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[Barbilar]

  Hi There! I just joined and I came here to ask some advice on whether or not I should get a Chinchilla.
       Currently, I have one remaining gerbil who is four years old and like a best-friend to me. His buddy died in November 2012 (R.I.P Shay) but he is still going good. However, I know that soon, there will be a time when he joins his brother and I will be parted from him. This is a big dilemma for me because he plays such a big part in my life and I dont like to think of when he is gone
 So I decided I would like to plan ahead, so I will be prepared for when it happens, with a fresh new start. I dont want another gerbil, as they are not independent and need attention, which is not ideal as I started secondary school this year. I quite like the idea of having a chinchilla as they are more independant and larger, and generally fit in with my lifestyle.
 These are some aspects of my lifestyle and I would like to know if they suit a chinchilla:
*I live in cold england
*We own a pet cat
*The house we may be moving into is quite large (not a mansion though hehe )
*I like to have adventurous playtimes with my pets (NOT in a cruel way)
*I like to give lots of attention to pets
*My school hours are from 8:00am to about 4:30pm, however I have a few afterschool clubs
*We go on long holidays! We go for the whole summer holidays (6 weeks) and every/every other half term

Also, here are some questions:
*How expensive are cages?
*Do they live in pairs, groups or solo?
*Do they live in light areas or dark areas?
*How expensive are average babies?
*Can they be trained to use a toilet, respond to there name?
*How messy are they on a scale of 1-10, 10 being incredibly messy
*How smelly are they on a scale of 1-10, 10 being smelliest

  Thanks in advance. If you have any other advice please post it

[chinclub]

Hi and welcome to the forums.  I am so sorry to hear about Shay.  It is nice that chinchillas have a longer life span which does attract a lot of rodent lovers to the chinchilla.  They prefer colder areas so that will work out, but I am concerned about your long holidays.  Chinchillas do not do well with change so taking them with you could be quite stressful.  Would you have someone pet sit or would you be taking them along?

With your schedule I would suggest getting two.  They will keep each other company while you are away at school and a pair will handle stress better if you do decide to take them with you on holiday.

Chinchillas need light during the day and dark at night.  Not direct sunlight as that can get hot, but regular house light is fine.
They are A LOT less smelly than hamsters because their urine doesn't have the ammonia smell. They do race around the cage and kick shavings out everywhere!   You can train them to urinate in a set spot but they will poo everywhere.

I can't help you with price questions. I am in the states so I don't know what prices are in England.

[Barbilar]

Thank you soooo much I forgot to mention, but taking them on holiday is a definite no! We go abroad, stay in a cramped caravan or motor-home and sometimes go to very hot places. I may not be an expert, but I know enough to tell that it would be unfair on the poor critters to take them with me.
 Also, it would be impossible to fit there large cages in our caravan or motor home!

 Thank you sooo much!

[GrayRodent]

Living in "cold England" is a good place. It seems like chinchillas are very popular there. They like it cool.
Owning a cat is not a problem if your cat did well with your gerbils. Otherwise you'll need to keep them away from each other. I wouldn't introduce your cat to a new chin until a couple of weeks after he has adjusted to his new home.
Chinchillas are very bouncy animals. You will need to be careful they don't get loose and get lost and stuck in some inaccessible place. Most chin owners will play with them in a bathroom or corridor that can be closed off.
I agree with Jamie that if you're taking those frequent extended vacations having two chins is better.

How expensive are the cages: In the US you can expect to pay about $200.00, which is about the same price you pay for a mutation color chin from a reputable breeder and that is for a somewhat small cage. Don't forget to include the accessories when estimating. I recommend checking out prices online for these items.

Chinchillas can live in pairs or large groups. You must have a same-sex pair or you WILL have babies. It is always best to buy two siblings from a breeder who are used to each other to minimize the risk of fighting especially with females. Introducing strangers doesn't always work.
They cannot be trained to use a toilet. There will always be poo. Some times of the day are worse than others and it's worse with activity. The good news is that the poo is fairly dry when it comes out and is easily swept up. A chinchilla rarely urinates outside of its cage though.

Having owned many kinds of domestic and farm animals I'd put chinchillas on about a 5 on the scale of messiness. The messiest I've owned would be a horse but I can certainly imagine worse. I must sweep around the cage at least once a day but usually twice a day because he runs around in his cage and kicks around poo, hay, and sometimes pelleted diet onto the floor. Getting hay off carpet is very annoying and I use a small broom and "dustbuster" battery powered vaccuum. It's not something you want in your household vacuum cleaner.
Urine is not problematic but it still gets on the cage and needs to be scrubbed at least once every 10 days when I clean out the cage tray. This is for one chinchilla who is almost adult size.
Dust baths are given (at most) every other day but they can be spaced farther apart. Because he gets greasy from handling I'll do it every other day when possible.
The baths are not too messy if I do it in an enclosed shower stall. Afterwards I sweep what I can into a dust pan and let the shower head do the rest when I take a shower. If I don't frequently dust the bathroom it gets noticeably thick by the end of the week.

The chinchilla is the least smelliest animal I've owned. If I keep the cage cleaned as I described I notice no smell at all. The animal itself has no noticeable odor except for the dust smell.

Hope this helps.

[mb30]

hey. I am in the uk and if you do end up going for a chinchilla look at getting an xtrail rodent cage. it will cost you 170 - 200 pounds but it is a stellar cage once together and is all metal. the instructions are basically the worst you can ever get thougg. i had to basically look at pictures of the cage to put it together. also, i believe they only get shipped once a month from the manufacturer so try to get it before you get a chinchilla.

oxbow timothy hay is easily acquired from amazon.

the best food you can get (by many accounts) is beaphar care plus chinchilla food. you can get it from seapets.co.uk...

charnwoods chinchilla pellets s another widley used food in the uk.

i started mine on charnwoods then eventually made the switch to beaphar.


chinchillas2shop.co.uk is a great site for toys and supplies. they specialize in chinchilla safe products.

hammockyhammocks is a great site for fleece beds and the like.

also i bought a portable air conditioner for around 300 pounds...im in the midlands though where it sometimes gets a bit too hot for chins. everyone thought i was crazy but if i didnt have it last year i wouldnt have a chinchilla anymore.

if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

[mb30]

the chinchilla does not smell at all.
i spot clean the cage every morning and change the water each morning. i do boil the water first and let it cool. they will need outside of cage time. they are very long lived when treated good so do keep that in mind. do not put the chin in a room where any type of hair spray or febreeze or anything is sprayed. they are pretty easy to keep. my best advice is to read as much as you can about them for a month or two before you make your final decision...messege boards are the best source of info if you ask me. just get familiar with who are the experienced keepers/breeders and pay attention to what they say...

also rose hips are a great snack and one you dont have to worry about damaging the chinchillas health...if given 1 a day or 1 every other day..

sorry if im all over the place here...i just thought of this.


ive never had chinchillas before and i never thought i would get attatched to ours like i have. i just wish i knew about them before my wife got ours because i wouldve bought a bonded pair. other than that i would put them right up there with a dog as far as getting back what you give.

just know that you must have patience...you cannot be forceful or try to speed up the bonding or behavoir...you must let the chinchilla go at its own pace.