A chinchilla can be a delightful pet for the right owner. Chinchillas have delicate skeletons and love to chew on things like electrical cords, so a safe environment is essential. Keep your chinchilla’s health on the right track with a healthy diet, lots of safe exercise, and regular veterinary care.

Biological Facts

• Long-tailed chinchilla: Chinchilla lanigera
• Native to the Andes mountain ranges of northern Chile; live in rock crevices and holes on relatively barren slopes
• Life span: 10 to 15 years
• Adult weight: 14 to 28 oz (400 to 800 g); females are larger than males
• Very delicate bone structure; not an ideal pet for small children
• Sexual maturity: 7 to 10 months
• Gestation: 105 to 115 days   

Behavior

• Primarily active at night, dawn, and early evening
• Fast, agile, active; good at climbing and jumping
• Females are dominant and more aggressive than males
• Difficult to litter train
• Very clean; virtually odorless
• Highly social; should be housed in pairs or small groups when possible
• Rarely bite; enjoy being petted, but may resist cuddling
• They chew everything; the chinchilla’s environment must be “chinchilla proof” to prevent injuries and escape

Diet

• Must be high in fiber, low in carbohydrate, and low in sugar to prevent dental disease and digestive problems
• No breads, cereals, or nuts should be fed
• Feed free-choice quality grass hay, such as timothy, brome, and Bermuda grass
• Feed 1 to 2 tablespoons of commercial chinchilla pellets daily
• Feed small amounts of alfalfa or clover hay, dried fruit, and fresh vegetables as treats; feed treats sparingly to prevent obesity
• Diet changes must be gradual to prevent stomach upset
• Provide fresh water daily

Environment

• Provide a large, multilevel cage with shelves for perching, plenty of room for running, and a cage floor of welded mesh wire with smooth areas for resting the feet
• Place the cage in a quiet location
• Maintain a humidity level of 40% or lower and a temperature of 50°F to 75°F (10°C to 24°C); temperatures higher than 80°F can be fatal
• Provide a nest box (one for each chinchilla) for sleeping and for shelter from aggressive cage mates
• Provide wooden cage furniture, chew sticks, and pumice stones for chewing to help keep teeth healthy
• Provide an exercise wheel with a smooth running surface to prevent injuries to legs/feet

Preventive Care

• A complete physical examination is required every 6 to 12 months
• An annual fecal examination is necessary to check for internal parasites
• Examine males monthly for penile hair rings
• Allow regular, supervised exercise in a chinchilla-proof enclosure to prevent obesity
• Allow a 10- to 15-minute dust bath at least twice weekly

Common Medical Disorders

• Dental disease
• Drooling
• Problems eating
• Eye irritation
• Conjunctivitis
• Fur/skin disorders: ringworm (fungus), fur chewing, loss of fur
• Gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhea, bloat, stasis)
• Hair ring accumulation in males (a constricting injury to the penis)
• Heat stress
• Respiratory infection
• Trauma