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[Dan50]

She has a chinchilla and it tries to get out of the cage when she cleans. What can she do so it won't be able to get out? The arrow I have is the wooden part where she jumps down from and gets out. She can not take that out since her uncle wants it there. Hes not a big fan of the ball and he might try to escape in it. http://i.imgur.com/WZsh9ON.jpg?1

[GrayRodent]

Do you have a travel cage? You can order one online if you don't have one.
I use one sometimes when my chinchilla is in the mood to escape.

I used to have a very wild chinchilla that insisted on escaping. I partially blocked the door opening with 1/2"x1/2" construction cloth just for regular handling because he'd jump out of it too easily. Even that wasn't perfect. A cardboard box can also work but eventually it will get chewed through.

Also keep in mind that plastic can be very harmful to chinchillas or any rodents if it is ingested. The pieces can obstruct or tear up their insides so the carry cage you get should be metal if possible. The chinchilla ball is constructed so it's not easy for them to chew it. The danger with those is overheating and they should be very carefully monitored if you do use it. Basically I wouldn't let mine in if the room temp was above 73F

Hope this helps

[Dan50]

Also she's afraid to use the chinchilla ball or the cat carrier because somehow she is afraid he might get out or jump out of it. Would using the card board box be easier? She doesn't know how she should do it, he's VERY sneaky and the type he gets out. She has to do this every morning all by herself. She also has to take out the newspaper and cleaning out other junks. Should she hold the cardboard there herself? Shes a bit confused on how it should be held there. She has to use the brush and dustpan to get stuff out of the cage on the bottom and a vacuum as well. Please help us.


How should she block it with the cardboard when cleaning? Does she put it on the inside of it or the outside?

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Buy a small dog carrier from a pet store. Or buy one from tjschinchillasupplies.com. These are excellent carriers!

[Dan50]

Buy a small dog carrier from a pet store. Or buy one from tjschinchillasupplies.com. These are excellent carriers!

How should She put him inside the carrier? He's very energetic and can be kind of agressive. Does she need to pick him up or put the carrier in front of the chinchilla cage entrance door? How can She close it safely without him jumping out of the carrier? We are afraid he might escape from the carrier when he's in it or when She try to close the lid.

[GrayRodent]

You can put the carrier in front of the door and hold it there for a few minutes. It's been my experience that the animal will be curious enough to jump in. If that doesn't work you'll need to pick him up.

If you think she'll bite you can use gloves. Be careful not to snag any legs when you make the attempt and hold him tight enough that he cannot flail around or you risk serious injury. Support the animal underneath and secure firmly at the base of the tail. If you get the middle or end of the tail you can break it so make sure it's at the base. It makes it very easy to control the chinchilla when you have the base of the tail. Sometimes getting to it can be tricky though.

Chinchillas that are not tame will often slip fur in big clumps when you handle them. This is normal and it can also make it hard to get a good grip when it does so be careful. Slipped fur will grow back in a couple of weeks. They will also make "kacking" sounds when they are upset and can bite but if you hold them so you slightly tilt the jaw up it's less likely you'll get bit.

Plan ahead and try to make the process go as quickly as possible to minimize stress on your pet.

You can try to put him inside of the cat carrier. Just block the opening with your hands while you shut the door. I think you'll find it's easier than you think. If the chinchilla does escape it's can be hard to catch but persistence will pay off.

You can train your chinchilla to be more tolerant of being handled if you take him out of him cage in short sessions each day and put him right back before he starts acting upset. Only start this training if he is tolerant of being touched or petted first.

[Dan50]

How can she do it by blocking with the cardboard at the entrance of the cage without taking him out of the cage like how you did in the past? Will you give me details?

[GrayRodent]

I think maybe you misunderstood something. What I did when I got my first chinchilla I used a travel cage, which at the time was a bird cage, but eventually I purchased a better one. I lined up the doors and the animal just jumped in out of curiosity. He didn't always go for it so I did have to pick him up eventually. After a few weeks I had him trained to be held for short sessions so I picked him up from then on.

I've attached what I was thinking about the cardboard for your cat carrier. Use this idea at your own risk. It might make it easier to keep him from jumping out as soon as you open the door but blocking it by hand may be less hassle.

[GrayRodent]

Here is an example of my cage door guard. I used steel construction cloth. I did not have decent clips to mount it and wired it to the cage which isn't as safe. I filed the guard very carefully to eliminate all sharp edges after I cut it out.
The diagram is not to scale. Green represents the mesh, blue for the door, and red for the fastener placement.
At times it felt that it did help and at other times it just made it a pain to get into the cage. Eventually I went to a parrot cage with a huge door.

NOTE: The diagram was inaccurate. See following posts.

[Dan50]

We are a bit confused with the last picture. Do you think that you could please make an easier one to understand? Also how did you attach the cardboard to the inside of the cat carrier?

[GrayRodent]

I've never done that before with a cat carrier but If I were to to that I'd use packing tape.

In the second diagram I can see where you were confused. I adjusted the width of the opening in my art program but did not adjust the width of the door. Sorry about that I threw it together pretty quickly. Here is the new diagram.

[cadillactaste]

http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=129_142_154  Reasonably priced too!
 We're getting a carrier to make it easier for transporting to a vet visit. We have their Collapsible Travel Home as well...Built very well! For when it storms we can move them safely to the basement. My son calls it their Tornado Bunker. It is quite roomy yet smaller than their ferret nation cage they reside in. But feel it is bulky to take to the vet office.
http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_153&products_id=643

[Debbie.nl.ca]

It's a chinchilla not a lion, put it in a carrier.