Blue Flag Chinchilla

Perhaps not quite as much fun to watch as a chin in a mansion, but for our chins in breeding we now use polygamous runs. This has lead to fewer problems with stress, quarreling and injury among our chins.

Housing

Although not necessary, it is fun to watch chinchillas play and jump around in a large area. A 2' wide x 2' deep x 3' high cage is a nice size.  Be aware of potential hazards within the cage--sharp objects, falls from shelves and wire spacing that allows limbs to become lodged and broken.

Keep their cage out of direct sunlight, away from humidity (house plants) and drafts (both hot and cold) and in a quiet location where they may rest during the day and will not be trouble when they are noisy at night. Temperatures should never get above 80 F or below 40 F for a chinchilla. Their most comfortable temperature being between 65 F and 75 F.

Chinchillas enjoy having a place to hide and feel secure. They also like having shelves to perch on. All wooden additions to their cages should be made of untreated pine. Do not use plywood, fiberboard, cedar, oak, or walnut.

Thoroughly clean and disinfect your chinchilla's living quarters a couple of times each year.

Bedding

For bedding use only kiln dried pine or aspen chips or shavings (you can determine if kiln dried by feeling, fresh chips are usually a bit sticky - check the label on the bag). These may be found at most feed and pet stores. Non-clumping cat litter or shredded newspaper may also be used. Corn cob litter is not advisable if it is accessible to the chin, as any nibbling of it will eventually pose a health problem. Bedding should be changed at least once a week.

Cedar, redwood, eucalyptus, plywood and other aromatic woods or those containing glues may be toxic to chinchillas.

Dust Bath

Chinchillas have a large amount of lanolin in their fur and must be provided with a dust bath on a weekly basis (at the least), daily is perfectly acceptable provided no dry skin or scaling results.

Special chinchilla dust may be purchased at most pet and feed stores. A large glass jar or fishbowl works wonderfully for letting them roll around in the dust. If a plastic container is chosen, watch to be sure that they do not eat the plastic.

Adding one teaspoon of anti-fungal powder per cup of dust aids in preventing any fungal problems in their fur (keeping the humidity low also helps with this problem).

Something to Chew

Being rodents, chinchillas love to gnaw - and need to, in order to keep their teeth worn down to the proper length. Keep appropriate items in their cage for them to chew on such as small blocks of untreated pine, pesticide-free branches of apple, mulberry, or hazelnut tree, or pumice stones. Do not use cedar, walnut, oak, wood from trees with pitted fruit, plastic, or vinyl for them to chew on.