How to Keep a Pet Chinchilla

Chinchillas make wonderful pets if you take care of them. Chinchillas require some special care but once you understand how to care for them, it becomes natural to you. Keep your chinchilla happy and healthy and they will be with you for many years.

Instructions

1. Purchase the right cage. Your cage needs to be large enough to accommodate your chinchilla and in a relatively quiet room. For chinchillas, the bigger the cage, the better. They like to run around and bounce off cage walls as well as hop small platforms.

2. Make sure your cage is chin-proof. No hard plastics or soft plastics and only chinchilla-safe wood in the cage. Chinchillas need to chew and will chew on anything and everything they can. They can nibble through wood without a problem.

3. Keep a stable but cool temperature. Anything above 75ºF can be fatal. Chinchillas can suffer from heat strokes so always make sure the temperature is comfortable for them.

4. Give your chinchilla a bath but don't get him wet! Chinchillas enjoy bath time in chinchilla dust. They take dust baths to keep their fur in good condition.

5. Sit with your chinchilla. Take time to get to know your chinchilla. Let him out for runs in chinchilla-safe rooms, feed him treats and talk to him in a soothing voice. You'll find that your chinchilla is quite intelligent.

6. Check your chinchilla's teeth. The teeth should be yellow and should not overlap one another, the tops and bottoms should meet.

7. Locate a good veterinarian. Chinchillas are still considered exotic pets even though their popularity has increased. Make sure that your veterinarian has handled chinchillas before and knows what problems they may have. They are delicate animals and if you see any sign of a problem such as drooling, loss of appetite, being lethargic or fur biting, you will need to take your chinchilla to a veterinarian immediately.