Chinchillas need a certain amount of space for their activities to stretch, and if the cage is too small, they may feel pressure and tension and cause undesired symptoms (such as biting). According to the data in the Hong Kong Agriculture and Fisheries Department’s guidelines for keeping chinchillas, the length and width of a cage for raising a chinchilla are recommended to be 34× 42 cm. The length and width of a cage for two chinchillas are recommended to be 42×. The above length and width are recommended to be 52×70cm, and the height of the cage should be about 50cm. However, in principle, it is not recommended to keep three chinchillas in the same cage, and chinchillas of the same gender are not allowed to live in harmony until they are determined. They should be kept in the same cage to prevent them from fighting because of the “fight for territory.”
Golden Chinchilla
Generally speaking, buying a dedicated Chinchilla bedroom is a necessary investment. Especially the newly arrived chinchillas need shelter to make it feel safer. There are two types of bedrooms on the market, wood and porcelain, each with advantages. The wooden bedroom is good for keeping warm in winter, it is more natural and more comfortable for chinchillas, and it can also play the role of grinding teeth. Porcelain bedrooms come in many shapes, are more beautiful, and are easy to clean.
Chinchillas are animals that like to jump up and down very much. Generally, they can jump to a height of more than half a meter. Installing a springboard in the cage allows chinchillas to play and grind their teeth, and sometimes they can squat on it to rest. If you have a large cage, consider placing a branch for chinchillas to climb and perch on. However, it should be noted that the wood must be harmless to chinchillas. If it is a branch picked by yourself, it should be boiled in boiling water, disinfected and killed, and then dried in the hot sun or oven.
The poop of chinchillas does not have any smell under normal circumstances, but the urine still smells a little, so it is necessary to lay a bedding material that can absorb urine in the cage. Generally, cages with bottom partitions can choose absorbent materials such as sawdust, cat litter, and papyrus. But it is worth noting that although pine sawdust has a strong deodorizing effect, the substances contained in pine wood may cause chinchilla asthma. Unprocessed pine sawdust is not suitable for chinchillas.
The teeth of chinchillas grow continuously for life and must be worn continuously to ensure health. Otherwise, the long incisors will make it difficult for chinchillas to chew and affect their health. Excessive molars in chinchillas in old age will cause the roots to grow into the brain. Die. Commercially available molar stones can help chinchillas grind their teeth, while molars need to be worn by molar wood and timothy grass. The most economical and convenient molar wood should be the disposable birch chopsticks in supermarkets. Bamboo disposable chopsticks are unsuitable because bamboo silk may cause digestive system problems in chinchillas.
The limit temperature that chinchillas can withstand is below 32 degrees, so pay attention to cooling them down in summer, and their comfortable temperature is between 18 and 22 degrees. The chinchilla cage cannot be placed where the sun directly hits it. The living environment of chinchillas should maintain air circulation, but it should not be placed directly under the air conditioner or placed behind the wind; otherwise, it will quickly lead to uneven heating of the chinchilla’s body and cause colds, diarrhea, etc. Do not place chinchillas in aisles or where other people will often disturb them. The cage should be attached to the wall on one or both sides and cannot be placed in the center of the room. But be careful not to cling to walls with wallpaper or wainscoting, as chinchillas may gnaw on them. Try to put the chinchilla cage on a chair or table so that it has a wider field of vision and can observe the surrounding environment. Do not place it directly on the ground. The main points of the living environment of chinchillas are: quiet, dark, high, dry, and ventilated.
