|
   
There are a few essential items you must purchase before you bring your
new pet home;
Cage
Food Bowl
Dust Bath and Sand
Water Bottle
Fresh Food
Gnawing, Mineral & Chewing Blocks
Nest Box
Cage
Perhaps the most important item your chinchilla will need is a new house
to live in.
The cage should be made from wire, as a chin will chew through anything
else (wood and plastic).
It should be an adequate size for the chinchilla to get exercise and live
a healthy happy life.
An ideal size for a single chin is shown below;
Cage by Paul Spooner
www.chillaquip.freeuk.com
Specification: 24"long x 18" wide x 24" high, two softwood shelves,
built-in hayrack,
feed dish retaining clip, water bottle holder/protector, slide-in
galvanised steel droppings tray.
Height is not essential, and can be dangerous if your chinchilla climbs
and falls it could break a bone or its neck, this can occur especially in
kits.
If you own or wish to buy a pair of chinchillas, the ideal cage should
look similar to the one below;
Cage by Paul Spooner
www.chillaquip.freeuk.com
Specification: 36" long x 18" wide x 24" high, two softwood shelves,
built-in hayrack,
water bottle holder/protector, feed dish retaining clip, slide-in
galvanised steel droppings tray.
Always buy your cage from a reputable breeder, I advise Paul Spooner as he
is reasonably priced and owns the right equipment to make the cage
correctly, (you can visit his great site for cages and accessories on
www.chillaquip.freeuk.com)
Often Pet shops and other such suppliers will sell an overpriced plastic
or wooden cage that is not right for your chin.
On many occasions I have seen long tall birdcages being sold as suitable
cages for chins, which they are not. Generally speaking these pet shops
never know where the chin is going, so don’t care about the type of cage
it lives in, whereas a reputable breeder will usually offer advice and
further contact after a purchase has been made with them.
The wire should not have large gaps as they may get their feet caught,
causing injuries.
Ideally the cage should be mounted on a wall or stood on a stand, as they
do not like being leaned over and overshadowed.
A clear airflow is needed but not drafts, these can kill a chinchilla, as
can heat exhaustion if the temperature exceeds 29 degrees.
The cage should not be positioned in direct sunlight as it can become too
hot for them.
The room in which the cage lives should by light airy and dry, NOT damp,
as this can cause fur fungus, bathrooms should be avoided.
When transporting the chinchilla you should think carefully as to what you
will carry it in, as if it is a long distance trip it will chew a plastic
carry box, which could make it ill. Also, a cardboard box will pose no
obstacle to a chinchilla, as we found once when travelling in a car on a
3hr journey to a show, we discovered 2 of our chins having a run around in
the back of the car! This can be dangerous for the driver and chinchilla.
The best form of carrying a chin is shown below;
Cage by Paul Spooner www.chillaquip.freeuk.com
This is an official show cage and ideal for transporting
your chin.
Back to top
Food Bowl
The food bowl should not be made out of plastic it should be metal or hard
pot (like a rabbit bowl) it should be heavy or attached to the cage as
chins will knock it over and you will end up spending a fortune on food!
Below is a picture of an ideal food trough and dust bath;
Products made by Paul Spooner
www.chillaquip.freeuk.com
Back to top
Dust Bath and Sand
Chinchillas are not like other animals and humans when it comes to bath
time, they should NOT be wet as it is very bad for them and their fur.
Because their fur is so dense they need to bath (roll around) in sand as
it separates the hairs and cleans the chin.
A bath should be given everyday, or at least four times a week, if not the
chinchilla can become greasy to touch and look at. The bath should not be
left in for more then an hour and should be nice and clean, free from damp
or droppings every time it is used. Personally I sieve my sand for one
week and then buy fresh this way I’m not spending a fortune but my chins
are clean and happy.
Again anything other then metal and a chin will chew! The picture above
shows an ideal dust bath.
The correct sand should be chinchilla dust only; it is about 70p a bag and
is available at most pet shops. DO NOT use ordinary sand, as it is too
thick.
When the chin has a bath it is lovely to see but they fling it everywhere
so don’t give him/her a bath if you are expecting visitors!
A lot of people feel they must put lots of sand in for the chin to have a
really good bath, in fact the opposite is true, only a small layer a
couple of cm high should be put in at any one time for the chin to
thoroughly enjoy it’s bath.
Back to top
Water Bottle
Again the golden rule that chins chew everything applies, so it is best to
buy a glass water bottle rather then plastic, as you may find you’re
replacing them quite often.
The water bottle should be positioned on the outside of the cage at a
level where the chin has to reach up (not stretch as far as it can), this
is good for the digestion.
Back to top
Fresh Food
Chinchillas should be fed on good quality chinchilla pellets ONLY, never
feed a chinchilla food that looks like rabbit food, but claims it’s for
chinchillas, this does not contain the correct diet, it make look nice and
they love it but it is potentially dangerous to your chin digestive system
and health, everything they need to live a long happy, healthy life is in
the pellets. Unfortunately a certain make of food I see (which I can’t
name for legal reasons) being used time and time again by chinchilla
owners; is not good at all.
A chinchilla should be given 1-2tbsp of pellets per day.
Of course treats can be given, but only in moderation, I know how tempting
it is to feed them all sorts of treats, but you are only doing it harm.
Too many sweet things, such as their favourites; raisons can lead to
diabetes or diarrhoea, which again are potential killers to chinchillas.
The treats that can be given in moderation are:
Rivita
Apple
Carrot
Raisins
Unsugared dried bananas (NOT fresh)
Dried apricots (Unsugared)
Raisin Wheat
A supplement which can be given occasionally to spice up feed times is
Alfalfa, which may be loose or come in small cubes, depending on your pet
shop.
A little fresh hay should be given everyday; it should be stored in a dry
cool place.
If the hay becomes damp in any way, harmful spores can be released, this
can lead to fur fungus, which can be very difficult and expensive to
treat, so please check it regularly.
Back to top
Gnawing, Mineral and Chewing Blocks
I think I have mentioned before that chinchillas love to chew?! Well they
certainly do, that is why it is very important to supply them with
something safe to do it on.
Untreated pine and apple logs are safe, however these can produce
splinters which if caught between their teeth can cause them to grow
uneven, possibly causing malocclusion. In my opinion the best thing to use
are cuttlefish bones as they are harmless.
Mineral blocks can also be given to chinchillas and are available from
most good pet shops.
Something else that can be given as a plaything is a toilet or kitten roll
inner tube, they love these, but it is usually gone within 2 days!
Back to top
Nest Box
Chinchillas like to sleep in nest boxes; they should be placed safely at
the highest point of the cage, as in the wild they would sleep in holes
high up.
Like shelves in their cages these nest boxes produce welcome release from
sitting on the wire all day.
If a female is giving birth and a nest box is available to her, she will
usually always give birth inside it.
We do sell nest boxes made of untreated finest softwood; they are £5 each,
or we also make smaller boxes to fit in all cages including polygamous,
these are £3.50 for more details pls email below:
lizzbenson@chinnychinchins.co.uk
Back to top |
