Chinchilla housing

Zapperzy

Not looking to get any chinchillas but just looking for some info on housing. Are they like hamsters and have to stay in a cage all the time or can they free-range around a house a bit, like rabbits? What sort of substrate do you use in the cage? Or do you use any, just fleecey beds? What kinds of toys do you put in the cage? Any links to good sites would be helpful.

moses13

Chinchillas need to be housed in a large cage, the bigger the better. But they do need plenty of out of cage time as well. Chinchillas are very adept they love to run and jump and are extremely fast. They can be exercised in the house like a rabbit but the same rules apply, they must be supervised at all times as they can chew through electric wires in a jiff. As they like to climb they can knock ornaments to the ground etc.. But believe me they are great pets. There are many sites with info such as http://nebulaandfriends.atspace.com/ or http://www.catsandcoholidays.com/

Cherry Blossom

Mine were left to roam around the house as long as someone was home and awake. Indoor rabbit cages aren't suitable as they they have a tendency to ricochet off the sides and could easily break a leg if there's a big enough gap in the bars that a leg could fit though. The best housing is an old dresser modified with different levels and wire mesh with a door in covering the front, commercially available cages are a bit rubbish imho. Tall cat trees will keep them off the shelves as they'll head for the highest point in the room. They're incredibly intelligent and can learn basic tricks with a bit of patience. Any room they are to be left in needs to be compeletly chilla proofed though, one of mine would have been able to open doors if he'd been heavy enough - he never gave up trying to operate door handles!