There are different choices available when choosing which Chinchilla Food you want to feed your pet. Specially formulated chinchilla pellets are available on the market which have been specially designed according to a chinchilla’s diet. Fresh food is also an option but should be monitored closely as chinchillas have a habit of picking out that which they like best and not eating the rest.

Fresh water and hay is recommended along with the pellets. While you should never use water in a chinchilla bath because wetting their fur can be fatal (they clean themselves with chinchilla dust or sand) they do need a fresh supply of drinking water. Fresh hay is also recommended, as it is a necessary part of their diet and it helps keep their teeth in a good condition.

Your chinchilla food and water should be kept in separate containers and should ideally be kept in containers which your pet can not soil or mess in. Keeping your chinchilla cage clean and neat would also be easier if the food and water containers are fastened to the cage and can thus not be pushed around or upended by your chinchilla.

There are of course many kinds of treats that you can feed your chinchilla. Fruits and vegetables can be given as treats but all treats should be given sparingly. As with people, treats are not always healthy for a chinchilla. However some treats are a necessary part of their diet. Seeds and nuts should always be monitored very carefully as they are rich in fat and oil.

When giving your chinchilla food, you should always keep a close eye on what your pet eats, so that you know what nutrient they might not obtain because of their picky eating habits. Some fruits have very high percentage sugar content and this can cause some problems with your chinchillas. You should always check the sugar and fiber content of any treat you give your pet. Bananas have a lower percentage of sugar (per 100g) and can thus be given in larger quantities than raisins – which have high sugar content.

Chinchillas have very sensitive digestive systems and any changes in their diets should be done gradually to lessen the risk of digestive problems. Introduce any new foods by adding them in small quantities to their existing diets and if necessary, lessen the amount of food of that which you wish to take out of their diets.

New treats should also be introduced slowly and sparingly. If you only got your new chinchilla recently and do not know which food or treats form part of their diet, it is best to start giving your chinchilla food sparingly and slowly.

Chinchilla Food And Chinchilla Treats – The Best Ones To Feed Your Pet is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

Chinchillas As Pets

So you are considering buying either hamsters or chinchillas as pets. When considering which of these small “pocket-sized” pets to buy, it is a great idea to investigate the differences and styles of each pet.

Chinchillas are originally from South America, but have been exported throughout the world. Due to the way they look and the way that they behaved, they have become a popular novelty pet to own.

Some reasons that chinchillas as pets are better than hamsters are:
They are very clean animals, and as long as you clean out the chinchilla cage, you should not have a problem with unpleasant odours.
They have a very long lifespan, especially considering their size. Where hamsters usually only live for three to five years, chinchillas have been known to survive for up to twenty years, as long as they are well taken care of.

Chinchillas As Pets

Chinchillas are very busy animals, and are sure to be more entertaining than hamsters, who quite often only lounge about in their cages, or run on their exercise wheels.
Although chinchillas are quite skittish, and don’t love to be held, they do form a very strong bond with their owner.
Chinchillas eat very little, and can snack on a single chinchilla treat for a whole day long – as such feeding them is very economical.

All of these aspects are positive points when comparing chinchillas as pets with hamsters. However, we have to mention certain difficulties that having chinchilla pets can cause.

As mentioned before, chinchillas do not appreciate being snuggled or held closely, and will bite if they feel threatened. Although their bites very rarely break the skin, this can be an issue if you want to buy a chinchilla as a pet for a young child, as the child will not understand why they shouldn’t snuggle with their pet.

Another matter of importance is the fact that chinchillas nibble on anything they can get their teeth on. Due to their rodent ancestry, their teeth always grow, and as such they have to nibble to keep them trimmed. Thus, you have to make sure that the room you are keeping them in is chinchilla proof, with no wires, shoes or boards for them to chew on. So basically, by all means let yoir pet roam about outside of its cage, but just make sure you keep an eye on him or her at all times, lest he or she get into a dangerous situation, or cause damage to your home.

However, if your child is older than ten years of age or you are considering buying the chinchilla for yourself, it is clear that chinchillas as pets are a lot more fun to keep than hamsters.

Chinchillas As Pets – Why They Are More Fun To Keep Than Hamsters is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

So you have bought your chinchilla cage, but now don’t know which chinchilla supplies you will need? When looking at the essential supplies for your pet chinchilla, you have to consider its health supplies and its nutritional supplies as well as its entertainment and toys.

With regard to health supplies you have to consider the necessary cleaning supplies as well as the sand box. A chinchilla cleans itself in special chinchilla dust, which is a type of fine volcanic ash. Thus your chinchilla bath will have to be a special box filled with chinchilla dust for your chinchilla in which it can clean itself. Other essential health supplies include ear solution, with which you can clean out your chinchillas’ ears, as well as chew blocks and sticks which the chinchilla needs not just for entertainment, but also to keep its teeth at the right size to prevent them overgrowing.

Chinchillas do not eat a lot, and as such you will only have to buy a small amount of special chinchilla food. As a treat you can also buy donut dunks, cookies, flavoured chips as well as grainola bars, all made specifically for chinchillas – not human ones. These supplies are available from most pet shops, breeders and many online shops that specialize in pet food and treats. A simple search with your favourite web browser will give you the details of many suppliers of chinchilla food and treats in your area.

Chinchillas are very active animals, and need toys to keep themselves fit, healthy and busy. There are many different types of toys available for chinchillas and we will discuss a few of these essential chinchilla supplies.

One of the most important and essential toys you need to buy your chinchilla is also essential for its health. Due to the fact that their teeth keep on growing, they need a good chew toy to stave this process. There are different types of chews available, certain ones double as treats, and others are made from permanent materials that lasts a lot longer like mineral blocks, which may or may not be flavored.

Other chinchilla supplies that will give your chinchilla hours of fun and excitement are: climbing equipment such as ladders and platforms; an exercise wheel and hiding areas where your chinchilla can keep out of the light, or just play a game of hide and seek.

We can see that it is very important to keep your chinchilla active, fed and healthy. In order to do this you will need to ensure that you have the right chinchilla supplies to keep your pet strong, happy and healthy.

Essential Chinchilla Supplies To Purchase After Buying A Cage is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

Chinchilla Bath – How To Clean Your Chinchilla

One of the better known characteristics of chinchillas is their aversion to getting wet, thus a chinchilla bath is filled with special sand often called chinchilla dust. It is a very fine type of volcanic ash. And they will use the sand to clean themselves with. Water is not used as it can be dangerous for your pet. Your pet will get hours of delight out of cleaning itself in the sand.

A local chinchilla breeder will be able to supply you with the needed dust, and if you are going to leave the bath in the cage, you should replace the dust at least once biweekly, or when it is visibly soiled. It is preferable however to remove the bath until you wish your chinchilla to bath to avoid over-use and potential mess.

The sand bath can be bought at any pet shop or pet supply store, but you should be sure that it is big enough for your chinchilla to easily bath in. If you cannot find chinchilla dust, normal children’s play sand can be used, however the special volcanic ash is the best suited for the animal.

Chinchilla pets are very vulnerable to changes in temperature, and as such both the cage and the chinchilla bath need to be kept at a constant temperature between 22 and 24 degrees Celsius. Temperatures over 28 degrees Celsius can be fatal to the chinchilla, and they could die from heatstroke.

Chinchilla Bath – Don’t Clean Them With Water

You should not clean a chinchilla with water, as this is very stressful for the animal and may have fatal consequences. Should you let your chinchilla out of its cage and it somehow ends up getting something sticky or paint in its fur then it is best not to try to use water to remove it yourself. You should take your chinchilla to your local veterinarian or to the local chinchilla breeder if he or she is suitably experienced and qualified enough. You must never wash them and leave them to dry on their own, as their fur takes a very long time to dry, and they may die from hypothermia, as their body quickly loses heat.

If the chinchilla is soiled beyond normal dust-cleaning capabilities, you can take it to the vet to have its fur trimmed and cleaned, which is a much safer option than cleaning it with water. If you have experience with trimming the fur of small animals, you can clean it yourself, but a veterinarian is always the safest option.

It is clear that keeping your chinchilla clean does not have to be an expensive or time-consuming job, however you have to take certain precautions to keep the chinchilla bath clean and at optimum conditions for your chinchilla.

Chinchilla Bath – How To Clean Your Chinchilla is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

When considering what type of chinchilla cage to get, the first thing to consider is a chinchilla’s natural lifestyle. In the wild, chinchillas are animals that love to roam around, therefore you need to purchase a large chinchilla cage. They love to run, jump and climb, so for these reasons it only makes sense that the chinchilla’s cage is large. This is especially the case if you plan to get a pair of chinhcillas. However, on that note, if you do get a pair be sure not to get a male and a female, unless you want to have baby chinchillas on your hands!

As chinchillas love running, jumping and climb, you don’t just want a cage with a lot of floorspace, but also one that has a reasonably large height too. And to keep your chinchillas busy, you should provide them with a few accessories, from perches, to grassy huts, to exercise wheels. These things can keep your chinchilla entertained for hours. Your chinchilla also need things to gnaw at, as its teeth grow continuously. So you can get mineral blocks and untreated wood to put in the chinchilla cage for your chinchilla to gnaw away at.

A chinchilla is a cleanly animal. To keep itself clean in its natural environment – mountains, it likes to use dust. Obviously in a cage, it has no access to cleaning material unless you put some in there. What do you put in the cage? You can buy either volcanic ash, which is often called chinchilla dust. Or you can use children’s play sand. You will need to purchase a chinchilla bath to put the dust in. This is essentially just a container that the chinchilla can enter to clean itself. You may like to give your pet no more than 10 minutes, and remove the bath from the chinchilla cage after use to avoid overuse. Do not ever try to bathe a chin in water. This is because their fur is very absorbent and takes long to try meaning your pet’s body temperature will quickly plummet and it could die.

If you decide you would like your chinchilla to roam around your house a little, this is fine – under supervision. Chinchillas are curious and they like to chew – and there are certain things that can be anything from inconvenient to dangerous to chew!

You will also want to pay attention to room temperature. Chinchillas can die in temperatures over 85 degrees Fahrenheit, preferably they hould be kept in temperatures between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit. You may need to purchase a fan or an air conditioning unit to help achieve this.

We all love giving nice things to our pets. If you are going to give treats to your chinchilla, be sure not to over do it. 1 portion a day is sufficient. This is for its own good. You may damage a chinchilla’s digestive system or worse if you overdo it.

It is also worth mentioning that you should beware of plastic toys. As your chinchilla likes to gnaw and as plastic can be gnawed away, it can be toxic to your pet if ingested, and dangerious physically if sharp edges are formed after the structure has been gnawed away at. So you want to ensure that if there is anything plastic, that it is not something that the chin will easily be able to get its mouth around and gnaw away at. Look for a metal chinchilla cage ideally, and make sure you have some good quality toys in there to ensure you do not get a fat lazy chinchilla but an active and happy one!

Chinchilla Cage Selection Considerations is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

Chinchilla Toys – Great Toys For Your Chinchilla Cage

Giving your chinchilla toys is an essential part of raising your pet and keeping it healthy. Chinchillas are very good climbers and your chinchilla cage should consist of ladders and branches so that your pet can climb to their heart’s content.

Keeping your pet healthy does not only mean giving your chinchilla food, but also keeping them well exercised and entertained. Chinchillas need to have a toy or some wood to chew on in order to keep their teeth in a healthy condition. Their teeth grow their whole lives and should thus be kept short by chewing on various things. Under no circumstances should you give your pet wood which has been varnished or painted. Evergreen tree branches are also not recommended. The wood must be untreated. You can find suitable chew toys in the rodent section of your local pet shop.

Most chinchillas love to play on wheels and thus a chinchilla wheel is an excellent choice of the many chinchilla toys available. These wheels should preferably have solid platforms and should be big, at least 30cm. You can also use large enclosed balls for them to play in outside and run around in. Be sure to only let them play in these for short periods of time as these balls get quite hot and this will become uncomfortable and detrimental to your chinchilla’s health. You can also get your chinchilla a twig ball or something similar whi9ch they can play with as well as gnaw away at.

Chinchilla Toys – They Like Privacy

Chinchillas like their privacy and it is essential that you have a hiding place for them. These can be PVC pipes that make perfect chinchilla toys as well as forming an ideal hiding place. You can use cardboard boxes for this purpose as well but be advised that your chinchilla might chew it, so it would not be a permanent solution as a hiding place. A grassy hutch would be better.

Caring for a chinchilla is just as time consuming as caring for a baby. You should be sure to first “chinchilla proof” a room before you allow them to explore the area outside of their cage – if you plan on letting them out from time to time. Chinchillas are very curious pets and will most probably bite into anything in the room outside the cage so you should therefore make sure that there is nothing that could be dangerous or toxic for your pet.

So when choosing your toys, always make sure to check that any wooden toys use untreated wood, and not varnished wood. Avoid plastic toys with chewable edges on them too as if your pet can chew away pieces of plastic the toy could become dangerous if any sharp edges form, and the chewed away piece can be dangerous if ingested. As you can see, there are plenty of chinchilla toys on the market to keep your pet, happy, healthy and entertained.

Chinchilla Toys – Great Toys For Your Chinchilla Cage is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

When you consider buying a chinchilla wheel you have to take into account the different types and sizes that are available for purchase. Chinchillas are extremely active animals, and as such chinchilla wheels will be amongst a pet store’s essential chinchilla supplies.

The exercise that your pet will receive through running on the wheel is extremely beneficial for their health and they truly enjoy running on these wheels at all hours of the day. Chinchilla wheels are generally larger than the average hamster exercise wheel and when selecting one you have to consider its durability compared to its price.

For durability’s sake, it is better to buy a chinchilla wheel that is made of metal rather than a normal plastic wheel. There are many types of plastic and metal chinchilla wheels available for purchase. Amongst the best plastic wheels are:

Chinchilla Wheels – The Different Types Of Chinchilla Wheel

Solid Round Plastic Wheel. This exercise wheel is a great alternative if you have to go for cheaper options. It is very strong and since it is solid, your chinchilla will not be able to hurt itself easily by getting its feet stuck in the wheel or falling off’ the wheel.

Plastic Flying Saucer Wheel. The Plastic flying saucer can be quite difficult to master in the beginning for the chinchilla, and this may discourage them from trying to run on it. They differ from the traditional vertical wheel in that they are shaped like a dish. The dish is propped up by a base and it is propped up at a vertical angle. So there is a bit more technique to master than with a traditional vertical wheel as your pet has to learn not to fall off. However, your pet should soon be able to master the technique. It is a very interesting way for your pet to exercise. Certain designs don’t allow it to attach to the cage, and this can make it even more difficult for the chinchilla to run on the wheel with confidence.

As mentioned earlier, the metal wheels are usually more durable and practical than the plastic variety. They are also safer, as chinchillas like to chew, and it could be dangerous if your pet was able to chew away plastic from his or her toys. Amongst the better metal wheels are the following options:

Chinchilla Wheels – The Metallic Chinchilla Wheel Options

Metal Drum Wheel. The metal drum wheel is a very interesting design that incorporates the design of normal round wheels and flying saucer wheels. This wheel is very durable and a great way for your chinchilla to exercise.

Metal Flying Saucer Wheel. The metal flying saucer wheel has some of the same hindrances the plastic sort has; however, since this model usually has ways of attaching to the cage, your chinchilla should have less of a problem navigating his way onto it. These chinchilla wheels are great pieces of equipment on which the chinchilla runs and will be great fun for your pet.

After reading through this article you will realize that there are many factors that influence the decision on which chinchilla wheel to buy, however, it is clear that there should be no question on whether you should buy a wheel or not, as it is an essential part of a chinchilla cage. So now that you know all there is to know about the different types of chinchilla wheel, it is now time to decide which of the different styles of chinchilla wheels is best to gift your pet.

Chinchilla Wheels – The Benefits & How To Select A Chinchilla Wheel is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

Offers tons of space for even the most energetic ferrets to run, jump and play! Has 2 large front-opening doors that ferrets cant open. Has coated metal wire body & floors that are easy to clean. Has 2 main levels to provide plenty of space for food dishes and litter trays. Has platforms that sit on the cage sides and can be removed quickly for easy cleaning. Large doors provide lots of access to pets and allow owners to easily switch out litter trays, food & water dishes and toys. (more…)

Feisty Ferret Cage is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

Small Animal Cage Home With Built in Rolling Stand

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Luna 82 Blue / Silver Hutch is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys

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This Critter Nation cage provides a safe and comfortable home for your chinchilla and is convenient for you to maintain. No tools are required to assemble it as it has interlocking panels to secure the cage together without any screws, nuts, or bolts. It is fantastic cage for small animals, such as chinchillas, ferrets, and rats. It has a sturdy square tube frame and wire construction to provide maximum security. It has has 0.5-inch horizontal bar spacing to let your pet move about and climb around easily. Also features.

• Full Width Double Doors – providing maximum accessibility for easy cleaning and feeding of your chinchilla.
• Wide Expanse Shelf and a Full Width Plastic Pan Floor to provide sufficient play area whilst preventing dangerous falls.
• Swing-Up Locking Ramp enabling you to secure sections for cage cleaning , feeding and separating your pets when necessary.
• Dual-Locking Door Latches to provide secure, easy one-hand operations whilst being critter proof at the same time for security.
• An easy to maneuver stand with locking caster.
• An attractive Platinum Gray Hammertone Finish

The cage comes as either a double unit (pictured) or a single unit.
Double unit size – 36Lx24Wx63H
Single unit size – 36Lx24Wx39H

Both units feature a stand.
The double unit has achieved a 4 out of 5 star average across 17 customer reviews, while nobody has yet reviewed the single unit model, although there was a single customer review on Amazon for the single model which gave it 5 out of 5 stars, which is not suprising being that it is the same model, just half the size.

Best price for the double unit is $265.99 (inc delivery) as opposed to Amazon’s $311.72 saving you over $40 – BARGAIN!
Best price for the single unit is $164.99 (inc delivery) as opposed to Amazon’s $195.65 saving you around $30.

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Critter Nation Double Unit With Stand 36lx24wx63h
Buy
Critter Nation Single Unit With Stand 36lx24wx39h

Midwest Critter Nation with Stand is a post from: Large Chinchilla Cages & Toys