Before you bring your chin home, you'll need to have in place all the things the new addition to your family will need:

A CAGE:  Buy as large a cage as you can afford, and have space for.  Don't be tempted to buy a cage designed for another type of animal - chins have very specific needs.  If in doubt, seek advice from an expert.

My Advice: Buy the type with a wire bottom and a removable tray underneath.  The droppings will fall through the wire into the tray, keeping the chin's living quarters clean.  Invest in a cage with a couple of levels or shelves for your chin to jump about on, but don't buy one any taller than about 36 inches; chins are tree-hoppers, not climbers - they can do themselves an injury if they fall from a great height! Ensure, whatever type of cage you buy, that any mesh flooring or shelves have a small-enough grating to prevent leg injuries (no greater than 3/4 inch square mesh - even smaller if you plan to breed, as the babies have very tiny paws). A cage of approximately 36" wide by 18" deep by 18"-24" high is generally considered suitable for 1 - 3 chinchillas.

Tidy out the cage every day and, if you have a droppings tray, empty every few days. Many owners line this tray with newspaper, woodshavings (the type sold for other rodents, e.g. hamsters - ensure it doesn't contain cedar), or paper-based cat litter.  Bicarbonate of soda can be sprinkled on the droppings tray to minimise odours, though in my experience there is little/no odour anyway. Every two or three months give the whole cage a disinfecting wash and allow to dry completely before returning your chinny to it.

A DUSTBATH:  Chins keep clean by tossing around in a fine volcanic dust (called chinchilla dust) to keep their fur clean and separated. Although I've seen deep pie dishes, bowls and wooden boxes used as dustbaths, I'd recommend a proper proprietary metal dustbath with a lid.  Open bowls and boxes are often too shallow, and the dust will go EVERYWHERE when your chin tosses about in it (wooden boxes will be chewed to bits!).  The lid on the proprietary dustbath will keep the dust clean when not in use, and provide an extra perch for your chin.  Use only proper chinchilla dust, available at pet shops; using an alternative, e.g. fine sand, is positively harmful. Every day, go through the dustpan with an old sieve to scoop out any droppings and then top up the dust (an inch or two deep is plenty), and replace the dust completely every so often, thoroughly washing out the bath. Some owners will make the dustbath available to their chin for only ten or fifteen minutes per day as, apparently, too much bathing can cause excess dryness in the skin.  Other owners leave the dustbath in the cage at all times for their pets to use at their leisure, with no ill-effects. Use your common sense, but always provide a bath at least a few times a week - a chinchilla who gets out of the habit of dustbathing will be very difficult to rehabilitate! Provide a dustbath for each cage you have - this will prevent cross-infection, should any of your chins fall ill.

A WATER BOTTLE: Buy a small animal water bottle (the size sold for a rabbit) to attach to the side of the cage. Glass bottles are ideal, as they cannot be chewed.  If you buy a plastic bottle attach it to the outside of the cage with the drinking tube pushed through to the inside - that way your chinny cannot reach the bottle to chew. Chins drink only a few teaspoons of water a day, so it needn't be very big.  You could use a bowl, but it will be tipped over, and food and droppings will land in it - not the most hygienic solution! The bottle should be washed thoroughly and refilled every day (use a bottle brush) and sterilised once a week, especially important if you add vitamins drops to the water, as these encourage the growth of bacteria. I use boiled, cooled water from the tap - there is always the possibility of water-borne germs in tap water - just take the recent case in Glasgow of cryptosporidium found in the water supply - this parasite does affect chinchillas! Having said that, many people happily use plain tap water, bottled water or filtered tap water - the decision is yours.

A FOOD BOWL: As you will be replacing all food and water daily, a small, heavy bowl is best (heavy, because your chin will try to move or tip it!). There are various dish-holders in the shops which hook on to the side of the cage and support a small metal bowl, but my chinny takes great delight in pulling it down, and the food ends up tipped over on the droppings tray! Wash the bowl daily, and disinfect weekly.

HAY:  Chins need a fresh handful of dry brittle hay every day to chew on, in order to keep their teeth in check.  As their teeth continue to grow (at a fierce rate!) throughout their lifetime, they need to grind them down daily to prevent dental problems, which can be very serious, even life-threatening. Don't be tempted to buy standard bedding hay - chins need good-quality fresh meadow hay or  timothy hay (if you can get it - higher in fibre) which contains the nutrients they need. Some owners use special "quick-dried" grass e.g. "Readigrass" and "Supa Forage Excel" (sold for rabbits) as an alternative to hay (which is allowed to dry naturally) . Other owners, like myself, provide a combination every day. Hay needs to be replaced completely every few days, as it can go "off". In the case of dried grass, it MUST be replaced completely every day, as it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere easily, and deteriorates rapidly. Old, mouldy, "bad" hay and grass can cause serious tummy upsets. (If you hold a handful of hay up to the light, crushing it lightly, you may see a filmy "vapour" rising from it. If you do, the hay contains mould spores, and should therefore be binned.) 

In addition, you can add supplements like alfalfa in small amounts. Alfalfa may look like a type of hay or grass, but it is in fact a lucerne.  Quite the opposite from hay, it has a high protein content, but a low fibre content, so it is not an alternative to hay (chins need hay for fibre, remember).  Too much alfalfa can cause a calcium/phosphorus imbalance in your chin but it is, however, a healthy  supplement (once or twice a week), and chins do love it. 

FOOD:  Always ensure that you have a good supply of the same brand and type of chin food your new chin is currently eating.  Chins have very delicate tummies, so if intending to change her diet, the transition to the new food must be done very gradually. Many large pet stores stock their own brand of chinchilla food, as well as the more well-known brands.  They vary in price and quality, so check them out before deciding on the best one for your pet.  In general, chins will eat about 35g of pellets per day. Some owners feed their chins just once a day, while others feed twice - the key is to feed consistently at the same time(s) each day to prevent stress. 

PELLETS OR MIXES?

As well as the traditional "pellets", there are a variety of attractive-looking "mixes" on the market, though many breeders dislike them in that a chin will often only pick out the bits she likes. Such selective eating results in a chin not getting the proper balance for her nutritional needs, and can cause ill-health over time. 

My preference is for pellets, and feel positively dubious about the value of the mixes I have come across, both in terms of nutritional value and "treat" content. I originally fed my first chin Reba on a mix, and she consistently picked out the "treat" bits and left the more nutritional bits in the bowl.  On further research, I discovered that the mix I had been using (still widely available) was at the lowest acceptable level in terms of protein and fibre, and also contained far too many treats - not so good!  Needless to say, my chins are now all fed using only good-quality pellets.

It is generally accepted that chins need a diet which includes about 18% fibre and 16-20% protein (less protein for older, less active  animals, and more for nursing, growing or sick animals). When deciding on a good food for my chins, I check the nutritional analysis on the bag (if there is no analysis, don't even consider buying it).  Personally, I look for about 17-18% protein - not too high, nor too low - and an acceptable level of fibre, bearing in mind that your chins fibre requirements will also be supplemented by hay and/or grass. Also look for vitamins in the analysis (A, D and E), and a low ash content - around 7% - too much ash can be harmful. Remember to check the "sell by" or "use by" date.  Freshness is crucial, as many vitamins and nutrients deteriorate in effectiveness beyond a certain time.

The list of ingredients is also something to check - avoid any non-vegetarian ingredients and chemical preservatives.

Although a few breeders advocate the use of certain foods manufactured for other rodents e.g. rabbits and guinea pigs, my advice would be to stick to foods specifically made for chins.  In addition, be aware that the "big name" pet food manufacturers do not always produce the best food for your chin! ALWAYS check the nutritional analysis and list of ingredients before deciding to buy.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS:  Provide a clean piece of untreated white pine (avoid knots, and ensure it is clean of phenol oils) for her to gnaw on, essential for teeth. (You will find, if your cage has wooden shelves, that she will gradually chew her way through them too!) You might also want to put calcium/mineral block in the cage . A cuttlefish bone also provides extra calcium, as well as giving something for your chin to trim her teeth on.  

CHEW TOYS:  To help maintain good teeth, provide lots of things to chew on - fruit twigs, wooden parrot toys, lava bites, bark bites, cholla chews etc can all be bought here in the UK, and are great for both keeping your chin occupied, and for helping to keep those teeth in check. Check out the list of suppliers on my Cool Links page for stockists of some great stuff for chins.

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

A NEST BOX - Cardboard or wooden, for your chin to hide and sleep in. Some owners insist on having these, but I find some of my chins just don't use them.

FREE TOYS! - Don't waste too much money buying gimmicks for your chin.  She'll love: cardboard rolls and tubes (new, clean, dry and with no ink) to chew, drag or hide in; clean pieces of pine (unvarnished of course!) to demolish with her teeth, a spare, clean piece of carpet (at least 80% wool content, fibre-backed - not rubber-backed) to fray and drag about; in fact, for everything you can see she likes to do when running about outwith her cage, you can supply her own mini-version for inside her cage.  Do be careful, though, that your chin does not replace her food with chewable toys like cardboard - make sure she is getting all the nutrition she needs first! The best way to avoid such a problem is not to give such toys for extended lengths of time. 

If  you prefer to buy toys, parrot toys made of manzanita wood and natural rope are safe to chew and play with. Natural bark tunnels and bridges can be fun too, as can "hammock" type hanging toys and large play tubes made of organic compressed card or plastic sold for other pets e.g. for ferrets.  Just be sensible with toys: remember chins will chew just about anything, and they think they're fabulous acrobats (though I've seen many a clumsy tumble)!  Always supervise play with plastic toys, removing them if your chin seems keen to chew it (swallowed plastic is dangerous to chins), and be aware that even the safest-looking of toys nearly always have the potential for accidents! When buying or making wooden toys, be aware that some woods are unsuitable for chins, and ensure that openings in larger toys are big enough to prevent your chin from getting stuck. Also, use ramps instead of ladders, both inside and outside the cage - ladders have been the cause of many a broken leg. You could easily make your own wooden toys, big and small. Here is an example of an exercise toy you can make.

Safe Woods

Unsafe Woods include any citrus woods, fresh pine wood with too many phenol oils, walnut, cedar, grapefruit, lemon, cherry, plum, apricot, nectarine and peach. The wood from any tree producing fruit with a pit releases cyanide when digested by a chin (info from Gillian Willis, a toxicologist in Vancouver)

TREATS - These are best kept to the very minimum - too many treats can cause health problems.  Many chinchilla-owners give no treats at all, but giving your pets treats may be something you cannot resist! If you must, limit it to a raisin, half a dandelion leaf (washed), a dried banana chip (unsweetened), some oats/wheatgerm or a small piece of pear/apple per day. Chins also love apple twigs, and if you are lucky enough to have an apple tree in your garden, she will love apple leaves which have been dry-roasted in the oven till crisp! Monthly treats might be a single sunflower seed or fresh peanut - chins love them, and it is said that the oils from these are good for the coat, but be very sparing indeed (if at all) - too many are positively bad for your chin.. (There are many chinchilla treats available in the shops, but often the nutritional value is dubious.)  Just remember, the treats you give leave less room for the balanced food (pellets and hay) your chinchilla needs to be healthy. My own personal regime of treats is as varied as I can make it - my preference is a drop of natural oats/wheatgerm/herby mix (I tend to make my own mix up) with the occasional bit of fruit/raisin (I don't go for many sweet things), and fruit twigs to gnaw whenever I have them. I don't tend to give nuts of any kind, preferring to give a tiny piece of apple, or a bit of dried banana chip every now and then. In the morning they each have a half of a shredded wheat (bitesize). 

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(Last Modified 29/11/2006 )