Chinchillas: Basic Care
Here is a basic overview of the care your chinchilla needs on a daily, multi weekly, weekly and monthly basis:
Daily
- Pellets & Hay: Feed unlimited Timothy hay (under 6 months need alfalfa hay also) and high quality pellet such as Science Selective in the UK and Oxbow Essentials or Mazuri in the US. Ensure fresh, clean water is provided.
- Temperature must always be less than 21C/70F
- Check for illness chinchillas will hide any sign of sickness, often until it's too late. Follow the Daily Health Check to pick up on any signs of illness early and ensure weigh your chinchilla weekly to check for any weight loss.
- Playtime in a completely chinchilla proofed area for around 1 hour per day (longer is great if you have time!) If you are unable to offer this daily, you should aim to do playtime at least 3-4 times per week.
2-3 Times per week
Sandbaths: 2-3 times per week depending on chinchilla
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Chinchillas need a sandbath roughly 2-3 times a week for around 5 minutes, to keep their coat clean and healthy. In the wild chinchillas would roll in volcanic ash to do this. You must buy purpose made chinchilla dust/sand (its name varies depending on where you come from) as normal sand is far too coarse and unsuitable.
Place 3-4 inches of chinchilla sand/dusting powder in a chinchilla sandbath. These can be bought online or in most good petshops. Metal sandbaths are best as you don’t have to worry about your chinchilla chewing it. If you have a plastic sandbath, never leave your chinchilla unsupervised and stop them immediately if they try to chew it. |
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How often your chinchilla needs a sand bath varies from chinchilla to chinchilla - if your chinchilla’s coat looks dull or greasy then they need sandbaths more regularly, if their ears start to look dry or flaky, they need them less often.
If your chinchilla urinates in the sandbath then you should replace the sand. Otherwise you can re-use the sand several times, but make sure you pick out any poos that may be in there. You should not leave your chinchilla’s sandbath in their cage permanently as they may over use it making their skin dry, plus many will just use this as toilet!
If your chinchilla urinates in the sandbath then you should replace the sand. Otherwise you can re-use the sand several times, but make sure you pick out any poos that may be in there. You should not leave your chinchilla’s sandbath in their cage permanently as they may over use it making their skin dry, plus many will just use this as toilet!
Weekly
Cage cleaning: weekly (minimum)
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You should completely clean out your chinchilla’s cage at least once a week. How often you need to clean your chinchilla’s cage depends on how many chinchillas per cage, the size of the cage and the bedding you use. If you use other bedding such as non pill fleece you may need to replace this more regularly - if it is wet then it needs changing. It’s very important to ensure you keep your chinchilla’s cage clean as poor hygiene can lead to all sorts of health problems.
The best disinfectant to use is white vinegar water. This is very cheap, you just need a bottle of standard white vinegar and dilute this down with water. As a rough guide, 1/3 white vinegar and 2/3 water is a good mixture. Other cage cleaners are more expensive and could be harmful to your chinchilla. Make sure you completely remove all poos and bedding, and use vinegar water to clean any urine stains. Whilst cleaning your chinchilla’s cage it may be easier to have someone else supervise them for playtime or place them in their travel cage. |
If your chinchilla allows it, you can leave them in the cage and clean around them. However this isn’t always possible as many chinchillas are very inquisitive and will want to explore your cleaning cloth or try and escape the cage!
Monthly
Monthly hair ring check - males
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Male chinchillas need a monthly hair ring check to see if there is any fur caught around their penis. Hair rings left untreated can cause serious problems such as cutting off circulation and an inability to urinate, which in turn can cause life threatening kidney problems.
To check for a hair ring, you need to ensure your chinchilla is held securely. The burrito method can help if your chinchilla is particularly wriggly, you get a towel and wrap your chinchilla as you would a burrito. This makes them easier to hold and less able to wriggle, just make sure you’re gentle and don’t accidentally hurt them. |
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Once your chinchilla is held securely you need to fully extend the penis from the sheath/foreskin. If you are having difficulty doing this then you can use some water based lubricant to help the process. The chinchilla’s penis should be fully extended in order to check for hair rings.
A chinchilla’s extended penis is actually very long considering their size and can even reach 2 inches, so keep this in mind when checking if the penis is fully extended. If there is any fur caught around the penis you must remove this - hair rings can usually be worked off fairly easily. You must ensure the penis fully retracts again after the hair ring check, if it doesn’t then you must take your chinchilla to the vets.
If you’re unable to remove a hair ring or haven’t been able to carry the hair ring check yourself, then you must take your chinchilla to the exotic vets to do this for you.
A chinchilla’s extended penis is actually very long considering their size and can even reach 2 inches, so keep this in mind when checking if the penis is fully extended. If there is any fur caught around the penis you must remove this - hair rings can usually be worked off fairly easily. You must ensure the penis fully retracts again after the hair ring check, if it doesn’t then you must take your chinchilla to the vets.
If you’re unable to remove a hair ring or haven’t been able to carry the hair ring check yourself, then you must take your chinchilla to the exotic vets to do this for you.