Guest Author - Denise Lacazette

People who work during the day make ideal owners for the chinchilla. The chinchilla sleeps during the day and is active dusk through dawn. Their activity level picks up at dusk – about the time one would typically arrive home from work.

Chinchillas are not necessarily social creatures, but you can keep multiple females together. One female will typically become "dominant" and as long as there are no challenges to her dominance peaceful co-existence is possible. Multiple males typically will not work well together. If you do purchase both sexes please make sure they are unrelated (and quickly read up on breeding practices!).

Chinchillas require lots of space to investigate and roam so it is best to have the largest cage you can afford. You will need to include a sleeping box, several branches to jump around on, dust bath, food dish, water bottle, and hay rack. You will also need to place the cage so it is out of direct sunlight and drafts. It should be at chest or eye level so it does not appear you are swooping down on it as a predator would. As prey animals they are very sensitive to what is going on above them.

Chinchillas are not really trainable although they can be tamed. Patience is required in taming as you gain their trust. Once they trust you and they feel the situation is safe they will gladly run all over you, around you, on your desk, etc.

Feeding a chinchilla requires discipline. They are sweet, little beggars that will gladly eat your cookies and other treats; since they have no discipline you must. Sweets and other treats do not provide them with the nutrition or roughage they need and they will develop poor eating habits as well as internal (intestinal) problems. Keep fresh hay available to them at all times (be sure to check for mold even when it is purchased new!). Feed chinchilla pellets every evening and remove any leftover in the morning. Other pellets do not have the correct ingredients in proportion for chinchillas so do not substitute. Water bottles should be cleaned and refilled daily – it may look clean and full, but bacteria and mold will grow and cause problems even though you cannot see them.

These South American rodents make interesting pets for nocturnal individuals. They can live upwards of 17 years in captivity so be sure this is the pet for you before purchasing. And remember – never release your exotic pet into the wild (which includes your neighborhood).