Chinchillas make wildly amusing, playful, as well as loveable pets. A chinchilla with good diet and husbandry can remain in your family anywhere for over 20 years with average life spans over 10 years. The average male chinchilla weighs between 400-500 grams, while the females can reach 600 grams. Chinchillas love to play and require lots of attention from their owners. Supervised playtime is the best way for you and your chinchilla to interact and bond. Since they love to chew and are extremely curious, check that electrical cords, toxic plants, or anything breakable is out of reach of your chinchilla.
Grooming/Bathing
The Chinchilla is unique in their its grooming habits. Unlike most mammals, the chinchilla does not bathe in water. Instead, they take dust baths. A wet bath mats hair and strip natural oils which protect their skin and help regulate body temperature. The dust bath is done in volcanic dust, common in thier native homes in the Andes. This dust that can be purchased at your local pet shop, or from most chinchilla breeders.
For approximately ten minutes, every day or every other day, place a deep bowl containing a small amount of the dust in your pet’s cage. Sit back and watch as your chinchilla rolls, flips, and plays in the dust! It is always best to remove the dusting container immediately after a bath to prevent the dust from being soiled with feces, food, or bedding.
Feeding
The basic chinchilla diet consists of a small amount of chinchilla pellets, along with a good quality grass hay. If chinchilla pellets are difficult to find, they can be substituted with rabbit or guinea pig pellets. Be sure the food stays fresh and clean. Chinchillas can be offered treats of fresheafy green vegetables kept to a minimum. Most chinchillas love a raisin or an apple slice as a treat! Water should be offered in a bottle placed on the outside of the cage. The water should be changed, and the bottle thoroughly cleaned at least every other day to prevent harmful bacteria growth.
Housing
Since chinchillas love to jump, run and play, wire cages are most suitable for pet chinchillas. An adequate size cage for a single chinchilla is 3 feet by 2 feet. Of course, the bigger the cage, the more room they have to run and play, resulting in a happier pet, along with more entertainment for you! The bedding of the cage should be carefully considered. Try to avoid wood shavings that can irritate their delicate noses or complicate their breathing. Our hospital recommends a product called Carefresh, a paper based bedding that is soft and absorbent, however, something as plain as newspaper works well too. Location of the cage is a vital decision. Be sure to avoid any drafts, damp rooms, direct sunlight, or heat sources.
Common Problems
Teeth
Overgrown teeth is a common problem among chinchillas. The spurs or points of the teeth can do serious damage to your chinchilla if it goes untreated. Watch for any changes in your chinchillas eating habits, excessive drooling, or even diarrhea. Having your vet perform an oral exam on your chinchilla can help prevent the teeth from overgrowing. If you observe any of these signs you should see your veterinarian immediately.
Heat stroke
Chinchillas are intolerant of hot temperatures over 80*F. During hot and humid weather, use room or ceiling fans to cool the room, place bottles of frozen water in the cage, or turn on the air conditioner if you have one. Avoid direct sunlight and car trips in the heat.
Gastrointestinal
Become familiar with a normal stool for your chinchilla. Being able to recognize changes in your pets feces can help you catch problems before it becomes to advanced. If your chinchilla has diarrhea, feed hay only (hold back on the treats) until stool is formed. Offer lots of water to replace lost fluids. If the diarrhea continues, or your chinchilla stops eating or drinking, a trip to the vet is a must. Small fecal pellets are a sign that your pets food intake is reduced. This may signal dental problems.
Artcle by By Christine Hancock
About Christine Hancock
Supply the chinchilla with fresh food and water daily. Oats, fresh fruits and vegetables such as apples, bananas, pears and carrots are a good diet for chinchilla. Raisins are also good treats for chinchilla; however, limit raisins to only one or two a week.
Is this accurate about feeding my chinchilla fresh fruits?? I often treat my guinea pig with some added fruits from time to time and would like to know if I can offer these fruits to the chinchilla??
Lora
Your advise is good with the warning that treats high in simple sugars (these would include bananas, carrots and grapes) are MUCH more likely to cause GI upsets and potentially life threatening diarrheas than treats with complex sugars (leafy green vegetables, apple slices, peppers, pieces of uncooked squash, etc.), or non-carbohydrate treats such as unsalted, shelled, sun flower seeds, slivered almonds, etc.
We took out Chinchilla to the vet because her eating habits have chaged…and so has her temperment. The vet said that she has spur growths on her back teeth and was going to perscribe a pain medication for her until I can pay for her dental proceedure but I thought I would see if there is anything else I can do to ease her pain for the time being. Can I give her teething/gum dissolvables meant for babies? Is there anything less expensive than a pain persrciption?
Thank you for your time and assistance,
Cassie Nafziger
Cassie
Sorry for the slow reply, I seem to have lost some of the posts from the web site. I hope your friend is doing well.
Having teeth problems are very irritating to your chinchilla and eventually will prevent her from from eating all together. See if your veterinarian has a credit plan (we offer Care Credit that allows you to pay off a bill in 90 days with no interest).
Hello!
I have an 8 month old chinchilla Sookie. About 6 days ago she ran into the sofa tearing her nose and requiring her to have 6 stitches to brnig it back to norma.. Shes doing fine, healing beautifully and back to her old demanding, loving self
I unforutnately live in Bermuda where there isnt much information or expertise on the chinchilla and I dont entirely trust their answer to this question. when will it be ok to allow her to bathe again? I know that shes not only unhappy about not geting playtime for a bit but I’m sure not bathing is upsetting her also, but I dont want to do anything that will cause her wound to become infected or irritate her.
Thank You In Advance!
Jessica Schuler (Sookie’s mommy)
Jessica
As soon as there is no bleeding or discharge from her wound she should be able to dust bathe again. Wash here dusting container well and use fresh dust and she should be fine.
Cheers, Dr. J
Good Morning,
I have a chinchilla that has skew back teeth, this has been filed down twice, and x-rays have been taken that show no real problem. But my chin keeps drooling! We have put off the aircon and have put fans in the room with her – and it seems to have reduced the drooling abit. But she is still wet now and then!
any advice please Dr? Thank you! Cupcake.
Nicole
If she is still drooling she still has oral pain.
Pain medication may make a difference (if the source of the pain is tooth impaction or root pain) but there is a good chance that thee is still a sharp point in there! If you feel that your veterinarian is competent and experienced with chinchillas then have him/her take another look. If you do not feel good about him/her, get a second opinion.