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Before bringing your new friend home, you should have all your supplies bought and in place, to make for a comfortable transistion.
The first, and one of the most important items, is a cage
When looking for a cage, remember that bigger is better. Chinchillas like to have alot of room to bounce around and jump. Your cage should NEVER be smaller than 2 x 2 x 2, for one chinchilla, that is even on the small side. While there are some chin cages on the market, some of the best I have seen have been hand made, either by scratch or out of old bookshelves or dressers.
A metal cage is prefered over wood, since chinnies like to eat wood, and wood can also harbour bad bacterias, and can be hard to clean properly. I know that Martins Cages, come highly recommended by many chinnie owners.

Inside your cage you will need Litter
Your Litter should NEVER be cedar, as most small animals, especially chinchillas are highly allergic to it, and it can be lethal. the best shavings are Kiln Dried Pine.
I have heard some people use Corn Cob pellets, but these can be bad because they breed bacteria. Newspaper is not good because it can stain your chinnies fur and is not absorbent, besides, would you find a metal pan with a newspaper on it, comfy?

You will need a Food bowl
it should be heavy so it is not tipped, and if at all possible, off the floor so it is not as easy to soil. Plastic is not a good option, as chinnies will chew it, and plastic is not good for their system.

You will need a Water bottle
Water bottles are prefered over water bowls, because a chin will quickly soil or dump a boil, soiling the water, and making a mess of themselves. A double ball watter bottle is good because it does not tend to leak. If you can find a heavy glass one with a metal drinking tube,these are best, but if you must go plastic, place a metal sheet between the outside of the cage and the water bottle to prevent them from chewing it.

You will need Food.
The best food I have found is called Mazuri Chinchilla Pellets. They can be purchased at Lonestar Chinchillas, or at Chinworld, and contain everything your chinnie needs in a food. Most of the feeds sold at pet store have too many treats in them, which will cause your chinnie poor nutrition as well as to become overweight. Treats should be used in moderation rather than as part of a daily feed.

Calf manna can be added to your pellets, to ensure proper calcium intake, and there are
many other supplements available also. Try searching on your browser for Chinchilla Supplements.
Since each person prefers their own method of supplementation, it is best to do the research
yourself and choose whatever you feel most comfortable with. You can either feed 2 tablespoons per chin, once a day, or twice a day, whichever you do, stay consistent with your times. Chins like consistencey as much as humans.

Chins take Dust Baths
Two of the best dustbaths I have found are blue dust or blue cloud. I believe these can also be purchased at lonestar, or chinworld. you will need a container for them to bathe in, I recommend bathing every other day, or once every three days, so you do not dry them out. You can use a chin dust bath house, found on Chinworld, or a bakin pan, or a plastic box, there are many things to use for dustbathing, as long as chinnie has lots of room to roll and frolic, then sit back and enjoy the show!

Chew blocks are vital
These are used to maintain the length of chinnies teeth. Without them, your chins teeth will grow to long and will lead to death. You can use commercial blocks, or you can purchase untreated pine 2 x 4's and cut them into cubes, boil them for awhile and they are suitable once dried out. Chinnies love toys, the more the better, this will keep them occupied and free of boredom.

Hay
You can use Alfalfa and Timothy hay. I use a blend, and then I offer Alfalfa cubes as well. The cubes are great because the chinnies have fun with them and they help with their teeth as well. Be sure to remove any fresh hay, or cubes once soiled. If you use fresh, be sure it is free of weeds and dirt.

You may want to purchase a small animal carrier for any trips to the vet, or other places you may need to go. A small cat carrier is suitable for this, or you can go to your local airport and buy a carry on case, which works well also.

Copyright 2002 ChinTopia

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