Chinchillas are social pets that require some special care and feeding.
Chinchilla Basic Care
- Chinchillas need a dust bath for 10 – 15 minutes several times a week.
- Chinchillas do not tolerate heat or humidity well and should be kept below a temperature of 80F.
- Chinchillas may live 10 – 20 years.
Housing
Chinchillas are very active and are able to leap 3 feet straight up in the air. The larger the enclosure, the better so one that is 3 x 2 x 2 feet is a good starter home. Welded wire mesh with very small openings is acceptable with solid flooring; avoid wire flooring. The enclosure must be free of sharp edges to avoid injury. Multiple level platforms should be provided in the enclosure for jumping and climbing. Items, such as untreated, nontoxic wood and pesticide- free tree branches, must be provided for the chinchilla to chew. Cardboard paper towel tubes may be provided for enrichment. The cage should provide different climbing areas and also a sleeping box in an upper corner for privacy.
Chinchillas may be quite social and the majority enjoy a companion. However, many issues may arise when pairing up chinchillas and it can be quite trying to introduce them to each other. Many chinchillas will not accept strangers into their own cage so the introductions often go better in a neutral cage (i.e., a cage neither has lived in before OR their own cages that have been thoroughly cleaned and rearranged with some new furniture added). When an introduction is successful, chinchillas will live happily with each other and develop a strong bond. However, some chinchillas are best housed individually as they consistently fight with cagemates. In these cases, the female chinchilla generally is the dominant sex. Unless you are intending to breed chinchillas, it is best to go with same sex pairs or to spay or neuter the opposite sex pairs. (There are already many chinchillas in rescues so please think about this before embarking on a breeding project!)
Substrate
Many chinchilla owners use wood shavings such as aspen or pine. Another bedding often used is made from recycled paper (e.g., Carefresh, Yesterday’s News). However, no substrate is a “perfect” substrate as there have been some respiratory issues associated with recycled paper bedding and gastrointestinal impactions associated with chinchillas consuming the wood shavings. Cedar shavings should be avoided as there are issues associated with inhaling the aromatic oils. The cage should be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week.
Diet
A good quality Timothy-based pelleted diet formulated for chinchillas and an unlimited variety of quality grass hays provides an adequate diet for adult chinchillas. Only young, pregnant, or lactating chinchillas should consume alfalfa-based products. Treats should be avoided to prevent obesity. Chinchillas consume almost 70% of their food in the evening hours. A water bottle with a sipper tube and a water bowl are the best ways to provide a clean, plentiful supply of water; it should be replenished daily.
Treats are not necessary and may cause problems in some chinchillas. For example, fruit may cause bloating and diarrhea due to its high sugar content. Alfalfa hay may be given as a treat along with shredded wheat or small amounts of fresh dark green leafy vegetables (no more than 1 tablespoon). Treats need to be given in moderation and should not surpass more than 5% of their regular diet.
Handling Tips
Chinchillas need to feel safe when they are handled and therefore you should always use two hands when picking your chinchilla up. Use one hand under the abdomen to support the body and the other hand around the base of the tail. Children should not be allowed to handle these pets without strict supervision due to their delicate fur and skin. Rough handling may cause fur to come out in large chunks and cause bruising of the skin.
Common Health Problems
- Heat Stroke: Chinchillas may become overheated very easily and need to be kept in a well ventilated cage. Ideally, their surrounding temperature between 50 – 74°F. Most do well at temperatures as high as 80°F. Basically, if the room is a comfortable temperature for you and you are not sweating or feeling warm even with mild exercise, your house temperature is probably appropriate for a chinchilla. Symptoms of heat stroke include lethargy, panting and bright red mucous membranes. If you see any of these signs have your chinchilla evaluated immediately.
- Diarrhea: The most common cause of diarrhea is poor diet and tooth problems, but chinchillas may also have intestinal infections. If your chinchilla has diarrhea have it checked by a vet quickly as this may cause death if not corrected.
- Dental Malocclusion: Symptoms of this condition are drooling, a decrease in appetite, a decrease in size and amount of feces, or diarrhea. Malocclusion means that the teeth are not aligned properly. The teeth on top don’t properly line up with the teeth on the bottom. These teeth may develop sharp points that injure the cheek and tongue and make it difficult to eat. We file the teeth to their normal shape while your chinchilla is under general anesthesia.
- Fur Ring: This is a condition the affects male chinchillas and can be life threatening if not treated right away. It is caused by a ring of shed fur that becomes stuck and constricts the penis. Any male chinchilla that grooms this area regularly, strains to urinate, or only produces a very small amount of urine at a time should be check for a fur ring.
- Respiratory infections: Signs include sneezing, drainage from nose, lethargy and decrease in appetite. This can become very dangerous for a little chinchilla so treatment should occur quickly.
Dental Problems: Chinchillas
Chinchillas have constantly growing teeth (incisors, premolars, and molars). Dental problems are very common in pet chinchillas if they do not get proper diets. A chinchilla should always have available a large amount of high quality timothy hay, such as Oxbow Timothy Hay, which helps wear the teeth and provides enough fiber to promote their gastrointestinal health. If a chinchilla does not get enough timothy grass hay, the teeth may grow in unusual shapes due to a lack of tough material to physically grind the biting surface of the teeth. Pelleted food, alfalfa hay, and leafy greens and other produce are soft and do not cause the chinchillas to chew vigorously side to side as timothy hay does.
This is a picture inside a chinchilla’s mouth showing the lower cheek teeth, tongue, and opening to the trachea. The edges of the teeth are irregular, compared to a normal chinchilla’s mouth. This created “lingual spikes” that interfered with chewing and irritated the tongue.
The green arrow points to sharp edges that are cutting into the tongue. These points are corrected by filing to a more normal shape.
In some cases, the teeth grow in ways that trap the tongue and prevent the chinchilla pig from being able to drink!
Dental disease can develop for a variety of other reasons. For example, some chinchillas may be born with abnormally shaped teeth that simply don’t line up for proper grinding. Injuries to the mouth, skull, or jaw bone may cause the teeth to grow at odd angles. Tumors may also start to deform the shape of the teeth.
Some chinchillas require such frequent teeth filing that extraction of the abnormal teeth is a better option. Occasionally a chinchilla may need all four front teeth (incisors) extracted because they grow in at such abnormal angles and require filing every few weeks. Extraction of an incisor is a delicate procedure and a chinchilla will require lots of special attention afterward until its mouth heals. Fortunately, most chinchillas do quite well without any incisors. Some chinchillas have had all their cheek teeth removed and do well.
The single most important thing you can do to prevent teeth problems is to restrict the amount of pellets your chinchilla eats to ensure that it chews enough timothy hay to wear down the teeth. Timothy hay should be available at all times. Pellets should be offered so that the whole bowl is eating within a few hours and the rest of the time your chinchilla has to eat the hay.
For adult chinchillas, we recommend 1/8 cup of a high quality pellet designed for chinchillas (e.g., Oxbow Chinchilla Deluxe). Growing and pregnant chinchillas should always have their bowl full.
Make sure to bring your chinchilla in for regular physical exams performed by our doctors. We’ll check the length and condition of its teeth. If your chinchilla has ongoing problems, we recommend a check every 4 months so that we can tackle problems before they impact its health. If we find that the teeth are overgrown, we will set up an appointment to file your chinchilla’s teeth under general anesthesia and administer other treatments that may be needed.
A chinchilla with dental problems may drool, have stained or matted fur on its chin and jaw, a loss of appetite, a shift in appetite to only its favorite foods, a change in the quantity or consistency of its feces, or even eye problems. If you are at all concerned that your chinchilla may be developing dental disease please make an appointment for an exam!
Further Reading
