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Choose a Large Chinchilla Cage

admin — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:05:09 +0000

You need to choose a big chinchilla cage. The first chinchilla I ever met was through a friend of my dad’s. I was about 8, at the time, and had never heard of this creature. I learned quickly that I was no match for its speed and agility. It wasn’t until I was older and had a chinchilla of my own, did I realize how irresponsible the owner was. The chinchilla’s cage was 1’ x 1’ x 1’. It must have been horrible for the little guy. The owner allowed it to run around and chew on everything. I am glad that I read a lot about chinchillas before I decided to finally buy one. Hopefully, some of this will help you choose the right home for your chinchilla.

When it comes to chinchilla cages, bigger is better.

What is a good chinchilla cage? A whole room, if you can sacrifice it. This isn’t an option for most people, so spring for the large chinchilla cage. This comes as no surprise to anyone that has, or has seen, a chinchilla in action. The height is the most important dimension of the chinchilla cage. Chins like to jump, and do it very well. The taller chinchilla cages are, the happier the chinchilla. The floor of the cage should be no smaller than 2′ x 2′.

There are a number of chinchilla cages you can choose from. The most common is an all metal wire chinchilla cage. Be careful, though. The holes of the chinchilla cage must be small enough to keep the chin’s feet from getting stuck. The holes should be no larger than 1/2” x 1/2”. Many of the metal cages will include different levels and ramps. One downside of the all metal chinchilla cage is that there is no flat surface for the chin to stand. A plank of untreated, chinchilla safe wood can be used on top of the metal levels. You can keep them in place by using a screw and wing nut. I would suggest doing this on at least one of the levels.

The best option, in my opinion, is a mostly wood cage. There are a number of people that make these types of cages. Many people choose to do it themselves. This is nice because you can add solid wood shelves for your perches. Again, it is important to make sure the building material is safe for the chinchilla. Also, the chinchilla cage CANNOT be enclosed. There needs to be airflow. I will have pictures of some great chinchilla cages I have seen in future posts.

In terms of bedding, you can use newspaper or wood shavings. I have always used wood shavings in my chinchilla cage. If you decide to go with wood shavings, they will need to be made of aspen or kiln dried pine. Cedar shavings should never be used, as this has been known to cause respiratory issues in animals. The chinchilla cage will usually come with a drop in tray, or a slide out tray. Both have there advantages. I am a fan of the drop in tray. The drop in tray allows the chinchilla to be in direct contact with the bedding, which can cause you to spend more time cleaning up. The upside is that it is another solid surface for your chinchilla to stand. To me, it is worth the extra effort. At the time of this post, I know of no chinchilla that will clean up after itself. This means that it will be up to you to clean out the chinchilla cage. About once a week should do.

Please keep your chin safe and happy. Be aware that there are many cages out there that claim to be a chinchilla cage, but are actually dangerous for your chin. Safe chinchilla cages will help your chinchilla live a long and healthy life.

Click here to find a neat chinchilla video on youtube.

Wire Chinchilla Cage

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:41:04 +0000

The best chinchilla cages should have enough floor space for your pet. A 30 X 30 one or bigger is advisable. The cage should also be tall so you can put ladders and shelves inside it. Chinchillas love to climb and they usually feel safer if they are in high ground. If you fail to put shelves or ladders in your wire chinchilla cage, you will be subjecting your pet to a lot of stress and we all know that many animals, especially small ones are highly susceptible to dying because of stress and loneliness. If animals are stressed out, they do not eat and they cannot sleep. This just means that you should buy a tall wire chinchilla cage for your pet to keep him or her happy and stress-free.

One of the biggest mistakes chinchilla owners often commit is buying plastic cages for their pets. Chinchillas love to chew and they will only chew off their cage resulting to a wasted investment. Your pet cannot chew through a metal chinchilla cage. A wire cage also facilitates easier cleaning because it allows your pet’s fecal material and its food to just fall through and pet-owners have to do is pull out the tray. Buying a tray is essential and you should line it with newspaper cuttings or wood shavings to absorb urine and other liquids. If you decide to use wood shavings, be careful in choosing what type of shavings you utilize. Cedar chinchilla bedding can cause health problems to your pet; one of the most comment problems is respiratory disease. Chinchillas are very sensitive and they can get sick just because of aromatic oils.

Wire Metal Chinchilla Cage

Before you put your pet inside the cage, make sure that you provide a wooden platform over the wire so your pet can walk around comfortably.
Putting a wooden cube is also advisable because this will serve as your ferret’s room or sleeping area. A bottle of water is also another essential since your pet needs to drink too. You should also give your chinchilla a few toys to play with. Special chinchilla food is available. It could come in the form of a toilet paper tube, a small piece of wood or twigs. Giving your pet wheels is alright too but you should supervise him or her while playing with the wheels especially if your pet is still very young. Once he or she gets used to it, you can let your pet play with the wheels whenever he or she likes.

Where Do You Get Wire Chinchilla Cages?

It is easy to find a wire chinchilla cage for sale online. There are cages that are affordable but they can be quite small. You should opt for a bigger one to make enough room for your ferret. There are cages that are a bit on the pricey side but they include essentials such as water bottles and platforms. Apart from that, some of them even have a chinchilla dust bath area for your pet.

Chinchilla Toys

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:58:00 +0000

Chinchillas are becoming a popular pet. They are a very active animal and need lots of things to keep them entertained. If you are thinking about purchasing a chinchillas then you need to make sure that you purchase chinchilla toys as well. Chins are exciting exotic pet that will require a lot of attention and a large chinchilla cage. They are really interesting animal as they have the body of a rabbit, ears like a mouse and a big fluffy tail. Of course, the fur is probably one of softest that you will ever touch.

They are normally a very healthy animal and owning one will be much fun. When you let them out of their cage they will run around extremely fast and even bounce off walls. Once they become comfortable with you, they will climb all over you like you are their best friend. The first thing that you want to purchase before you bring your pet home is an appropriate chinchilla cage. You will want to make sure that it is big enough for your new pet and sturdy enough to endure the chewing habits of the chinchilla. An appropriate chinchilla cage will be approximately 3′ x 1.5′ x 2′. Some of the cages will even have one or two levels in order to get your chinchilla room to roam. You can buy a metal chinchilla cage, or a wood one.

You will want to make sure that the cage is easy to clean, as it will be important to clean it frequently. Check with your local pet store for the best type of bedding for the cage. It is often recommended to make sure that you use products that do not contain resin, as it is harmful for chinchillas. While you are purchasing your bedding, do not forget the specially formulated food pellets. There are specially made for chinchillas and you will not have to worry about them over eating as they will only eat a little bit at a time. You also need to have a cube’s that act almost like a snack in between meals.

Toys For Chinchillas

Once you have some of these housekeeping issues taking care of it is now time to begin to seriously think about what chinchilla toy you want to buy (this usually turns out to be more than one in most cases). Not only is it fun to watch your pet play with them but also they are also very important. Chinchillas have teeth very similar to other rodents. They will continually grow and they must chew and gnaw on things so that they can keep them healthy and in good shape. You can purchase special would toys that you pet store that are terrific for chinchillas. Some chinchillas will even chew on pumice stones and metal blocks as well. They love tree branches to chew such as Willow, Apple, Poplar and Aspen. You always need to make sure that the wood is not toxic, such as Cedar, Redwood, Citrus Trees and Evergreens.

These exotic pets love to climb and chinchilla’s toys that are the most fun are things that they can climb on. Chinchilla cages with ladders, blocks and platforms are a great. They will love to climb all over them and they we even chew on them to keep their teeth healthy. Having an exercise wheel is also a wonderful chinchilla toy. Make sure that the wheel does not have exposed spokes so that they could not get caught in it and get injured. They will also enjoy rolling around the large ball outside the cages well.

Other great chinchilla supplies are placing items inside the cage that they can hide in. Things like PVC pipes, little boxes and other items that they can hide in will be extremely fun for your new exotic pet. They love to play in tunnels and will probably take a nap in them as well. When you take your chinchilla out to play, you want to make sure that there is nothing in the room that they may destroy. You also need to remember that any of the chinchilla toys that you may purchase or use will probably be chewed up and you will need to replace them.

Metal Chinchilla Cage

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:56:21 +0000

Chinchillas are native to South America in the Andes Mountains and are often kept as pets in a metal chinchilla cage. For the right type of person willing to take some responsibility, they can make an ideal companion. They are typically friendly and gentle creatures; members of the rodent family and range in size just a bit bigger than ground squirrels. Keep in mind, metal chinchilla cages are not the best option, but are the most popular.

The original color of their thick fur is gray, however, today you can purchase them in ebony, white, beige and several colors in between. These mild and kind-natured animals have their fears and limits just like everybody else. Seriously frightened or threatened chinchillas can spray urine or bite if pushed to their limits; although this is more of a rare occurrence.

Keeping chinchilla cages clean is of prime importance as well as seeing to their other requirements for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Chinchillas cannot tolerate high heat of any sort; they must be raised indoors preferably with air conditioning so that temperatures do not exceed 75-80°s Fahrenheit. The thick fur of a chinchilla is beautiful but they cannot tolerate getting wet; when wet they must be dried off immediately otherwise fungus will develop in their fur.

The basic necessities for you and your chinchilla to both be happy is an extremely large cage, an unlimited food supply of fresh hay and pellets along with filtered or distilled water. Special chinchilla food can be bought online or at a pet store. Chinchilla bedding is needed, but not all wood is safe. Use untreated pine shavings, as these are non-toxic. Lastly, besides your companionship they must have their very own chin-proofed play ground. This is not a pet that you never interact with and just stick in a cage to admire.

Overall, they are very smart little creatures and they love to run around and play with a bit of interaction from you. Per say they are not the type of pet to be pampered, cuddled and treated as lap pets; they are intelligent and playful and will bond with their owners in a friendly relationship. This is not an animal to be controlled or dominated; they have their own perspective about things with schedules and agenda for playing and exercising.

A metal wire chinchilla cage is ideal since these little guys are members of the rodent family and they do love to chew. Wearing down their teeth is of critical importance to their health so make sure you get a good strong cage that they cannot chew through. An ideal cage for one chinchilla would be about 3 X 3 X ‘tall as possible’.

A Big Metal Chinchilla Cage is Always Better

Because they just love to run around and get plenty of exercise the bigger the cage that you have room for or can afford the better. If you are considering two chinchillas then of course you need a considerable large chinchilla cage to keep them both happy and healthy. To maintain good health and not feel stressed out (much like people) they require lots of their own space! For extra room, you may want to keep the chinchilla dust bath out of the cage.

The material requirements of your pet’s home are extremely important. These active little creatures will run up and down and around their cages very energetically and it is imperative that the mesh in chinchilla cages not be too large. It is sad to say that ignorant owners have purchased the wrong size mesh cages and had their companions seriously injured in the process. When the mesh is too large their toes and feet can become entangled resulting in broken foot bones, toes or legs. The safest sized mesh for a wire metal chinchilla cage is 1” X 1/2” for the cage walls or 3/4” X 3/4”. Ramps, shelves and floors should be no larger then 1/2” X 1/2”.

Buy the right size and style of metal chinchilla cage, provide all their requirements in addition to play areas and have a great time with your new-found friend.

Custom Homemade Chinchilla Cage

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:11:06 +0000

The pictures below are from Erica Vojnich. She did an awesome job making her own chinchilla cage. Her chin, Sophie, is a lucky lady. Her homemade cage cost around $100. This is one of the great examples of a chinchilla cage that people create themselves.

Here are a few notes she had about chinchilla cages, and some precautions for those who want to try to make their own.

1) If the cage is constructed with melamine, make sure your chinchilla won’t be exposed to any of the edges. Melamine is toxic if it is ingested and your chin will most likely chew the exposed edges. The edges can be covered using metal edging. Our cage doesn’t have that issue because we used wood for the shelves and ramps.

2) If wood is used, it has to be Untreated Pine. Since the chin will probably chew the shelves, it has to be something they can digest and it can’t be painted. These chemicals will harm your chinchilla.

3) Please do not put wire or plastic shelves in your custom homemade cages. Plastic is very harmful for them to be digesting. Wire shouldn’t be used because your chinchilla needs something solid to stand, walk, jump and sit on. It is very possible for your chinchilla to injure their feet on wire surfaces. Chinchilla can slip their foot/toe through holes. This could result in spraining, breaking, or cutting a part of the toe off.

4) Try to arrange the shelves so there is no possibility of your chin falling all the way from the top of the cage to the very bottom. We used a series of “L” shapes in our cage divided by a middle shelf. You’ll be surprised how quickly they will learn to jump all the way from the top to the bottom. Still, you want to take precautions. If they loose their footing, the fall won’t be from such a great height.

I completely agree with avoiding wire in your cage, but a metal chinchilla cage is easy to find and cheap. With some adjustments, they can be made safer.

Customizing a store bought cage is another option. You’ll need some chinchilla supplies. Add some shelves to get the “L” shapes Erica talked about in order to keep your chin safe from injury. Covering the sides and floors with untreated, chinchilla safe wood may be an easier way to get a unique cage. This goes for chinchilla bedding, as well. Putting up walls on the sides is a good idea because chins have the amazing ability of shooting their poo out of the cage in every direction. I swear that my chins had a poo slingshot hidden in their chinchilla cage somewhere because there is no other way droppings could fly that far across the room. Sometimes I imagined that they would have competitions to see who could get their poop the farthest. I always hoped to walk in and see Pedro DePacas shot putting a dropping.

There are a bunch of great homemade cages out there, and I will be featuring some more soon. Thanks for letting me show off your chinchilla cage, Erica.