Chinchillas 101

Basic Care Sheet

DIET

Chinchilla feeding requirements consist of pellets, hay, and water.

Pellets

There are a couple of good pellet feed choices, and a bunch of subpar choices.  Suggested Pellet Choices are:

  1. Modesto Milling Organic Rabbit and Chinchilla Feed – this can be purchased at many feed stores. It comes in a 25 or 50lbs bags.
  2. Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla (Red Bag) – this can be bought at many pet stores. It comes in bags ranging from 1lb-25lbs.
  3. Mazuri Chinchilla Feed – This can be bought at many pets stores. It comes in bags ranging from 1lb to 50lbs.
  4. Purina Rabbit Chow Show OR Mana Pro Show Rabbit Feed- these can be purchased at most feed stores. They comes in a 50lb bag.

Hay

Hay is also a required part on their diet. There are many different types of hay. Timothy hay is an ideal main staple, but chins often enjoy a variety.

• Timothy hay can be purchased at the pet stores. If purchasing from a pet store we recommend only using Oxbow brand. Several other brands use a dye to make the hay stay green. Oxbow also has orchard and meadow grass which chins seem to enjoy as a treat.

• If you have the room to store a bale of hay, you can get a lot of hay for much cheaper than buying from a pet store. We recommend getting the best quality grass horse hay you can find. Hay lasts a long time if it is stored in a dry place with ventilation.

Water

High quality purified water is important for a chinchilla’s good health. Use of bottled water that has been through a reverse osmosis process is recommended unless you have a home reverse osmosis filtration system.  City tap water has chlorine and several other additives to which chinchillas are sensitive. Also, there may be microorganisms in the water like giardia which may harm the chinchilla. You should never use distilled water. Distilled water has no minerals in it and chins (as well as all mammals) need a certain amount of minerals from their water.

Treats

• Un frosted shredded wheat (bite sized). This is our chins preferred treat.

• Regular cheerios. Must be plain.

• Rose hips. These can be bought at most health food stores. Some chins love them… and some won’t touch them.

• Old fashioned rolled oats (A pinch)

There are some rules to treats:
 Never give more than one treat a day.
 Chins under six months old should not have any treats.
 Chins should never have any kind of fruit or veggies… EVER! General care

CHINCHILLA CARE

There are a few simple rules to chinchilla care.

Chins are very heat sensitive. They should never be kept in an environment over 75 degrees. They much prefer 70 and below. A/C is a must, especially during the summer time. Over heating can and will kill a chinchilla.

When handling your chinchilla, it is important to always hold them by the base of the tail. This does not hurt the chin; it is the safest way to handle your chinchilla. Chinchillas have a delicate rib cage and if grabbed around their ribs it can break their very thin rib cage. When holding your chin if you always hold the base of the tail you prevent your chin from jumping off of you and hurting itself from a fall.

Cages for chins do NOT have to be huge. Especially for young chins. It is always fun to have a large cage and deck it out with hammocks and toys, but safety must come first. When setting up a large cage it is recommended to have a large hammock across the entire middle section to catch them if they were to fall from ledge.

The big rolls around balls are NOT safe for chins. They can overheat in them very quickly. Also…. Chins pee and poop while in them, which just gets thrown into their fur….EEWWWW.

Wheels are fun for chins to have but, no wheel is better than a wheel that isn’t safe. They do not make chin safe wheel available in pet store…. None of them are safe. You can get a chin safe wheel online. They are called chin spins or metal flying saucers. Both are quite expensive, but they are lifetime wheels and are safe for chins.

PLASTIC anything is a NO NO! chins like to chew on things. They will chew plastics and they can swallow it. Which can cause an impaction in their gut. This can very quickly lead to death.

Chins are prey animals and being so they will hide illness and pain very well. It is important to be very observant with your chin. If they seem just a little off… something could be wrong. Water consumption and food consumption are first signs something is wrong. If they stop eating and drinking, they are sick. Weight is also a good indicator. I suggest people get a gram scale and weigh their chins once a month. Sudden weight loss will tell you something is wrong. By the
time a chin is lethargic, or non-responsive it is usually too late. So, these early signs are key. Also watch your chins poop. When they stop pooping, or their poop changes in consistency, color and smell it can mean something is wrong.

• Wood chews are necessary for chins. Like other rodents their teeth need to be worn down. You can order wood online from several vendors. Or.. You can go to Home Depot or Lowes, buy a 2x2x8 piece of pine, and have them cut it into pieces for you. The chins love to thrown them around and it is very cheap.

Dust Bath

Chinchillas do not bathe in water. In fact, their fur is so dense that if your chin does get wet you must make sure they are dried completely or the fur can actually get fungus. They use a type of volcanic dust to bathe in. they roll around in it and it keeps their fur nice and soft. Dust can be purchased at most pet stores, but we recommend purchasing the Chill Dust which is not currently sold in pet stores. Other brands add stuff like silica and even glitter which while it might not hurt the chin… it isn’t necessary and they don’t clean the fur as well. They will need to dust approximately once a week. If humidity is high they will need more bathes and less when it is dry weather. Too many dust baths can cause dry skin which can be irritating to your chin. You only need to leave the dust bath container in the chins cage for 10 minutes or so. If you don’t take it out they will pee and poop in it.

Playtime

Chins love to get of the cage and explore, but you must have a “chin proof” room for them to play in. They will find any way to get into trouble. Play times should be no longer than 30 minutes. Chins don’t always know when to stop playing and can over exert themselves and cause health issues. A bathroom can be ideal for playtime. Generally, they are easy to chin proof and it makes poo clean up very easy. Make sure the toilet seat is down! Chins should be supervised at all times when out of their cage. Take a book… I-pad… or something else and sit with them in the bathroom while they play. If you sit on the ground they will use you as a jungle gym.

Baby chins

There are some special rules for young chins.
Chins under 6 months old should not get out of cage play time. They need all their calories and energy to grow. You can take them out and hold them for short periods of time but we do not recommend letting them run around. Baby chins don’t always know when to stop playing and they can actually over do it causing hypoglycemia which in some cases can cause death. After 6 months old you can give them 10 minute playtimes once a day. After they turn 1 year old you
can move them to a regular playtime as stated above.

Chins under six months old should not have treats. Their tummies are still too delicate for strange things.

It needs to be addressed that young chins go through a “teenage stage” between the ages of 5- 10 months old. Each chin has varying degrees to which they go through this time. But, in extreme cases they can become little terrors! Some will bite, spray pee, refuse to be held and in general just be ridiculous. This is only a phase… I promise. Once they become fully mature, they calm down and almost become a completely different animal. It is very important during this
phase that you do not give into your chin’s antics. Wear gloves if you need to, but when they bite you DO NOT PUT THEM DOWN!! This will only teach them that biting gets them what they want. Sometimes this phase can be difficult for young children to understand and deal with. Because of this we will usually recommend an older animal for first time owners and small children.

 FINAL THOUGHTS

Above anything else there are certain things to keep in mind. Most information online about chinchillas is not correct. You must be very careful about what you read. Finding a chin knowledgeable vet is very important. Not many vets know a whole lot about chinchillas, which you don’t want to find out to late. It is better to know which vet to go to BEFORE the emergency.

For San Diego or surrounding areas the best vet is:
Dr. Jeffery Jenkins @ Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital (619) 260-1412

Most of the stuff sold in pet stores are NOT chinchilla safe…. Even if they say they are. Chinchillas do not process sugar very well, so any treats from the pet store can cause many issues. Chins do not digest dairy products or veggies well either, these things can cause bloat which can lead to gut stasis.

All our chins come with full breeder support for the life of the animal. If you have any questions or if you feel something is wrong please call, text, message or email us.

****Above guide based on “Chinchillas 101” by Narcissus Kimball of Aces Up Chinchillas with some modifications****