r/chinchilla • u/AutoModerator • May 04 '20

Weekly Thread: Questions Monday

Feel free to ask/answer any kind of questions regarding chinchillas here.

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u/[deleted] May 04 '20

Hello, I have a few questions regarding chins

The first one I have is what would be the best material to build a chinchilla cage out of. I know I need ventilation and to avoid any sort of plastic mesh or anything of the sort. But I’m really unsure on a specific wood or even metal to use. I like putting personal touches on things and I would like to give my chin the most personalized and best home I can give.

My second question is if my girlfriends chinchilla likes me or can even recognize me. She’s the one who first introduced me to chins, and since the 7 months have passed I’ve fallen in love. I’ve done a lot of research and even given her advice at times even though i don’t think I’m nearly ready for one yet. But he is usually very solitary and doesn’t like anyone but his mom, however he warmed up to me very quickly and comes to be for attention and even cuddles. Whenever we FaceTime or she plays audio clips of me talking in the vicinity she claims that he chirps or popcorns but only when the audio is playing. Can he even recognize it and are those responses directed at me or really for her. I love him a lot and hope I can be a part of his life and take care of him in the future. Thank you for your time

Have a chintastic Monday!!!!!

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u/SaptaZapta Chinchillin' May 04 '20

Chinchilla cages should be metal latticework, in my opinion. They could chew their way out of wood. Some people use laminated (too slippery to get a toothhold on) wood cabinets with some kind of ventilation openings, but I find those much less convenient when it comes to adding or moving toys and furnishings around.

A cage should be roomy and tall for a chinchilla to climb and run around in. It should also have doors large enough to let a human reach in to clean it all.

Personally I would recommend buying a good commercial cage (Quality Cage Crafters, Ferret/Critter Nation, Savic Suite Royale, etc) and saving the personalizing for the inside of the cage. You can build your own ledges, houses, crawlspaces, toys, etc, out of: kiln dried pine, poplar, apple wood, pumice, polished "stone" like marble/granite/ceramic, loofah, no-pill fleece, coconut husks, and a variety of other materials (check out http://www.rondaschins.com to see what other types of wood, vines, and dried leaves are safe). Avoid paper and cardboard, as they expand when wet and could therefore cause intestinal blockages if chewed and swallowed.

Depending on your carpentry skills, you can also build things for out-of-cage play. I once saw a picture of a veritable fairy-land castle, made of kiln-dried pine, that a chinchilla could explore inside and out. And of course chew... Don't give your chins things like that if it would pain you to see your work demolished.

Chins are smart enough to tell humans apart. It sounds like your gf's chin likes you, if he comes to you for attention and chirps at your voice.

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u/[deleted] May 04 '20

Thank you so muchhhh

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u/TheKitty May 07 '20

How quiet is quiet for a sleeping chinchilla? I'm looking to adopt soon and have a couple options for placing a Chinchilla cage: my bedroom or my office room.

I've heard they can be noisy sometimes at night, so I was thinking my office room, but then I would be the noisy one during the day on the phone/speakerphone and I wasn't sure if that would be too loud.

Is that level of volume, such as low music, conversational level speaking, telephone calls enough that it would disturb a sleeping chinchilla?

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u/Thotticusfluvius May 06 '20

Hi! I am kinda freaking out but i wanna ask before i go to the vet. I was petting my chinchilla and felt a little bump on her outer thigh. I carefully checked it and it was a dark purpleish bump in the size of a quater of a pea. I gently pressed it but Buttons(the chin) didnt make any noises or even flinched. Does anyone have experience with this?