Chinchillas are intelligent and inquisitive animals which need plenty of things to do to occupy their active minds. They are susceptible to heatstroke in warm weather so their cages must be kept away from direct sunlight – a piece of granite or natural stone can be added to the cage for them to cool down in warm weather. Likewise, draughty conditions can also be dangerous for them, so pick a quiet area of the house away from extremes of temperatures for your cage.
Chinchillas need a nest box to sleep in, preferably positioned higher up in their cage. If you have more than one chinchilla you need more than one nest box so they don’t have to share if they don’t want to. If you put the nest box on a shelf in the cage, make sure you secure it to the bars so that it does not fall off and cause injury if your chinchilla is bouncing around!
Another very important piece of equipment is a dust bath. Chinchillas are extremely clean animals and will bathe their fur in special sand by rolling and rubbing themselves in it. Generally a few times a week is fine for them to have a bath. The sand can be saved and reused for the next time.
You can train your chinchilla to use a litter tray which can make your cage cleaning routine easier – just put some soiled litter back into the tray each time you clean the cage and your chinchilla will quickly get the idea of where to go!
Chinchillas love toys. Generally, favourites include exercise wheels (make sure yours is large enough for your pet to run comfortably). Tubes (especially ones which can be linked to make longer spans like these), tunnels, hammocks and hidey holes are also loved by chinchillas – we particularly like these bendy sticks which can be used as an arch freestanding or can also be used as a ramp if one end is secured to the bars. They can also be joined together with wire to make longer ramps if you have a larger span to cover.
Chinchillas do chew constantly, so make sure there are plenty of natural wooden toys in their cage. They will happily work their way through all the wooden shelving and wooden nest boxes you provide too. Natural wood branches make an excellent addition to your chinchilla’s cage but make sure that the wood is non toxic as many trees are poisonous if chewed.
Does your chinchilla have any favourite toys? Do you have any tips for arranging your chinchillas cage? Let us know via facebook or twitter.
