Chinchilla As Pet

I have 2 white sapphire male chinchillas named Professor Wigglesworth and Little Lord Fancy Pants, brothers, who are about 4 months old. When I hold them they wiggle a lot. How do I make them be calm?

Not all chins like being held and your chins are quite young - it will take time for them to get used to being held and I suspect you have not had them for long? I’d suggest starting from the beginning and letting them get used to you touching them before you try to hold them.

To be honest some chins never like being held or touched - many prefer to come to you on their terms. Slowly and patiently is the way to go, giving the chins time to adjust to you and bond with you.

Try putting your hand into their cage and allowing them to come to you. Don’t make any attempt to touch them at first but let them explore your hand. They may nibble your fingers gently - this is them grooming you. You can put a small, healthy treat (for example a small piece of unfrosted mini shredded wheat, a few rolled oats, a small piece of alfalfa) on your hand to encourage the chins to come to you.
Once they confident that you are not going to pester them then you can try gently tickling them under the chin. If they tolerate it then you can move on to tickling around the ears and down the chest. If you’re lucky and they like it they may well take turns in grooming you back.
You can then move on to allowing them to climb over you while they are out and allow them to sit on your hands etc - once they are confident in that then it is worth trying to hold them for a moment.
You’re basically building a bond with them and it takes time - slow and steady is the way to do it. Gentle, slow movements will help them to trust you - fast movements make a chin’s natural reflex as a prey animal kick in and it will be startled into running away to hide. You need to gain their trust and allow them to come to you.

With a bit of time and patience your chins should hopefully accept your touch but please bear in mind that not all chins will tolerate being handled. They are wriggling to get away from you and you will need to get them to trust you.

It is worth joining some of the chinchilla forums to get some further advice and support. There are two listed below - one in the UK and one in the US which are excellent sources of information.
Good luck with your chinnies.

A guy I work with is moving to an apartment where he can’t have pets so he is giving me his chinchilla. I’ve never had one before so I will appreciate and tips, advice, & info you guys can give me.
Does it have to be a water bowl, or can it use one of those water bottles with the little balls in the thing at the bottom?

I’ve answered this question a few times, so I’m just going to copy & paste my answer from a previous question. But first, to answer your question about the water - yes they can have water bottles, that’s what mine use. A water bottle is better with all the jumping around they do - just make sure the water bottle works! Ok, now the other stuff:

Here’s a break-down of their care routine by daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly:

-Daily: Fresh food, fresh water, fresh hay, at least one hour of outside-cage time (more if possible), and every other day (or about 3 times a week) I give them their dust bath (some people keep a dust bath in their chin’s cage 24/7, but I believe that’s too much and that much dust flying around in their cage could lead to health problems, 3 times a week for about 20 minutes is plenty). Fresh food should be given in the evening only, but they should have access to the food all day and night. And hay (make sure it’s hay NOT straw) should be filled as often as needed - they should always have hay available. Oh, and I also scoop as much of the pee-soaked bedding out of their cage every day and wipe off their shelves.

-Weekly: Food and water dishes/bottles cleaned out real good with hot water and soap (just make sure you rinse away all the soap!) and cage gets cleaned really good - empty all the bedding and wash the pan with soap and hot water, wipe down shelves and sleep box with a damp paper towel, and fill sleep box and pan with all fresh bedding. (I use Kaytee Aspen bedding.)

-Monthly: Nothing comes to mind that’s done only on a monthly basis.

-Yearly: I take them to the vets for a check-up. They don’t require shots, some people don’t even take them to the vets, but I think a yearly check-up is good to make sure they’re healthy.

They’re really not that hard to care for. The only bad thing about them - they chew on EVERYTHING! Mine have recently started chewing on the baseboard in the their room. I recommend a pet play pen (either closed up or just use as a long gate to block them from certain areas/things). And you’ll want the tallest one available - they’re really good jumpers! The one I have is 29" high and Jasper has jumped over it a few times, but it’s still better than nothing.

Other info:

-Treats they like: They love papaya, raisins, and sunflower seeds. They like other things, too, but those seem to be favorites with mine. You should give them about 3 raisins every day (helps them poop), but go easy on the rest of the treats, they can become little junk food junkies if you let them. You should also provide them with lots of chew toys/treats.

-Foods I give mine (in other words, foods I consider to be good for chinchillas, but there are other brands available): Mazuri, Oxbow, and Sunseed Sunaturals Natural Chinchilla food. It’s best to give them a variety in case one goes off the market or is sold out (plus I just like to give them a variety).

-Cage: Since you’re getting the chin from someone, it probably already has a cage, but here’s some cage info anyway: The bigger the better! Tall cages with lots of ledges are best, they need their climbing and jumping space. Stay away from plastic cages (this includes ones with plastic-coated bars)! They will chew on it and the plastic will eventually kill them (I don’t know how much they have to eat or how long it takes, but it’s not good for them at all). I don’t care what anyone else says, no matter how many chew things they have in their cage, they will still chew on their cage. Here are some nice cages: http://www.chinchillas.com/estore/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=42
The only thing I don’t like about those cages is the platforms are wire bottoms (their little toes could get stuck in them), so I would recommend some type of mat to put down, like the one found here: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=17293&N=2007+114127
The cage should also have a sleeping box (covered on all sides, except for one small opening) for them to sleep in.

Miscellaneous stuff: Chins are nocturnal. Some people say that their schedule can be adjusted to yours (so they’ll sleep at night and be up during the day), but I think that’s too stressful for them. Just let them stick to their natural schedule. Outside-cage time can be early morning (I’d shoot for no later than 7:00am) and/or in the evening, I’d say no earlier than 5:00pm. It’s best if they have their own room - or at least a room or somewhere that’s not active during the day (so they can rest) and a room that someone isn’t sleeping in at night (so YOU can rest! - they can get noisy). And I usually cover their cage with a towel during the day to keep their cage a little darker. Oh, and temperature should be no higher than 80 degrees F. Any higher than that and they could suffer from heat stroke.

I think that’s pretty much it. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. Hope this helped!

What habitat do chinchillas live in? (in the mountains, desert, etc.)

Thanks!

chinchillas come from the Andes mountains, and the area is a cool, arid climate… a cold desert, if you will…. Temps never get too warm (chins can not take higher temps, about 75 degrees) and their natural environments are rather low relative humidity. (there were 3 subspecies found at various elevations http://www.geocities.com/therodentguy/Chincolorstype.html )
There is not much in the way of fruit or the like, and in the wild they subsist on grasses, twigs and some roots, grown from the well drain volcanic soils. From these same soils are the "dust" that they bathe in to remove the oils and lanolin from their coat hair.
Chins have a unique ability to "split cellulose", and natural fibers so tough grasses and wood products can serve as nutrients that other animals can not utilize.
Seasonal changes also change the diet of wild chinchillas, allowing their body’s digestive system to produce the proper enzymes needed to enhance the absorption of the new seasons foods. This is one reason pet keepers need to make changes to the diet gradually, and not feed too many treats.

Looking to build a bigger, better cage for my two chinchillas. Going to possibly use wire mesh for the sides or shelving units. Attaching them with wood and also building wooden shelves. The wood will be exposed and chewable, so I need something that is safe for my Chins to chew. Any ideas for types of woods that are safe, where I can get them, and how much they cost.

Thanks.

I would say your best bet is Pine (fir or spruce would work too). Make sure not to get the Green, treated wood…they use an arsenic compound to treat it and that would make your little critters very unhappy.

SPF Lumber (spruce/pine/fir) is typically what people use for their critter cages. I used SYP (southern yellow pine) for my rabbit cages, but they needed to be pretty sturdy and withstand outdoor conditions.

i might be getting a chinchilla as a pet and i have no idea wat to do. anyone who has a chinchilla.. can u please tell me EVERYTHING that u no!! thank you!

I have over 4 years of knowledge on them, I would suggest googling info on them, and joining a forum. That’s what I did, it would be best to learn all you can BEFORE you get it. There are alot of owners who got a chinchilla and it doesn’t get the correct care it needs.

Lets start with the basics.
One raisin per day, they don’t NEED a raisin everyday either.
Timothy hair should always be available.
Don’t get food that contains corn.
Dust bath at least once a week.
No plastic in the cages.
Multiteered cage.
Wood to chew on.
Don’t chase your chinchilla.
They have hollow bones.
Don’t pull its tail, or pick it up by the tail, the tail WILL come out.
No plastic balls for excersising, they will over heat due to the fact they can’t sweat.

Those are just the basics. Good luck.