General Information:
The long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) belong to the family Chinchillidae and are part of the New World infraorder Caviamorphs (including chinchillas, degus, and Guinea pigs) which are histricognath rodents. Histricognath rodents are classified by the shape of their skulls.
Chinchillas are crepuscular rodents native to South America. They're found high up in the mountains - sometimes as high as 4270m! They typically live in amongst other chinchillas in small colonies called ‘herds’. Chinchillas typically live between 10-15 years, but ages up to 29 years have been reported.
Chinchillas come in a variety of coat colours, the most common being the 'standard grey'.
They’re adventurous and often mischievous little creatures, although they can be shy. Chinchillas are delicate and can 'slip fur' when mishandled, so be sure to handle them with care.
Care:
Housing/Enrichment:
Cages should be as large as possible and be made entirely from metal, ideally 2 metres high and 1 metre wide. Consider cages with a lot of height to mimic their natural environment.
You should enrich their cage with plenty of safe wooden toys, including chinchilla boxes, wooden shelving, and metal tunnels.
You can also buy your chinchilla a metal 'Tic Tac' wheel (minimum of 14 inches in diameter) for exercise. Ensure your chinchilla is of a suitable age before providing them with a wheel as kits are at a higher risk of overheating.
Glass bottles and ceramic bowls are recommended to prevent the chinchilla's from chewing.
Plastics are not recommended for chinchillas as they're very destructive and avid gnawers - internal blockages from plastic consumption have been reported.
The most popular ‘bedding’ for chinchillas are non-pill fleece covers that cover the bases/levels of the cage, but you can use loose substrates such as hemp, bedkind, and cardboard bedding.
In the wild, a chinchillas native environment is cool and dry. They’re very sensitive to extreme temperatures and struggle to regulate their body temperature, making them prone to heatstroke and even death. We recommend keeping your chinchilla in an environment that has a humidity level of about 50%-60% and temperatures of approximately 15°C-21°C.
Socialising:
Chinchilla's temperaments, like with most animals, can vary depending on the individual.
Making a room chinchilla-safe for playtimes is recommended. Watching them explore and be entertained is one of the best ways to bond with your pet. Be sure to limit the length of playtimes and restrict playtimes completely on warmer days.
Chinchillas should not be kept solitary. Wild long-tailed chinchillas can live in groups of up to 100 individuals.
Diet:
Chinchillas are strictly herbivorous: they are physiologically and anatomically designed to eat plant materials. They're monogastric animals meaning their digestive system consists of a single chamber. As caecal hind-gut fermenters, an ideal diet consists of approximately 80% grass hay (don't restrict them from consuming more if they wish to do so), 10% dried forage and approximately 10% pellets. Roughly following those dietary proportions ensures your chinchilla has a high fibre, low graub and low protein diet, which is essential for their wellbeing and normal digestive function. Healthy treats include safe dried herbs/flowers/leaves, plain oats, goji berries (feed rarely), and hay varieties such as botanical hay, oat hay, alfalfa hay and others.
If you’re a chinchilla owner, you will know that they’re often particularly fussy eaters. The most common food item chinchillas become fussy over is their hay. If your pet becomes reluctant to eat their hay, we recommend the following:
Bathing:
The last essential part of chinchilla care is looking after their coat.
In the wild, Chinchillas maintain their coat by bathing in the local fine sands. In captivity, it's still important to provide them with ways to keep their coat in top condition.
Never:
Chinchillas have extremely dense fur, they have approximately 20,000 fibres per square centimetre. Bathing dust is much finer than commercial bathing sands. Dust will be far more effective at keeping your chinchilla’s fur in good condition as it can penetrate their dense fur.
We recommend allowing your Chinchilla to have access to their dust bath for 20 minutes every day or every other day. You can offer dust baths less frequently if your chinchilla suffers from dry skin/dry feet.
Please feel free to ask more questions.
The long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) belong to the family Chinchillidae and are part of the New World infraorder Caviamorphs (including chinchillas, degus, and Guinea pigs) which are histricognath rodents. Histricognath rodents are classified by the shape of their skulls.
Chinchillas are crepuscular rodents native to South America. They're found high up in the mountains - sometimes as high as 4270m! They typically live in amongst other chinchillas in small colonies called ‘herds’. Chinchillas typically live between 10-15 years, but ages up to 29 years have been reported.
Chinchillas come in a variety of coat colours, the most common being the 'standard grey'.
They’re adventurous and often mischievous little creatures, although they can be shy. Chinchillas are delicate and can 'slip fur' when mishandled, so be sure to handle them with care.
Care:
Housing/Enrichment:
Cages should be as large as possible and be made entirely from metal, ideally 2 metres high and 1 metre wide. Consider cages with a lot of height to mimic their natural environment.
You should enrich their cage with plenty of safe wooden toys, including chinchilla boxes, wooden shelving, and metal tunnels.
You can also buy your chinchilla a metal 'Tic Tac' wheel (minimum of 14 inches in diameter) for exercise. Ensure your chinchilla is of a suitable age before providing them with a wheel as kits are at a higher risk of overheating.
Glass bottles and ceramic bowls are recommended to prevent the chinchilla's from chewing.
Plastics are not recommended for chinchillas as they're very destructive and avid gnawers - internal blockages from plastic consumption have been reported.
The most popular ‘bedding’ for chinchillas are non-pill fleece covers that cover the bases/levels of the cage, but you can use loose substrates such as hemp, bedkind, and cardboard bedding.
In the wild, a chinchillas native environment is cool and dry. They’re very sensitive to extreme temperatures and struggle to regulate their body temperature, making them prone to heatstroke and even death. We recommend keeping your chinchilla in an environment that has a humidity level of about 50%-60% and temperatures of approximately 15°C-21°C.
Socialising:
Chinchilla's temperaments, like with most animals, can vary depending on the individual.
Making a room chinchilla-safe for playtimes is recommended. Watching them explore and be entertained is one of the best ways to bond with your pet. Be sure to limit the length of playtimes and restrict playtimes completely on warmer days.
Chinchillas should not be kept solitary. Wild long-tailed chinchillas can live in groups of up to 100 individuals.
Diet:
Chinchillas are strictly herbivorous: they are physiologically and anatomically designed to eat plant materials. They're monogastric animals meaning their digestive system consists of a single chamber. As caecal hind-gut fermenters, an ideal diet consists of approximately 80% grass hay (don't restrict them from consuming more if they wish to do so), 10% dried forage and approximately 10% pellets. Roughly following those dietary proportions ensures your chinchilla has a high fibre, low graub and low protein diet, which is essential for their wellbeing and normal digestive function. Healthy treats include safe dried herbs/flowers/leaves, plain oats, goji berries (feed rarely), and hay varieties such as botanical hay, oat hay, alfalfa hay and others.
If you’re a chinchilla owner, you will know that they’re often particularly fussy eaters. The most common food item chinchillas become fussy over is their hay. If your pet becomes reluctant to eat their hay, we recommend the following:
- Purchase more than one brand of timothy hay to keep things interesting
- Mix in treat hays with their everyday hay to make it more appealing to them.
- They don't need constant access to pellets to stay healthy. You can alternate days which they have their pellets, or only give them access to them at certain times of the day.
Bathing:
The last essential part of chinchilla care is looking after their coat.
In the wild, Chinchillas maintain their coat by bathing in the local fine sands. In captivity, it's still important to provide them with ways to keep their coat in top condition.
Never:
- Bathe your chinchilla with water
- Use building or play sand in their baths
Chinchillas have extremely dense fur, they have approximately 20,000 fibres per square centimetre. Bathing dust is much finer than commercial bathing sands. Dust will be far more effective at keeping your chinchilla’s fur in good condition as it can penetrate their dense fur.
We recommend allowing your Chinchilla to have access to their dust bath for 20 minutes every day or every other day. You can offer dust baths less frequently if your chinchilla suffers from dry skin/dry feet.
Please feel free to ask more questions.