He is a gorgeous and cheeky little boy who loves to run around his cage in the evening, and he loves to nibble on monkey nuts once a night. Chinchilla's are nocturnal, and so we only get to see him in the evening. He loves to run around outside his cage, and he is so fast. The first thing I have to say is that the enitial set up is exspensive bit, and Chinchillas are usually pretty exspensive, this is because they are an endagered species. They are pretty simular to other animals such as rabbits. You have to give them fresh pellets and water daily, make sure they always have hay available. Also make sure they have things that they can chew on, such as wooden toys or a lava stone. Their teeth grow throughout their lives so they need things to file their teeth down.
You need to be careful what you feed your Chinchilla as a treat. They cannot handle sugars very well. Also you need to make sure that you only give them a small treat once a day. They have enough food to eat with their pelletes and hay. Here is a list of suitable treats to give your Chinchilla.
- Alfalfa Hay Cubes
- Dried Rose Hips- You can give them one or two rose hips daily
- Fresh or dried fruits- can be offered 3-4 times a week. Things like Prunes, Apples, Peach and Pear. Dried is the best.
- Grains - unfrosted shredded wheat or steel cut oats, only given a few times a week.
- Raisins - Only offered once or twice a week. You just have to make sure not to over feed the Chinchilla's raisins. Remember they can't handle a lot of sugar.
- Only give one type of treat a day. Be careful not to give them food such as:
- Acidic Fruits.
- Corn
- Chocolate
- Dairy Items
You need to make sure that you let your Chinchilla's run around daily. You need to make sure that you hide any wires from your Chinchilla. They will chew through anything they can get their hands on. Also you need to make sure that you close off any small gaps that that they can get into and get stuck. We have made steps down from our Chinchilla's cage onto the floor. So he can go back into his cage if he wants to. It is so important that your Chinchilla can feel safe, and if he needs to, he can hide out in their cage.
Chinchilla's are amazing pets, and are friendly and cheeky animals, but I wouldn't suggest these animals for children. Chinchilla's live for 20-30 years and so you need to make sure you are happy to look after them and keep them happy for the rest of their lives. Here is a list of the things I would suggest to purchase if you are thinking about buying a Chinchilla.
- dust
- container for dust and for them to bathe in
- hay rack or large ceramic dish
- hay (timothy and bermuda are best, they also like alfalfa)
- chinchilla pellets
- treats
- lots of chew things! (stone blocks and these lave stones that are different mint flavors).
- bedding
- toys - they make these really neat wheels called "flying saucer wheels" - if you can find one (search online, probably not in any stores), it would be a great addition to your chin's cage. They also make larger wheels like your basic hamster wheel (you'll want one with at least a 15" diameter and again, NO plastic ones). Another good toy is anything they can climb and jump on (something made from wood is best, then they can also use it for chewing). Don't get those large balls (like the hamster balls)!! They are not good for your chin - they're usually not big enough and it can get too hot in there for them.
I hope you enjoyed this post, and I will post another animal care post next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment