Chinchillas are great because, being nocturnal, they are awake in the evenings, giving you all the time you need to work during the day. Then you can unwind by letting them out for half an hour to an hour. Cage cleaning gets easier as you get used to it and get your own method, but it is necessary to vacuum round the cages each night. I'm lazy and don't do it every night so sometimes I get poos scattered across the whole room, but you can buy cages with poo catching bits at the sides... (nice topic).
I think it's best to keep the chinchillas in a room where you spend a lot of time in the evenings, that way they, and you, always have company. We've got ours used to us playing computer games and watching TV and now they love to watch us too. We were a bit worried at first how they would react to gunfire and things on the games, but we started off playing them quietly and slowly turned up the volume over time, now it doesn't even make them flinch.
Anyway, this isn't the topic. I've only ever taken Chong on a short trip by car, and that was over the last few days when he was going to the vets, he didn't even seem to notice the difference. I think they'll be fine, as long as you check up on them regularly and make sure they have lots of hay for the journey. Offer them a water bottle at intervals but don't keep it in there in case the movement of the car causes it to leak and they get wet. And keep the cats away from them.
