Chinchilla Care Checklist / Guidelines - Please Read Before Purchasing
By purchasing a chinchilla from me, you agree to abide by these rules / guidelines (and in order to be eligible for the 7 day warranty):
*Please give your chinchilla 5-7 days to adjust in its new environment before handling and taking it out of the cage. They may bark or seem scared, but it does take time for the change in temperature, sounds, smells to work for them. Play music to calm them down as I play it 24/7 in the barn and talk through the cage. Do not introduce new chinchillas to your previous pets for the first month.
*No use of cedar shavings, towels, corn cob or Care Fresh (which has been known to cause blockages and has a warning on the side label). Kiln dried pine, aspen or fleece liners is preferred for the bottom of the cage.
*Plastic cages should not be used. Plastic pans should be 100% reinforced with fleece to prevent any chewing (such as the Ferret Nation cage). You can also purchase metal pans from Bassequipment.com under Ferret pans to fit them. We prefer all metal cages with wooden ledges for chewing and easy cleaning. Melamine custom built cages are also safe. Ledges should be made of kiln dried pine only.
*Chinchillas should never eat any fruits or vegetables, not even if they're dehydrated. Diet consists of fresh pellets (alfalfa or timothy based, no colorful pellets, fruits/vegetables or treats in feed), grass hays (such as timothy, bermuda, orchard) and fresh filtered water (reverse osmosis, bottled drinking water, PUR filtered or Brita filtered against giardia & cryptosporidium and coccidia).
*Safe pelleted foods include: Pet Store Brands – Oxbow Essentials, Mazuri ONLY. Please avoid anything Kaytee, All Living Things brand feed or treats. No other pet store feeds are healthy. Farm & Feed Stores - Purina Rabbit Chow Show, Manna Pro Sho or Manna Pro Pro Rabbit, Nutrena Naturewise Rabbit, Ace Hi Rabbit, Blue Seal Rabbit Show Hutch Deluxe / Specialty – Tradition (Hubbard Life), Kline, Shoots Dr. Koch's. Food should not be weighed, it should be free fed. Safe treats that can be given include a shredded wheat *not frosted*, rose hip, spaghetti noodle, old fashioned oats, rose buds, cheerio *not frosted*, safe woods to chew on (apple, pecan, etc). These should be given in moderation, 2-3 times a week at the max, only one at a time. No treats for animals under 6 months of age other than oats. NO Raisins.
*No death balls - the plastic balls that they run around in ARE DANGEROUS! Chinchillas become overheated in them, covered in their own feces and urine, and they do not run naturally in these so you can harm their spine. No wire hay balls or racks – chinchillas can get their legs caught in them which could lead to amputation. Just put a small bit of hay on the floor of the cage for the animal daily, they will pick through what they want to eat.
*Chinchillas purchased at a young age should not use a wheel as they are burning off the calories they need to grow. Only small amounts of free time out of the cage should be given before 6 months of age. Wheels that can be used include the Leo Braun, Ed Wheel, Chin Spin and metal Flying Saucer - they are not required, it's just a choice. No plastic wheels should be used, period. The mesh wire wheels are not safe.
*Temperature must be kept under 75 degrees at all times. You must own an air conditioner; fans will not keep them cool enough. Air conditioning is a must in the summer or you risk heat stroke.
Please contact me with any issues you may have with your animal. If you follow these guidelines, you should not have any problems. Failure to follow these guidelines WILL revoke any warranty you are given with the animal, no exceptions.