Chinchillas are gentle, timid and intelligent animals from the rodent family. They originate from the Andes Region of South America and becoming increasingly popular pets.An adult animal can grow up to 30-36 cm long including its tail. The chinchilla‘s tail can measure up to 12.5 cm long. It’s fur is dense and it has large ears and eyes and long stiff whiskers. A fully grown chinchilla usually weighs somewhere between 600 and 800 grams.

Chinchillas make loving little pets, but although they are quite small they do need a sizeable chinchilla cage.  For one chinchilla the minimum size cage advised should be about 36″ wide x 24″ high x 18″ deep.  Because chinchillas are rock hoppers that like to scurry, they tend to prefer floor space in their cages rather than height

Ideally, the cage should be made from strong, welded wire mesh of at least 16g thickness and the mesh should be no more than 1.9cm (¾”) square.  Plastic coated wire mesh is not a good idea as the chinchilla may chew or eat the plastic.

Platforms within the cage should be made from either wood or metal and not mesh and a small house for them to rest and sleep in should be provided. .

Raised wire floors in the cage allow droppings, urine and partially eaten food to fall through. Chinchillas are clean animals that do not like their fur to become soiled so keeping their cage pristine is important.

Some cages are designed so that the cage actually sits inside the base so that it can be lifted out for cleaning, whilst other chinchilla cages are designed with a slide out litter tray underneath the cage.

Because a chinchilla’s teeth continue growing (much like a rabbit’s teeth), they need something in their cage to chew on.  Pumice stone or pieces of wood are generally recommended.  You will also need to have a water bottle, a food dish that cannot be tipped over, some food, hay and some litter – wood based cat litter or wood shavings are fine but sawdust is too fine and cedar wood shavings are harmful to chinchillas.

It is adviseable for chinchillas to be given a chinchilla dust bath or a sand bath for at least 10 minutes every day as the dust is specially formulated to cleanse their fine fur of grease and dirt.  Chinchillas who are not allowed this activity can have dull fur which sticks together making it part in great clumps. This can be very uncomfortable for the chinchillas and is also unsightly .

A chinchilla’s nutritional requirements tend to be quite bland as all they require is commercially produced chinchilla pellets, fresh, clean, dry hay and fresh water.  Your vet will be able to advise you on the best type of food for your chinchilla.