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Step 1
Buy a large cage with plenty of room for the chinchilla to run around and exercise adequately.
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Step 2
Purchase large quantities of quality hay and chinchilla pellets to feed the chinchilla. Also, buy a fresh supply of vegetables to supplement the chinchilla's diet. Buy at least one bag of dust to line the bottom of the chinchilla's cage.
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Step 3
Find a quiet corner of the home to place the cage. Make sure the space is quiet during the day; chinchillas are nocturnal. Keep the area at a constant room temperature free from drafts and direct air from air conditioning and heating vents.
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Step 4
Construct an area for the chinchilla to enjoy some time out of his cage. Keep the area free of any items that your pet can chew on or damage.
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Step 5
Acquire a chinchilla from a pet store or a breeder. Choose a breeder that has handled the animal often, if you want a chinchilla that is social.
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Step 6
Look over the animal carefully—watch for any signs of illness such as watery eyes or dull fur. Observe its behavior and determine whether the chinchilla is tame enough to make an enjoyable pet. Pick up the animal, and see how he interacts with you.
Comments
tunes said
on 2/26/2008 7) A good rule of thumb to follow: Pet store chin supplies = unsafe/unhealthy/useless. Very few things in a pet store are usable for chins, other than bedding and the occasional wood chew. Find a reputable breeder and get your food/hay/etc. from them. Run from the runabout balls. They have been the cause of many, many chinchilla deaths.
tunes said
on 2/26/2008 5) Temperature. Just having a chin in a consistent temperature isn't all you need to be concerned about. A chin should be kept in an area between 65 and 70, though some people push it to 75. If you stand in their area in a heavy, heavy winter coat and feel warm, it's too warm for them as well.
6) Find a vet BEFORE you need one. Interview and make sure they have experience. If you don't, when an emergency happens, you could find that they are more hurtful to your chin than helpful.
tunes said
on 2/26/2008 4) If you line the bottom of a cage with dust, you are going to be paying a fortune. Blue Cloud (the best dust on the market for chinchillas) is anywhere from $23.00 to $45.00 a bag depending on where you purchase it. That's pretty pricey compared to $4.00 for a bag of kiln dried pine shavings. Also, keeping dust in their cage 24/7 is going to cause them to develop dry skin and make them itch and get flakes. It's not comfortable for them, and it's not necessary. Two to three dust baths a week are sufficient, unless you live in a very high humidity area, in which case four would be acceptable.
tunes said
on 2/26/2008 Oxbow, APD, Kleenmama's are recommended amongst the chin community. You can also purchase hay cubes as well. General rule of thumb is if your feed is alfalfa based, to feed a timothy hay and cube. Protein needs to be kept down in a chinchilla's diet, ideally, to 15% or below.
3) ABSOLUTELY NO FRESH VEGETABLES, EVER. You will end up with a chin who bloats or has gut stasis. These are VERY hard to cure and it would be better for everyone to just avoid the things that can cause it.
tunes said
on 2/26/2008 think again. The more you handle them, the more they will overheat. The best way to think of chinchillas is "chinavision." Great fun to watch, but not a ton of interaction. There are exceptions to this, of course, but for the most part if you keep that in mind, you won't be disappointed.
2) "Good quality food" means different things to different people. Some people think good quality food is buying it from Petsmart instead of Wal-Mart. This is not the case. Good qualify feeds include Tradition, Mazuri, APD, Klein, and Oxbow chinchilla pellets, only two of which (Mazuri and Oxbow) you can get in a few pet stores. The rest you have to go through a private breeder or order on-line. There are also a few rabbit pellets that are accepted as good feeds for chinchillas, PANR and Pen Pals. Again, you will not find them in a pet store. Pet store feeds are garbage. They are loaded