Chinchilla Care

Having A Happy And Healthy Chinchilla

Chinchillas are fragile and complex animals. Alot of things go into their basic care. They take alot more work then say your average pet cat. But as long as you provide the things they need Chinchillas can give you many years of love and laughter!

**The information below is for Chin Pet owners or very small hobby breeders. For large herds of chins and quality breeding things are much more different.

Environment and Caging: A Chinchilla must be kept in a cool dry area that is quiet during the day. Temperatures above 75 degrees farenheit will KILL your chinchilla!! We keep our chinchillas comfortable between 65 and 70 degrees farenheit all year round. Below 60 is ok, but NEVER above 75.Our chin room has 2 air conditioners , with a dehumidifer. Low humidity is important. If the area is too moist then they can suffer from fur fungus. We also have installed a "air circulation system" to keep the air fresh and moving at all times.(Read the artical below on "Fresh Air") We use a Outdoor Weather Station (Like you buy at Wal-Mart) with a remote sensor to monitor the chins room temp and humity.We have the base unit in the living room and the remote sensor in their room. Ours also came with a satilite unit that we keep in our bedroom. This way we always know what the temperatre is.

OUTDOOR WEATHER STATION

BASE UNIT

Remote Sensor in Chin Room

Temperature Wall

This way we can monitor the Chin Rooms Temp at anytime. They also have built in alarms to let us know if the temp goes above/below a certain temp.

Our Chin Room

We have even went a step further and installed Security Cameras. This way we can monitor their room any time we want. (Make sure no cages are open, no chins are running loose,lights are on/off, temp is where it needs to be) The camera system we installed lets us monitor from anywhere in the world via the internet.

Security Camera

Quiet is essental for them to rest comfortable during the day. This is true, but we leave a radio on (low) So they get use to hearing human voices. This way they don't stress out when we walk in the room.(And our chins love to watch TV at night) The larger the cage the better! A cage measuring at least 24"x24"x24" is recommended. (This is good if you only have 1 or 2 chins)You could have a smaller cage as long as your chinchilla has plenty out of cage play time.(When breeding smaller cages are ideal, this way you can increase your herd in a small amount of space)There are alot of choices when it comes to the cage material. Most recommend a wire cage with a solid bottom. A wire bottom can lead to sores and arthritis in the chinchillas feet. (Solid bottoms are important)

This is one of our wood cages with wire fronts/sides and solid bottoms.

But if you use wood cages make sure you have plenty of vent holes in the cage. This will insure ventilation and keep bacteria from growing.Also make when you clean your wood cages that you use a vinegar/water solution to disinfect. If starting with a baby chinchilla the wire should be spaced no more then 1"x1/2" ; for adults 1"x1" is sufficient.We use 1/2" x 1/2" on our cages. Make certain to rinse the cage with a solution of water and vinegar to remove any packing or galvanized dust before placing your chinchilla into its new home. DO NOT USE CEDAR LITTER! This litter contains toxic oils that can harm small animals! We use only non-treated kiln dried white pine shavings.(Remember: Pine is Fine) Chinchillas have very little odor. Once a week cleaning should be sufficient for cages housing one chinchilla. Chinchillas love to jump and it is good to either have shelves or a house in their cage.. If your shelf is made out of wire make certain the spacing is no more then 1/2"x1/2". Chinchillas have long skinny back legs and spacing more then 1/2"x1/2" can lead to injuries and breaks. If using wood for houses and shelving be certain to use only non treated kiln dried white pine or other non toxic woods.

MALE IN THE RUN

COMING BACK INTO HIS CAGE

WATER: Chlorinated water can be harmful to your Chinchilla. Filtered water or bottled spring water is the best and second is unchlorinated well water. Be careful not to give your chinchilla over processed water because the trace minerals that would be taken out are beneficial. Wash out your chinchillas bottle with hot water and brush regulary. Chinchillas are very sensitive to bacteria. We have a water filtration system for our chins water. If you live in the city and don't have a filtration system, you can boil their water, put it in a clean 2 liter bottle and keep it in the fridge. Our water is DOUBLE Filtered, we use "Under the Sink" filters.

FOOD: A high quality Chinchilla pellet is the staple diet for your pet. We reccomend either Mazuri Chinchilla Pellets or Traditions Chinchilla Diet. Both provide essential nutrients and are milled regulary to ensure freshness. Most Chinchilla pellets sold in pet stores are past their freshness date. Although they may claim a longer shelf life the pellets start losing nutritional value after 3 to 5 months. Please check the bottom of the bag for the mill date and only buy enough to last your pet 1 to 2 months. Also storing your chinchilla food in an air tight container will help keep its nutritional value. Chinchillas love to munch all day and night. Make certain that hay is available to your pet at all times. We use hay cubes (it's more cost effective for us) but you can use the loose hay if you choose. Also the loose is a little easier to find in local pet stores. It provides your chinchilla the extra ruffage that they need and satisfies the munchies!

Chinchillas have sensitive digestive systems. Drastic changes in foods can cause adverse and danergous reactions.

Any change in food should be done gradually. If you change pellets, hay etc make sure you do it properly. It is recommended to mix a small amount of the new product in with the exsisting product... gradually increase the percentage of new product. For example: 4 portions of exsisting product to 1 portion of new product (4:1 ratio). Next week 3:2 ratio. Week Three 2:3 ratio. And on week four 1:4 ratio. The fifth week should be entirely the new product.

Alfalfa Pellets Timothy Cubes Timothy Hay(Loose)

** If you are switching types of food and notice you chin has "Soft Stool" (Chinchillas stool should NEVER be soft and mushy)this means you have switched to fast. Remove all the pellets and feed your chin nothing but fresh hay and water for 2 days. This should firm his/her stool back to normal. After the stool has firmed up try introducing pellets again slowly. And gradually increase the pellets.

SUPPLEMENTS :A calcium supplement may be needed from time to time. Check your chinchillas teeth. They should be YELLOW!! If they are not then a cuttle bone or a tums (1/4 of a tums)can be given to add more calicum to your chinchillas diet. If using a supplement be certian to only feed one teaspoon per day per adult chinchilla and lesser amounts for younger animals. Also do not feed it in the same bowl as their pellets or they will waste them all trying to dig for more suppliment.

*** If you use a good high quality feed there is NO reason you should have to give your chin any supplements.

Cuttle Bone

CHEWS: Chinchillas teeth grow constantly. They crave and need something to chew to wear down their teeth. Chews should be availiable at all times. Some safe woods are apple, pear, willow, red willow, bamboo, mulberry, ocotillo, yucca, pecan, cottonwood, and choia. Also they enjoy natural pumice stone and cuttle bone (We use the ones you buy for birds). But with a proper High Quality feed pellet and hay cubes your chins teeth should be fine. They get all the tooth wear they need. But we do offer "safe" wood for them to chew on.

**Be certain any wood that you give to your pet has been listed as safe, has had no contact with pestisides, and is clean and dry.

**We use to offer "Salt Wheels" to our chins, but have learned that it's not the best idea to do. Some people say salt wheels will cause your chins to become sterile(we have seen NO proof of this) The reason we stopped is because: If the chins rubs up on the salt wheel they will get the salt on their fur and then they will try and lick the salt off their fur. Which in turn could cause them to become fur biters (trying to get the salt). And no one wants a chin with patches of hair missing.

DUST: Chinchillas take baths in DUST, NOT SAND. No water needed! Some pet stores sell Chinchilla Bath Sand, do not use this. Make sure it says DUST. Also don't buy the bath dust that is scented. This is just a ploy from the product makers to get you to buy it. There is NO reason for scented bath dust. Chinchillas have no real smell to them. It is very comical to watch you pet roll around in their dust house. In the wild chinchillas roll in volcanic ash to take oil and dirt out of their coats. There are many products that simulate this natural cleaning. We recommend Blue Sparkel Dust and Blue Cloud Dust. An enclosed dust house is also recommended. Do not leave the dust in with your chinchilla,they will use it for a bathroom. You should only dust your chinchillas 2 to 3 times a week for a period of 10 min. More or less depending on how humid your area is. Change the dust after 2-3 times being used, more if you see they used the bathroom in it. We use a metal sifter to screen out any droppings in the dust, this makes our dust last longer.

** Make sure you turn off all fans and air conditioners before you give your chin a bath. The dust is very fine and will clog the intake vents on your air conditioner. After the chins are done and the bath house has been removed you can turn everything back on. We have even installed extra filters on our air conditioners to filter out the dust. Lets face it the air conditioners are their life line (not to mention expensive).

Dust House Chinchilla Dust

TREATS: Chinchillas, like most animals and humans, for that matter love treats. Be certain to ONLY give a few(1 to 2) treats per week to an adult chinchilla or your pet my refuse to eat its regular food. Babies under 6 months should not really have treats except the very limited non frosted shreadded wheat. Treats are a good way to train your chinchilla. Start by taking its treat and breaking it into very small pieces. As you give each piece say your pets name. Before you know it your chinchilla will come when called. You can also use this method to get your chinchilla to sit in your lap and go back into its cage! Good treats to give your chinchilla are: 1 small piece of dried no sugar added papya (aids with upset stomach and digestion) 1 square of non frosted mini wheat (adds fiber and helps with soft stool) 1 to 2 Cherrio's.. Chins love them!! 1 whole or a small amount of crushed rose hips. A pinch of Old fashioned oats (not quick cook). NEVER give treats with sugar! Alot of people like to give their chins rasins. 1 or 2 is fine. But anymore is unhealthy. Sure it's cute to watch them eat a rasin, but it's just as cute to watch them eat a Cherrio and healthier. We don't give rasins at all unless we're bringing a new chin home. Then we use rasins according to the "HELPFUL HINTS" listed below.

PLAY TIME: Play time is best in the evenings when your chinchilla is more active, but they will not turn down a romp out of the cage no matter what time of day or night it is. Be certain your chinchilla has gotten to know you and its name before giving this out of cage time. Also crawl around on your hands and knees to look for any dangers that your chinchilla could get into such as wires, wooden furniture legs that they may chew , and small spaces that they can get caught in. Another alternitive is to bring your chichilla into the bathroom, after you have chinchilla proofed it, of course! Becareful when "chin proofing" your room, don't just focus on ground level hazards. Remember chins are VERY fast and can jump. So don't think a cardboard box blocking a hole will stop them.Provide your chinchilla with his dust house , and some wooden boxes to jump on (see safe wood under CHEWS) They also love to crawl in and out of the tunnels that are made for ferrets(Do not use ones made of cloth, they will chew it and could get choked on a string). Do not leave them unsupervised with ANY plastic and never allow them to chew it. Chinchillas are very curious and love to play!

*** If by chance your chin gets lose, DO NOT chase it! This will only cause it to run more and become nervious. As long as your chin is not chewing an electric cord or in immediate danger(See Chin Proofing Your Room), sit on the floor and remain calm. Try offering a treat to get him to come back to you. You can also open the door to their cage so they can go back in. Offer them their dust house (most chins won't pass up the chance for a dust bath) once they go in the bath house, put your hand over the hole and put the house in their cage.

MORE TIPS ON CHIN PROOFING YOUR ROOM

**BIG PLASTIC BALLS

They might look cute and fun. But they are dangerious for chins! Your chin could over heat and die. Not to mention the mess they cause when the decide to use the bathroom in it. Our advice is DO NOT USE the plastic balls!!

Handling/Holding: Chinchillas have very soft ribs so NEVER grab your chin around it's body! You could cause serious damage. If you are taking your chin out of it's cage reach in with one hand (low in the cage, never high) Never high, because this will cause them to run. It's a natural instint, cause this is where preditors attack them from. Come stright in head on with the chin, slide your hand underneath it and grab the BASE of it's tail. (NEVER by the tip) You might have to use 2 hands for a little while till they get use to you. use one hand coming head on with him, let him come to you and then slowly reach around with the other and grab its tail. Now that you have the base of the tail the chin can sit on your forearm or other hand and can be taken out of the cage. One rule of thumb another breeder/rancher taught us, Always bring your chin out head first and put them back in head first. Holding a chin by the tail WILL NOT hurt them as long as you hold it by the base. Sure they might make some squelling noises, but don't let them fool you, they are NOT hurting.

Proper Way To Hold/Pick Up Your Chin

CONSISTANCY IS KEY: Chinchillas are creatures of habit. They like to be fed, have their out of cage play time, and be dusted on the same schedule each day. If you are late they will be waiting for you! We feed our chinchillas fresh pellets and hay every evening at 9:00. Then it is play and petting time! Set a good time that fits your schedule and stick with it!

SEXING

Usually, you can tell the sex of a chin by standing it on all fours and lifting it's tail to see how much space is between the anus and the cone.

The picture on the top shows a male's genitals. Notice there is MUCH more space between the cone and the anus. This is typical of males. Also notice that the cone has no slit and is thicker than in the picture of the female.

The picture on the bottom shows a female's genitals. Notice the cone and anus are much closer together. Though this is one indicator, its not the only one. There are actually males with no space between cone and anus( in some cases). So, the second thing to look for is the "slit". If you look closely at this picture, you will see a slit that runs up and down the length of the cone. This slit indicates that this is a female.

MaleFemale

Hair Ring (Fur Ring)

It is important to do this on all male chinchillas at least once a month. A hair ring can cut of circulation and cause severe health problems.

Hair Ring on penis

No Hair Ring

If you get a penis that will not retract, you need to keep it lubricated, with KY jelly 3-4 times a day until it does retract

Helpful Hints

BRINGING HOME A NEW ANIMAL (From Shoots Chinchilla Ranch)

First week – give 3 raisins daily

Second week – give 2 raisins daily
*1 per day after that as a treat if you wish
*Feed the feed from the previous ranch for about a week and then mix with your feed according to ratios listed above in the "food" section.
*Do not use automatic watering system at first if they are used to water bottles. Put a bottle on until they learn to use the water system.

DAILY
*Check Feed and Water
*Give a small piece of hay daily as needed
*Watch droppings for any changes
*Give Dust Bath a couple times a week

WEEKLY

*Change shavings every week to 10 days (depending on your air flow and humidity,may be required to change more often in High Humidity). You may also wish to spot clean the dirty areas in lieu of changing the whole cage at times.
*Wash and replace bottles. It is handy to have extra water bottles on hand so that you can replace empties with a clean filled bottle. Then wash the extras and refill to have ready when needed

MISCELLANEOUS

*Store feed and hay in plastic garbage containers to keep fresh (leaving in original bag). Put some in a smaller container to use from on a daily basis.
*Store extra feed, hay, etc. on a pallet off the floor and away from the wall to prevent mold.
*Keep a radio playing on a quiet radio station.
*Every month – wipe out shaving pans with a disinfectant.

NEW MATINGS (Only applies if breeding)

*Leave the male closed in his own cage for the first week
*Let the male run in the runway for 10 days – 2 weeks to get acquainted
*Open jumphole of the most calm or friendly female first. Do this durning the day time when the chins are less active– observe to see they get along – you may put a dust bath in for the first few hours.
*Open the other females a day or two apart until all are open

NEW BABIES

After babies are born put an extra water bottle in the cage for refuge (one 16oz bottle is fine for up to 4 babies)

Check babies daily to see if their tummy is full (hold upside down by tail and feel tummy)

After 3rd day close the male out (or remove him)and remove the bottle.

Dusting mother and babies is usually not a problem. You might refrain the day of littering or until jumphole is closed if you wish.

Wean babies at 6 weeks.

Leave litter mates together for companionship for several weeks up to a month or so unless they fight over the feed. If differnt sexes make sure to seperate so they don't breed.

Single litters may be weaned together for a few weeks…if same sex, mark in one ear to identify from each other and put that mark on their pen card.

FRESH AIR

**(This information is from Shoots Chinchilla Ranch)

Adequate fresh air is vital to a healthy Chinchilla herd. Fresh air aids in rapid baby growth, helps keep cages cleaner and helps animals prime out better.

If a Chinchilla unit feels stuffy and ammonia odors are present, you do not have enough fresh air. Many would say that fresh air interferes with air conditioning and heating and also contributes to too much humidity. However, humidity need not be a problem if it is fresh moving air being circulated by fans and blowers. A method that works quite well and is inexpensive and easy to install is using a small squirrel cage blower mounted on the outside and fixed to blow in fresh air. An outlet must also be provided. Air is brought in to flow the opposite that air flows in nature. That is, hot air goes up – and cold air goes down. This is positive ventilation.

For summer time fresh air ventilation blow the air in at the floor and provide an outlet near the ceiling. This works the opposite from exhausting. When you exhaust a slight vacuum or negative pressure is created. In the summer time this will force the hot air off the ceiling which is what you want to do. An air conditioner can be run under these circumstances with very little cooling loss.

For winter ventilation just reverse the flow for summer time ventilation. That is, blow cold winter air in at the ceiling and provide an outlet at the floor. Inlets and outlets for ventilation should be positioned so as to be at diagonal opposites. For example, in the summer time, if air is brought in on the floor for a small room it could come in at one corner and go out at the opposite top corner at ceiling level.

This can all be accomplished very easily by mounting the blower in a window or through the wall. At this point two openings pass through the wall. Connect one with the ceiling outlet and connect the other with the floor outlet. All you have to do to change from summer to winder is to move the blower from one of the wall openings to the other. Ductwork can either be 6’’’ metal furnace pipe or 4’’ flexible dryer vent hose.

For summer conditions many people may not realize the room is stuffy because the temperature level is comfortable. But, observation of animals under these conditions indicate that more fresh air would result in better growth and size and finish to the fur.

In most of our rooms (which many are narrow and long) we also find it very beneficial to circulate the air within the room. A tube is mounted on the ceiling the length of the room and at the back end of the room (opposite end of the air conditioner or heater) a small squirrel cage blower is mounted to blow the air to the front of the room. As this air returns naturally to the back of the room it will aid in moving the cooled or heated air with it. Do not confuse this with air tubes with holes in them. We believe that a solid tube blowing to the other end and allowing it to flow back naturally to the blower is a more even flow. We circulate within the room at all times. This aids in making the heating or cooling more uniform and also helps dissipate the humidity by keeping the air moving. We add fresh air at all times except in extreme temperatures – over 90° or under 10° outside. At these times we will temporarily shut off the outside air (by use of a thermostat that automatically regulates this) till the temperature either warms up or cools off – in the summer time you would turn back on in the cooler evening hours and in the winter during the warmer part of the day.

A good rule of thumb is that if you feel comfortable in the room, so do your animals. So get the fresh air moving and give them an extra dust bath as a treat in the very humid times.

Kramer Chins

From Pets to Passion