How to imitate the habitat of the chinchilla so that your pet feels at home

Chinchillas are very unique creatures only found in the Andes Mountains (originally). Due to the unique environment they were created for, they require special care to ensure they live a long and healthy life. It’s true that the cage you buy probably won’t be exactly like the Andes mountains where your chin originates from, but with a little planning and forethought, you can get as close to it as possible. Here are some steps to make your chinchilla feel at home by mimicking the chinchilla’s natural habitat.

The first thing you need to worry about matching is the landscape. The mountainside they come from is steep and rocky, giving them plenty of things to jump and climb. To mimic this, you should find a cage that is nice and tall with ramps and shelves that your chin can climb. An exercise wheel is another almost essential thing to keep your chin well exercised. A rule of thumb when buying a cage is that the bigger the better!

In addition to a large cage, chinchillas need a lot of exercise. The high cage will definitely help with this, but even better is to let them out of their cage at least once a day to run around a closed room that you have “squeak proofed.” Keep an eye on him at all times when he’s running around the room and don’t let him get hold of any wires or other dangerous things. Chins have a tendency to chew on things, so be sure to watch for it around your furniture!

Another very important aspect of their natural habitat is temperature. They are made with thick fur coats to keep warm in the cold mountains. So when you take them and put them in your house in a warm room, they can easily overheat because they have no way to cool down (ie they don’t sweat). Therefore, it is very important that you have at least one room in your house that is ALWAYS kept at 70 degrees F or below. Too long at 75 degrees F can cause them to overheat, and anything above 80 can give your little one heat stroke.

Back in the Andes, chinchillas will wallow in mounds of volcanic rock dust or ash to keep themselves clean. I know this may sound counterintuitive, but it’s true! The fine powder actually gets into their thick fur and absorbs excess moisture, oils, and dirt to keep them clean and healthy (if a little dusty). To mimic this you will need to buy specially made chinchilla dust that you can roll in. Find a container that won’t tip over, put in some dust, then put your chinchilla in and she’ll have fun rolling around and cleaning herself.

Since his chin won’t have a chance to move around and chew on various things to keep his teeth sharp (like he would in his natural habitat), it’s important to provide him with blocks to chew on. Never put anything plastic in their cage, because they will chew on it and ingest it, which can make them sick or even kill them.

One area where you don’t want to match the chinchilla’s natural habitat is in its diet. Wild chinchillas can eat plants, fruits, seeds, and insects, but such a diet will irritate the digestive system of domestic chinchillas. Instead, you should feed him mostly special chinchilla pellets, with a bit of hay mixed in there for fiber. Treats are also fine from time to time.

If you keep all of these in mind when setting up your chinchilla habitat, you are sure to have a happy and healthy chinchilla for many years to come!

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