General Petcare
Feeding Information
1. You should feed your chinchilla once a day using chinchilla pellets. You should be able to find chinchilla pellets at your local pet store or even a mill. If you are going to be away for a day or two it is fine to feed your chinchilla enough to last him until you return.
2.Make sure to have a water bottle readily available to your chinchilla that the water is changed every other day or so because the water tends to get dirty due to the chinchillas backwashing slightly.
3. Your chinchilla's teeth tend to get overgrown if they do not have something to chew on(which is why they like to chew on everything they see!) To prevent your chinchilla's teeth from becomnig overgrown, we suggest your purchase hay cubes from us or your local pet store.
Exercise and Health
1. To keep your chinchilla in good health, we suggest that you get it out of the cage once a day and let it run around for a little while. Generally about a half hour to an hour is good enough to keep your chinchilla happy and healthy.
2. Chinchillas are generally more active at night than during the day which is actually good because your chinchilla will sleep while you're at work, and usually by the time you get back, he's ready to go.
3. If your chinchilla is a little wild when you first get him, don't fret because thats only temporary. Just make sure you get him out and hold him, and before you know it he'll be very tame.
Grooming
1. To keep your pet's fur in tip top shape, you really need to purchase some chinchilla dust, or as it is commonly called, "blue dust". Using chinchilla dust helps to remove the moisture from their fur and really makes it much softer and smoother. If for no other reason, I would suggest buying it because it's hilarious to watch them roll around in it.
2. Other methods of grooming your chinchilla call for a special chinchilla brush. It looks like a large comb commonly used by humans, but this brush has been modified a little to specifically fit a chinchilla. The chinchilla brush has very fine teeth on the comb and will help to get out any extra hair that is floating around. If you would like to purchase a brush check out your local petstore.
3. We reccommend that you change your chinchillas bedding about once a week, although it wouldn't hurt to change it more often.
Chinchilla Treats and Other Foods
We do not recommend feeding your chinchilla other items besides their pellets of feed and other chinchilla related specialties(hay cubes, supplement). Feeding your chinchillas additional items like fruits and vegetables can have serious repercussions on your chinchilla's digestive system. Keep in mind that these animals originated from a desert area and never had food available to them that contained much nutritional content. The only treat that we suggest feeding to your chinchilla besides their pellets are raisins. Even with the raisins you have to be careful not to feed them more than one or two a day.