photos when you only have a couple to upload. It's sort of a half hexagon shape and very spacious. I'll see what you guys think, probably tomorrow, although the plastic shelves are still in it because I haven't got my wooden ones yet.

Thank you for then info about the sand. I didn't realize it would be difficult to sex a chinchilla. When I get mine can I post pictures and get help? Thank you again. =)

I didn't know about the floating ribcage! Thank you for that information, I appreciate it. I read that you can pick them up by their tail bases if you have to, is this true? It seems like the tail would be weak.

lol That does sound bad! Sorry!

I'll try to pick out a larger chinchilla so that the bar spacing doesn't become an issue. Thanks again!
 
How often would you give rosehips? I was thinking of ordering some organic dried rosehips off of Etsy because I read that chinchillas like them.

I was also wondering if the chinchilla I get will be afraid of my dog. My dog is a cocker spaniel and he is about 8. My friend had ferrets and my other friend had guinea pigs and he showed very little interest in them when he was around their cages. I wouldn't put them together of course, but I was wondering if the chin would be scared in his cage with a dog around or with dog scent around.

What are the signs that a chinchilla is unhealthy or is stressed?
 
My chin just loves my dog- everything stops when the dog walks by and my chin goes nuts trying to grab some of his hair. They haven't played together but they say hi through the cage bars. It will depend on which chinchilla you get and what it's personality is like.
An unhappy/stressed chin will sit in a corner and refuse to come out, sleep with his eyes open and may grind his teeth. They may exhibit this when they first come home for a few weeks before they get settled in. And if really stressed they may chew their fur. Rodents in general will hide illness until they are really sick.
 
you can post pics to help sex them if your not sure. If i recall correctly, its best to lift them up from behind to take a pic to help determine.

Im not perfectly clear on the tail issue myself. Ive heard some say its ok, ive heard some warn that if you pull on the tail it can come off. So ive never tried. Ive also never rly had need or want to grab them by the tail.

Im not sure about the rose hips. I usually only use twigs since theirs no limit on them. So someone else will have to answer that one.

The chin could be scared of the dog. Personally i would never let other pets near my chins. They are fragile pets. Some thing as simple as a swipe could cause massive damage. Some ppl claim theirs are fine near each other, but i never thought it worth the risk.
 
Thank you for the help! Which area should I post a question about sexing a chinchilla in? I would never let the dog and chinchilla interact! No fear =) I just wondered if the chin would be scared in his cage while the dog was around. He is not a rambunctious dog and has not shown interest in other small animals in cages. Thank you!
 
A lot of accidents Ive read about are with chins in there cage and a pet outside. Getting swiped or nipped or something through the bars.

Depends on the chin i guess. I know my chins take immediate note when they see my ferrets out. And they watch em very very closely.

Theirs a breeding and babies section. Or you could just post it in here.
 
How big is the dog? (not very knowledgeable with breed names.) If you rly cant stop the dog from getting near them, then maybe put the cage on something like a stand or table that is higher then the dog can reach? Im not sure the size/type of cage tho.
 
He's small, not like Chihuahua small, but maybe fifteen inches high and two feet long? He's an English cocker spaniel and he is bordering on old age at 8 years old. The cage is way too tall to put on a table, it's around five feet high, maybe a little higher. I'm 5'6" and I am only a little bit taller than the cage. The dog is only half as tall as the cage when he stands on his hind legs, I just checked.

My wooden levels come today! I got the notification that they are out for delivery and I am very excited. I am planning on bringing home my chinchilla once I get everything set up. I will take a picture of the cage once I get it set up and let you guys see it. Thank you for all of your help godofgods =)

I have another question. Does the type of dust you use matter? I've been looking at all the pet stores around me and all I can find is Kaytee dust. I know Kaytee food is bad but what about the dust? Thank you!
 
The stores around me used to only carry kaytee dust as well. The recently added blue cloud but at a high price. I would suggest looking at the online vendors here for Blue Cloud dust. It is a good quality dust and much cheaper then store prices.

I forget how much i usually order at once, but its enough o fill either a small or medium type of flat rate shipping box. And that can last me a year or so. And i have 5 chins, and i never reuse sand. So you should be good for a while'
 
I went on Amazon to find blue cloud dust and there are a lot of brands that carry it. Is Lixit okay? What does the blue cloud dust do that the other dust doesn't do? I read that it's finer but I don't know why that is important? I'm sorry, just confused! lol

I just received some of my level order, but the larger ones I ordered weren't with the smaller ones, I guess they were shipped separate. One of the small ones I ordered was broken but fortunately the seller was very good about it and is sending me another one. UPS must have beat the box up bad O.O There were holes and it was bent up, some of the screws were missing cause they fell through a hole in the side when the bag they were in was ripped open.
 
In addition to my wooden ledges, would anyone recommend lava ledges? I was thinking about getting two. A lot of the reviews say people loved it and their chins loved chewing it and others say that the ledge was gone in a day. Is this healthy? I think it's just pumice stone.
 
As I said above my chinchilla and dog get along very well. But if you are worried about feet or toes possibly getting nipped what about a fleece cage liner? You could attach maybe a foot around the bottom of the cage? My dog was raised with cats and rabbits so he knows his manners. And at 16 he just doesn't have much left in him for anything.
 
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