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adopters GUIDANCE FOR NEW CHINCHILLA OWNERS Taking your new chinchilla home You’ve chosen your new chinchillas and are raring to take them home, but before you take one step through the front door there are a few things you need to sort out to make sure your home is ready for your new pets. Moving on Make sure that you have an appropriate carrier for when you pick up your new pets from the RSPCA. It should be secure and large enough for each of your chinchillas to sit, turn around and lie down naturally in. Ideally transport companion chinchillas (i.e. a bonded pair/group) together in the same carrier, provided it is large enough to allow them all to perform these normal behaviours comfortably. If you have to use separate carriers, place companion chinchillas close to one another so they can see and smell each other; this will reassure them and help reduce the stress associated with travelling. Familiar smelling items, such as some used but clean hay/bedding from their cage at the animal centre or branch, may also help them feel at ease while travelling to their new home. Do not mix unfamiliar animals for the purpose of travelling. Make sure that your carrier is secure and made of a suitable material. Cardboard or wooden carriers are not suitable for rodents as, not only do they absorb urine and become damp, your pets could simply chew their way out of them! Cover the carrier to keep it dark but ensure that it is still well ventilated and line it with newspaper to absorb any urine. Make sure that your chinchillas have access to water and hay during the journey. Provide water in a way that they are used to (e.g. bottle) and ensure it will not spill during the journey. Check your chinchillas regularly, and give them frequent breaks during long journeys. It goes without saying that your chinchillas won’t thank you for bringing your dog along if you have one! This will really scare them. Take your new pets directly home. Settling in When you get your new pets home, it is best to leave them for 24 hours so they can get used to their new surroundings, though still provide food and water and check that they are behaving normally and aren’t showing any signs of illness or injury. As your chinchillas settle in, the best thing you can do to reassure your new pets is to be calm and patient. Make sure that they have constant access to safe hiding places within their accommodation so they can hide if feeling scared, and allow them take things at their own pace. The cage should be placed in a draught­free, quiet area in the house, away from electrical equipment like TV and computers (as these noises can be disturbing to chinchillas) and also away from other pets. The temperature of the area should be monitored carefully too to ensure chinchillas do not become too hot, as chinchillas are highly susceptible to heatstroke. A room temperature of 10­18ºC is ideal, so areas of your house that have central heating may get too hot for chinchillas, especially if it is also very humid. Your new pets are nocturnal so you might not want to put them in a bedroom in case they make lots of noise during the night when they are awake. Direct or bright lights should be avoided near the home­cage too; however the room where they are housed should let in natural daylight (not direct sunlight) and should be dark at night. Their cage and the room you choose should also be secure, free from hazards and escape­proof – as eventually, your chinchillas will enjoy getting out of their cage to explore and exercise under supervision. The room and any areas your chinchillas have access to will need to be chinchilla­proofed; make sure electrical PAGE 1
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LAST UPDATED: May 2014
cables are covered or electrical items are removed, ensure there are no hazardous plants in these areas and make sure you cover or remove anything that you do not want chewed! Remember that your chinchillas don’t know you or your lifestyle, so introduce different activities and people over a period of time, particularly supervising any interactions with children. Home comforts Your home will probably be very different to the animal centre/ branch your pets were living in, including the cage itself. The animal centre/ branch will provide you with information about setting up your new chinchillas’ accommodation before you take them home, including information about suitable bedding and nesting materials. As well as space within their cage to exercise and somewhere to hide, your chinchillas will need a dry and quiet nest box to sleep in ­ providing additional shelters is also important so they don’t have to rest together if they don’t want to. Make sure that there is at least one nest box that is large enough for them all to rest in together too. The nest box should have multiple entrances/exits so no chinchilla gets trapped inside by another chinchilla. Make sure there is plenty of vertical and horizontal space in the cage to allow your chinchillas to run and jump about normally. Provide branches or solid platforms (use only safe, untreated wood) at different levels for your chinchillas to rest and jump on but avoid uninterrupted heights of more than about 60cm to reduce the risk of injuries. Clean the cage regularly so urine and droppings do not build up. Many chinchilla cages have a tray underneath a mesh floor to collect waste. If the floor is mesh there should be plenty of alternative flooring such as solid wood areas provided, as chinchillas can damage their feet if they spend long periods standing on wire mesh. Providing safe toys and regular opportunities to play with people and with each other after the first day or so may also help your chinchillas settle in, though if you do handle your chinchillas, do so carefully and gently. Be observant too. If the behaviour of your chinchillas changes or they show regular signs of stress or fear, talk to your vet. Food and water Changing the diet of your chinchillas suddenly can cause an upset tummy so feed your new chinchillas with the diet they have been used to in order to reduce any risk of this. The most important part of your chinchillas’ diet is hay so this should be available at all times. However, they will also have been fed a small amount of commercial chinchilla pellets ­ information about their preferred foods and advice on feeding will be provided in the adoption pack you will be given when you come to collect your chinchillas. If you want to change your pets’ diet to something else of your choice, do so gradually over at least 14 days, mixing a little of the new food with the old to gradually wean your chinchillas onto the new diet. For variety, very small quantities (e.g. one to two teaspoons per day) of suitable root vegetables, fresh leafy greens and pieces of dried fruit can be given occasionally as treats but introduce these slowly too. Avoid nuts and seeds as they are high in fat. As well as constant access to hay, chinchillas should be fed their daily measured ration of pellets in two meals per day (unless advised otherwise by a vet) and they must always have access to a bottle of fresh water. If you want to change how frequently your chinchillas are fed, do this gradually and always ask a vet if you’re unsure. Out and about? Eventually, you may like to give your chinchillas safe and secure opportunities to exercise and explore outside of their cage. Always supervise any access outside of the cage ­ using a rodent exercise pen (with very high sides, and ideally a roof) is a great idea to provide a secure area and you can put suitable objects in the pen to encourage your chinchillas to explore. For example, chinchillas like objects to jump on, and hide in so provide plenty of platforms, tubes and tunnels for them to explore. Chinchillas are really clever too; training using positive reward based methods can help to improve the chinchilla/human bond, and will help keep them physically and mentally active. Exercise balls are not recommended to provide your chinchillas with exercise as they can actually be stressful for your pets. Your chinchillas will also not be able to access food, water, places to hide, etc, while they are in an exercise ball, and this sort of activity may lead to exercise induced heat­stress, which could be fatal. Good company PAGE 2
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Make sure that you keep a close eye on the behaviour of your chinchillas, particularly as they settle into your home. Although chinchillas are sociable, fighting can still occur. Check your chinchillas each day to make sure that they are fit, behaving normally and are free from injuries. Be sure that any aggression between the chinchillas is not becoming a problem, particularly in the initial time when they are settling in to your home. Make sure that they have enough space and resources (e.g. shelters, food and nest boxes) within their cage to prevent competition and ensure they can avoid each other if they wish to. If you add additional chinchillas at a later date, introductions should be gradual and with supervision ­ new chinchillas should be neutered as appropriate and compatible with the existing chinchillas. Seek expert advice on the best way to introduce a new chinchilla. If you have more than one cage of chinchillas, make sure that they are not housed directly next to each other and ensure they can get out of sight of unfamiliar chinchillas (and ideally ensure they can’t smell them either) or this can cause stress to your pets. This also applies to housing chinchillas near other species of rodent ­ they can be active at different times of day and so disturb each other. There is also the risk that your chinchillas may transmit diseases to other rodent species, and vice versa. Vet for your pet Making sure you have someone professional to turn to if your chinchillas are ill or involved in an accident is very important. Register your chinchillas at a local veterinary practice before bringing them home from the centre/branch and research your choice thoroughly. You’ll also need to give the vet your chinchillas’ medical records as soon as possible; these will be given to you in your adoption pack when you collect your chinchillas. There are very few pet insurance companies that offer insurance for pet chinchillas, though it is still worth thinking about taking out a policy. For just a few pounds a month, you’ll be covered for unexpected vet bills in the future and safeguard your pets’ health. Health check Taking your chinchillas for a health check with your vet at least once a year is really important and you should also do some simple checks yourself at home. This includes making sure you check your chinchillas’ teeth regularly. Rodents have teeth that never stop growing and if they get too long or grow at the wrong angle, this will be very painful. If you are concerned about your chinchillas’ teeth, speak to your vet who will be able to trim them and give you advice on preventing it happening again. Check the length of their nails regularly too; if their nails are too long ask an expert (e.g. vet, veterinary nurse) for advice about how to trim them or get an expert to do this for you if unsure. Other signs of illness and injury to look out for include sore feet, wetness around the eyes or mouth and fur loss. Provide a shallow tray filled with clean fine sand or “chinchilla dust” for your chinchillas to bathe in every day so they can groom themselves and keep their coat clean. This should be removed or sieved clean after use to prevent the sand getting soiled. Getting help If things aren’t going smoothly and you have concerns about your chinchillas, talk to your vet or contact the RSPCA centre or branch from whom you adopted your chinchillas. There is lots of useful information and helpful tips on the RSPCA website: ​
www.rspca.org.uk/chinchillas and your local RSPCA centre/branch has leaflets and guides on a range of pet ownership topics. It takes time, effort and understanding to help your pets get used to their new life, and to help them overcome problems, but all the time and effort will be worth it when the end result is happy additions to your family! PAGE 3
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LAST UPDATED: May 2014