I have had two chinchillas neither of them I let run around freely outside of the cage and that has not resulted in problems as described in the article. My current chinchilla is extremely tame and will let me cuddle him basically until he gets overheated. I'll have him out of the cage but he does not roam about. In fact I can tell when he wants to go back in his cage.
Then there is the matter of chinchilla breeders who breed and keep them on a large scale. They do just fine confined to a cage and prefer to stay in the cage. If the cage is too small that is a different story and you will have serious problems.
It is my opinion that outside of the cage time is good for your pets' health as long as they are not roaming freely through the house where that can encounter dangerous or toxic things and are confined to a chinchilla safe room or area. It is also my opinion that not having a lot of out-of-cage time is not terrible for your chin's health. With that being said it makes no sense to have a pet you do not play with and minimal interaction will result in a minimally tame or interactive pet. It has also been my experience that animals that are not socialized are prone to stress and defensive behavior.
Also it is not good to let a chinchilla that has just relocated to a new home out and roaming around because this is known to actually cause stress and behavioral problems especially if something spooks them. They need an established place where they can be confident things are secure. Once they are bonded then they can be let out to roam in a chinchilla safe place.
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Topic: Photo What Does Everyone Think Of This? (Read 884 times)