Never from a pet store. They may be all cute, and the workers try and convince you they have a good deal better than any breeder.....they are wrong. Because you still spend the money in vet bills when your pet store chin ends up sick or dies.
Ive had two pet store chins die on me from genetic problems and one has a heart murmur. So you never know the background of your chin if you get from a store. Always from a reputable breeder who has a pedigree (history of parents and grandparents) and can tell you if there is hereditary illnesses in their background.
A lot of breeders can teach you a lot on chinchillas as well. pet store emplyees or owners dont know anything, they think they do and make it sound good but they dont. Pet Store employees are probably just highschool kids working anyway.
Chins should have a dust bath about twice a week, some people put the dust in there all the time. But I dont like to because it makes such a mess and they poop and pee in the dust which is just wasting it.
I do my chins about 2 or 3 times a week unless they really need it.
Show chins are dusted almost everyday.
They are not smelly. Just make sure you clean their cages. I have mine litter trained to pee in a corner litter box (litter consists of pine shavings, not the balled stuff that ferretts or cats use), so I usually only have to clean these frequently bc the pee is what smells. The poop isnt smelly at all.
Male or female is probably just preference. Just dont house them together unless you want little babies running around. And dont just put a male and male together who havent gotten to know one another or havent grown up together, in the same cage. They will fight. Same with two females, I think females are worse in a cage together unless they have grown up together.
Chins eat pellets, you can get good quality food at some stores, or on line. I feed a brand called Mazuri. One of the quality brands out there. You can also get Oxbow chin pellets or traditional feed that breeders over the internet sell. Dont fee the pet store styles like Charlie Chinchilla, Kaytee and so on. Most of these have treats, pellets, veges and all sorts of stuff mixed in. Chins shouldnt have treats as a part of their meal. It should be just a "treat" a few times a week. So i dont like those foods. Juts plan pellets for me. And lots of Hay, Timothy Hay is the best. Alfalfa hay is good too, but very rich so not good to feed all the time for long periods of time. I just stick to Timothy Hay.
Cage should be fairly big, enough for them to jump, have a few floors or layers, or shelves to perch on.
If you have any other questions you can check out my website
www.fortheloveofchinchillas.comor talk to some other breeders on here and check out their sites as well.
Welcome to the Chin Club!