Housing
There are several sizes and types of cages available, but it's very important to select your chinchilla's cage carefully and make sure he/she will be happy in their home. Many of the cages available at pet stores are wire with either a wire and pan bottom or a deep plastic bottom. One thing to remember with wire cages is to make sure the chinchilla doesn't have to be on a wire bottom at all times. If you are going to use a cage with a wire bottom, you need to have a box or peice of board so the chin is able to get off of the wire. Standing on wire all the time is very hard on their poor little feet! Cages with plastic bottoms are not all that safe since chinchillas can and will chew the plastic. Also be sure that any wire cage does not have coating on the metal bars. This will also be chewed and can be harmful to your chinchilla.
Many chin owners and breeders have built there own cages. Here are a couple of links to sites that offer plans to build a cage:
Spoiled Chins
ChinBin
All of our cages were built based on both of these designs. The material can be costly if you are building a big cage, but it will be a much nicer quality cage than most that you can buy. Here are some pictures of our cages:
Just be sure to give your chinchilla the biggest cage possible that you can afford or provide enough space for. They love to have lots of room to run around and shelves or different levels. Also be sure to clean the cage at least once a week to give your chin the cleanest and healthiest environment possible.
This page created and maintained by Jillian Hansen. Comments, questions, or suggestions, please e-mail woodview_chins@yahoo.com
