3 Responses for "Are chinchillas easy to take care of?"

1. heidi s September 17th, 2009 at 3:33 am 1

   I currently own 4 chins. They love to eat from my hand. Chins require a large cage, preferably multileveled. Their diet consists of timothy hay, which should be available at all times. I feed mine pellets in the evening. The pellets should be chinchilla pellets with no treats in them. The need to be allowed to run at least an hour everyday and get dust baths 2-3 times a week. Their teeth constantly grow, so you need to have things for them to chew on at all times. I personally like the lava dots from the pet store. Chins overheat very easily, so they need to be in the air conditioner in the summer. I believe that it is no temps over 75. I have noticed that when held for a period of time they get overheated, so we don’t hold ours more than fifteen minutes at a time, but they seem to love sitting on my lap and watching movies. They need a hidebox also. I live in Hannibal mo and the stores around here sell them for 120. If I were you, I would try craigslist, petfinder, or there is a rescue in st louis that has chins available their website is http://www.freewebs.com/stlouischinchillarescue/index.htm
   Chins live anywhere from 15-20 years.
   Hope this helped some.
   I also give my chins a raisin every other day as a treat
   References :

2. вεαυтιfυl drεαмεr September 17th, 2009 at 3:53 am 2

   I think they’re fairly easy to care for. I have two right now. Every day I give them fresh food, hay and water, scoop the pee-soaked bedding out of the cage, wipe off the shelves, and let them out to run. The cleaning and feeding probably takes about 15 minutes. As for letting them out to run, they have their own, chin-proof room, so I don’t have to stay with them every second that they’re out. I usually let them out around 5:30 and leave their cage doors open until somewhere between 9:30-10:30. I always go in and spend some time with them (at the very least an hour). Once a week I thoroughly clean the entire cage (scoop out all of the bedding, wash the bottom of the cage, clean the food and hay dishes, and wipe down shelves, I also empty their dust bath tub and wash that and fill with clean dust). That usually takes an hour (for two cages). That’s pretty much it, nothing hard in my opinion.

   As for costs, yes they can be a bit expensive and are the most expensive rodent to keep and care for. It’s just the chinchilla and the cage that are the big expenses, but their food is a bit more expensive than that of other rodents. You’ll also need to buy bedding/litter, hay, and chew things. Oh, and also dust. Mine usually get their dust bath three times a week.

   If you’re really interested in learning more about them, check out this site: http://www.chincare.com It has a lot of useful information.
   References :
   chin owner for 11+ years

3. Top Chinchilla Charm Info in Sep - Chinchilla Charm October 5th, 2009 at 7:46 pm 3

   [...] Are chinchillas easy to take care of? Posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 in Facts about Chinchillas – Comments: (2) I went to a new pet store the other day to purchase a hamster for my neice. Being that most of the pet stores in my neighborhood ( without having to drive 30 mins to go to a petco or petsmart) are strictly fish/reptile/dog stores, I’d never seen a chinchilla except for on tv.I fell in love when I saw one but was majorly put off by the price as well as the fact that I knew nothing of how to take care of one.I know that they require dust baths and specific foods.What I was wanting to know: Are these an easy animal to take care of?I have three dogs that roam the house and I have an extra bedroom that isn’t used. I heard they need to be able to run around. I think I could actually adopt one, but I don’t want to get myself into something I can’t handle. [...]