Chin Rescue, Info & Supplies

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Housing

When choosing the proper housing for your pet chinchilla there are several things you need to keep in mind. 

1) Chinchillas need to be kept in a draft free area and out of direct sunlight

2) They need to be kept in a room where the temperature can be easily adjusted and regulated at no more than 75 degrees Farenheit. Optimal temperature is 60-65 degrees Farenheit

3) I recommend keeping chinchillas out of high traffic areas in your home. You must remember that chinchillas are nocturnal and while they do tend to adjust to your schedule, try to imagine what it would be like to have constant distractions while you are sleeping.

4) Your cage should offer more vertical space than horizontal

5) Plastic is very bad for chinchillas, so your cage should not contain any.

6) In my opinion the bigger the cage, the better. There is no such thing as too much space.

7) Bar spacing needs to be no larger than 1" for adult chins and 1/2" for kits

There are several places you can buy premade cages and I will out line what my opinion on each company/cage is

Quality Cage company is one of my top choices for premade cages. www.qualitycage.com. This company offers affordable cages that come chinchilla safe with little or no modifications needed. The largest cage they offer is the chinchilla mansion and it would be my top choice. I really like that the cage comes with 4 pine shelves that are fully adjustable and chinchilla safe. The cage also features a pull out pan for easy cleaning. This is one thing I REALLY wish that I had on my cages. I currently have a drop in pan, and let me tell you, lifting a 7ft tall cage everytime I need to clean it is literally a pain. They also sell additional shelves and accessories so you can have it all shipped to you at once which is really convenient.

Martins Cages are another commonly used chinchilla cage. www.martinscages.com. I will say there is one thing that I am not 100% comfortable with when it comes to these cages, and that is the wire floors. Many people use these cages with no problem, but I have heard horror stories about chinchillas toes and feet getting caught and breaking or getting torn off. The good thing about this company is that you can order just the shell of the cage and add your own pine shelving to make it completely safe. Again, these cages have pull out pans which is very handy.

Another option is purchasing a cage from a petstore. There are unfortunately not very many pros and several cons to this option. One pro is that there is no worry about shipping costs or the cage getting damaged during shipping. This can drop the overall price of the cage itself, but will most likely cost you more in the end because you have to make several adjustments to the cages to make them safe. It is quite unfortunate but pet stores do not sell suitable cages for chinchillas. The cages purchased at pet stores need to have all of the plastic removed and replaced with wood shelves.Also they do not offer pull out pans so cleaning can become quite a chore.

Personally I have superpet cages that I purchased at Petsmart. This is a picture of my cage set up.  I have removed all of the plastic shelving and replaced the parts with chinchilla safe accessories. I opted to keep these cages because I can continually add onto them and expand them as long as I have the room.

If none of these options appeal to you there is another option. You can build your own cage using plans found at http://www.hapagirl.com/cage/ ,  http://www.chins-n-quills.com/forums/showthread.php?p=996664#post996664 , http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/5102/cageplans1.html. If you choose to build your own cage you need to make sure that you use chinchilla safe products, especially when it comes to your shelves you need to use safe wood.  Here is a link tht provides some information on safe wood and metals. http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/5102/cageplans1.html

BEDDING

NEVER USE CEDAR BEDDING FOR YOUR CHINCHILLA. It can be deadly. Also do not use newspaper where your chin might be able to reach it and chew on it. The ink it toxic.

The only acceptable bedding to use is kiln dried pine or aspen shavings, or Carefresh bedding. A lot of people recommend Carefresh because it is more absorbent, but it is pricey, especially if you have more than 1 or 2 cages to clean each week. Also with Carefresh bedding you need to monitor your chin and make sure that they are not eating it. Some "taste tasting" is to be expected, but if you notice your chin is consuming it on a regular basis you will need to switch bedding. Carefresh is not easily broken down in the digestive track and it can cause blockages. I personally use aspen shavings in my cages. I found that the pine bedding I bought tended to be more dusty and it aggravated my allergies. Another suggestion that is often made is to buy both Carefresh as well as another type of preferred bedding and use them together. This way by placing Carefresh in the corner(s)/area where your chin alleviates itself the most, you can have extra absorbancey in those areas and regular bedding everywhere else.

You should change your chinchillas bedding at least once a week, and do spot removals when neccessary. Generally a chinchillas urine does not stink unless there is an excess build up of it somewhere in the cage that you have neglected to remove for quite some time, or if they are ill.

ACCESSORIES

After you have decided on what kind of cage to get you then have to decide on how you would like to fill it. Thanks to some very creative individuals there are now many chinchilla safe products that you can purchase from small businesses online, and in most cases the proceeds from the products go to their rescue. I will out line a couple of different items you may want to consider purchasing for your chinchillas home.

FLEECE PRODUCTS
Hammocks are a great addition to most any cage. A chinchilla safe hammock should be made of fleece, not nylon, and there should be no exposed threads. As with any "toy" that you purchase for your chin there is always a risk that your chin will not use it. It is my opinion that the reason why some chinchillas refuse to use a hammock is becuase it does not feel stable when they are in it. It may take some time, but usuallly chins will eventually warm up to them and they become a comfy lounging spot. Many people sell chinchilla safe hammocks for $5-$10 each.

An alternative to a hammock is a great product called a fleece tube (It was actually the best independent product of 2006). This is a hard cardboard tube that has been covered with fleece and has hardware so you can attach it to the side of the cage. These can be found at http://www.fuzzbuttchins.com/ . I have found that my chin that doesn't prefer the hammock, loves this tube.

If you own a single chin and you notice that they are moping around and seem lonely then a Cuddle Buddy could be a very good investment. Again, many people make these and sell them for a reasonable price ($5-$10). A Cuddle Buddy is often a bear, chinchilla, or other shape made entirely of fleece and stuffed with fleece inside. Many chins will accept a cuddle buddy as a companion and it can make a world of difference in your chins demeanor.

WHEELS
Another great investment to get your chinchilla is a wheel. While pet stores do sell wheels at a rather inexpensive price, they are not safe for chinchillas. There are a couple of reasons for this: One, those wheels are plastic (which can be deadly when ingested) and Two, the diameter of the wheels is not large enough. Chinchillas should have a minimum 15" diameter wheel to avoid unneccessary strain on the spine and allow them to run in a more natural manner. The best wheel, in my opinion, to eliminate unneccessary strain is called the Flying Saucer. You can find this on the Quality Cage website. This wheel is used by many chinchilla owners and almost all of them give it very good ratings. The only complaint I have ever heard about this wheel is that some chinchillas have a hard time learning how to use it. And because of it's design it does take up a lot of cage space. I recently got a flying saucer and I have to say that Roo took to it like a champ the first night. It does take up quite a bit of cage space, but it was well worth the investment in my opinion.

Another great wheel is the Chin Spin, which is also made by Quality Cage Co. I have had my Chin Spin for almost 4 years and I don't have a single complaint. It is a very large wheel, but it is quiet and my chinnies love it.

One wheel that I have no personal experience with, but I know there are several chin owners that use them and give great reviews are Silver Surfer Wheels. You can find these at www.chinchillas.com in their E-Store. These are among the most expensive wheels I have seen, but like I said I haven't heard any complaints.

You can also buy a homemade wheel from http://www.geocities.com/forchinatechins/chincessories.htm. I also have one of these and it works okay. My only complaint is that the running surface is small so my big chins have a hard time staying on it. But for the price you can't beat it.

Which brings me to a point I would like to make about all of these wheels. Yes, they are expensive "toys", but I feel that offering your chin a wheel can be very beneficial to your chin. This is especially true if you do not have the time to take your chin out everyday for play time. Plus, if you clean your wheel, and keep the bearings in good condition these wheels should last you a very long time, and in my opinion they are worth the investment.

HIDE BOXES
An important thing to remember about your chin is that it is a prey animal. Because of this, at times they will feel threatened and need a place to seek shelter. You should always provide your chinchilla with a place to hide and/or sleep where they can feel protected. You can purchase a wooden house at many pet stores for around $15-$25 OR you can order them from different online retailers for between $5-$20 depending on the style.

Dust baths

Chinchillas are not like most other animals and they do not bathe in water.  Actually, getting your chinchilla wet can be deadly in some situations. Chinchillas fur is very dense and it would be extremely hard to make sure they are completely dry. When a chinchilla gets wet it can cause skin fungus and other problems that could end in a very expensive vet trip.

Chinchillas actually bathe in very fine grated lava rock (dust) and therefore we refer to it as Dust Baths. The dust aides the chins in removing excess oils that are harmful to their coats and keeps them looking beautiful and feeling soft. I recommend slightly dusting your hands before handling chins just to help cut down on the oils that may get transferred from our skin to their fur. The amount of dust baths your chin needs will depend on your chin, and the humidity in your area or where the chin is caged. Usually dusting 2-3 times a week for 10-20 minutes at a time will suffice. However in some situations your chin will require more or less time dusting. If you notice that your chin is looking “greasy” then they need to be dusted. If you notice that the skin on their ears is very dry looking you need to dust less often.  You should never leave the dust bath in the cage all the time. Too much dust will cause your chins skin to dry out and will cause more complications.

Dust can be purchased at the pet store, but you need to make sure that it is DUST and not SAND and it needs to be dust that has been manufactured for chinchillas. The best dust, in my opinion is Blue Cloud. Since I made the switch from Kaytee Dust (sold at Petsmart) to Blue Cloud I have noticed a difference in my chins coat. It looks much more healthy. Another good dust to use that closely resembles Kaytee dust is Blue Sparkle, which as its name suggests the dust has a slight sparkle to it.

There are several different options on how to dust your chin. No matter what option you choose you should always supervise your chin while your chin is dusting. Also dust can be reused, but after each dusting you should sift the dust and remove any loose hair and/or poos that end up in the dust. We use the same dust for 1-3 weeks sifting it after each bath. Be sure to totally replace the dust shall it become soiled.

You should only put around an inch of dust in whatever container you choose to use.  You can purchase a plastic super pet dust house at almost any Petco or Petsmart for around $15. These work fairly well for containing the dust but there are a couple of downfalls that I found when I used them. One is that it is a small container and for larger chins it doesn’t leave a lot of room to roll around and a lot of dust is forced off of them when the go in and out of the entrance. Plus it is plastic and you always need to closely supervise and make sure your chin isn’t chewing and ingesting the plastic. Another option is using a cake pan. This is more of a messy option but it’s fun for you because you can see your chin flipping and rolling around and your chin isn’t going to be breathing in so much dust from it being contained in a small area. Also some breeders/ranchers (such as Ryersons) do use metal dusting pans that can be purchased and are relatively inexpensive. And the option that we personally have chosen with our own chins is a litter box. We purchased a litter box for around $10 and put about ½ inch worth of dust in the bottom. The litter pan has a lid so it helps keep the dust contained but it’s large enough that there is still some air flow inside and it’s large enough for all four chins to dive in at once.

*TIP* One way to cut down on the mess during bath time is to place whatever container you choose to use in the bathtub. Then once bath time is over and all chins are safely back in their cage you can rinse out the tub and get rid of the excess dust