Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[lifeisgood.lisha]

My chinchilla Mochi had a previous owner. The owner used newspaper as liners and kept her in the family kitchen in the critter nation cage. She never had a little house to sleep in though. Since they are 'prey' animals, I'd figure they'd like a little hidey-hole and a place to sleep during the day. I am now using fleece as liners and got her a large hard cardboard chinchilla tube, but she doesn't sleep in it! She just sleeps behind it or next to it  Is this normal? I guess since she's never had a house she's used to not having one...

I just figured now that she has one she might begin to use it if she wants to. They have little houses at petco, but I think they're made out of pine trees. I've read pine is not good for them so I have not purchased one. Any opinions to make a nice sleeping place for a chin? 

Thanks 

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

The pine huts from Petco are fine. I use one for my chinchilla, the one that says "sleephouse" on it.
Newspaper lining is dangerous!!! I suggest bedding or special wood shavings. Also, if she eats too much of the cardboard, she can get sick, so be sure to monitor that

[GrayRodent]

I used to use a wood hutch with my first chinchilla. It was also from Petco as well. He was also very territorial and he did better when I removed it from his cage. My theory is that it is fine for a chinchilla that is already tame but isn't always a good idea depending on how they behave towards you when they use it. The other problem you might have with using one is that normally you would use pine bedding under it. If you put it over a wire floor and your chinchilla spends a lot of time in it then you risk getting foot sores. I would not recommend putting it directly over fleece lining because it might promote chewing on the fleece which is dangerous. And putting it straight on top of a flat wood shelf may promote urination onto the shelf which is unsanitary. I think a cardboard tube is best in your setup if Mochi does not chew it excessively and stop eating normally from ingesting the cardboard. My chinchilla would do that but not are all will.

When Blue, my first chinchilla, had his hutch he didn't always sleep in it. Sometimes he'd sleep on his shelf or on the roof of the hutch. He also slept in his hammock on occasion but spent most of his time inside the hutch. If I were to try to get him out of it he would seriously attack me. I got him second-hand and he was very difficult to tame.

If you don't have shelves I recommend installing them. This is where chinchillas should spend most of their time. Most shelving is made of solid untreated white pine or aspen boards. These are safe for chinchillas and are an industry standard. Not all types of pine are safe.

Avoid wire shelves completely as these are extremely dangerous. In your case your chinchilla is used to having motion and activity around it. This actually a good thing and I doubt she will hide very much in the tube as a result.
Fleece is a nice for chinchillas that will not make a habit of chewing it. If you see your chin making holes in it or pulling threads out of it you should switch to kiln-dried pine or aspen bedding ASAP. Swallowing long threads can result in a fatal bowel obstruction and getting tangled in tattered cloth can lead to serious injuries.