Food

Chinchillas are allowed to eat mainly two things - hay and pellets. On occasion, you can give him or hear a treat in the form of dried fruit, especially raisins. But only do this once per day. As a rule, if a food is not specifically recommended for a chinchilla, DON’T feed it to them. Chinchillas have a very sensitive GI tract and cannot digest high fatty foods, high proteins, or certain green vegetables. Since a chinchillas teeth are constantly growing, give them something to chew, since overgrowth of their teeth can prevent them from actually eating food. Make sure your chinchilla doesn’t get overfeed since they eat very small amounts of food. Always make sure they have clean, fresh, non-tap water ready for drinking.

Bathing

Never, ever wet your chinchilla. If your chinchilla ever becomes wet, dry it immediately using a towel or a non-heat dryer. At around 60 hairs per follicle, a chinchillas thick coat prevents air-drying which can lead to fungus developing and fur rot. Instead, to bathe a chinchilla use a special dust. Chinchillas dust themselves by rolling around in a bowl full of this dust. This dust in turn absorbs the oil and dirt in their fur. You can also add Arm & Hammer baking soda to the dust to leave a more fresh smell.

Dust baths are required several times a week and is an important part of caring for a chinchilla pet. Going without these baths can make a chinchilla very uncomfortable which can affect their behavior.

Dust baths are more important during the warm months, since going without frequent baths during the warm seasons can cause the chinchilla to overheat due to greasy and matted fur.

Caging

A chinchilla needs at least a 3’x 3’x 3’ cage with shelves. The cage must have flat smooth surfaces for the pet to walk on and the shelves shouldn’t be so wide apart from each other. Never cage a pet chinchilla with another pet or a chinchilla of the opposite gender. Since the chinchilla cannot produce sweat, the cage (as well as the home) must be placed in a cool and dry location that does not exceed 80F (25C). Failure to do so can result in overheating and heat stroke for the chinchilla.

Other Considerations

Chinchillas need to exercise daily. For this, it is recommended you buy an exercise wheel with a solid surface, not one with a wire surface.

Do not have anything made of plastic in the chinchilla cage.

If you’re a smoker, don’t smoke near your chinchilla since the ash can embed itself in the chinchilla’s fur and wreak havoc.

Chinchillas are prey animals, and as such are nocturnal and are very sensitive to loud noises. Chinchillas also have delicate bones so do not grab, shake, squeeze or dangle them by their tail

Find a veterinarian with experience with exotic pets like chinchillas because vets and vets alone are the only people qualified to diagnose and treat sick chinchillas.