Chinchillas as Pets: Debunking the Common Misconceptions

Chinchillas are great pets! Why? Well There cute and friendly and they’re easy to keep. I’ll tell you how to feed chinchillas and some reason why chinchillas make great pets! I’ll also tell you five reasons why you might not like chinchillas as pets. Let’s get started.

Let’s start with how to feed chinchillas. To tell what they eat you’ll need to know where they come from. Chinchillas come from a dry place, so they usually just eat hay, seeds, and water. As you can see the chinchilla’s diet isn’t really good so to make a healthy lifestyle, you might want to feed them pellets, hay, and water. You can also include some treats in their diet. 

For pellets feed them two tablespoons each day. You don’t need to stress about your chinchilla overeating because it is said that they only eat until they are full. Feed one tablespoon in the morning and one in the afternoon. If somehow you change the brand of pellets you’re feeding your chinchilla, keep in mind that the chinchilla might not eat it until he or she sees it every day. 

If you want to feed your chinchilla hay then follow these tips. The hay can be compressed into blocks that are an inch or just lose hay. Chinchillas like both so you don’t have to worry about what kind you give them. The most important thing is that the hay must be chemical and mold FREE!!! To make the hay mold-free, remember to store the hay in a dry place. Now the fun thing about chinchillas is that you can give the treats, but don’t give them too many, or else the result will be overweight or a dead chinchilla. A chinchilla’s favorite treat is raisins. They would do basically anything for a reason but remember to only give them three or four raisons a week and even less for kid chinchillas. You can give chinchillas fruits as treats too. Just remember to not give chinchillas anything that is hard to digest, like carrots, corn, or lettuce. 

For the water remember to change the water every day to avoid bacteria. Also give your chinchilla a bottle that’s hanging from the cage, if you don’t and give him a bowl, the bowl will tip over and there will be a higher chance of bacteria. Moreover, it is really important that you create a natural habitat at home for your chin so that they can get comfortable quickly. 

Now that we discussed how to feed a chinchilla, I’ll tell you how to treat a chinchilla when it is injured.

Chinchillas are great pets and here are ten reasons why.

• They’re adorable and gentle
• They are quiet
• They keep themselves clean and have no body odor
• They are easy to take care of and you can leave them alone for weekends
• People who are allergic to animals (dogs, cats, etc.) are not allergic to chinchillas
• They require little attention and are really grateful when you give it some
• Their fur is thick so fleas and tick can’t live in them
• They are curious, intelligent, and entertaining
• Their food is not expensive (about $1.20 each month)
• They are also nocturnal, so they can play with you anytime
• There are four reasons why you might not like them, but I came up with solutions for some reasons.

Reason 1 They pee and poop anywhere

Solution Place them in their cage

Reason 2 They chew on furniture

Solution Don’t leave them out of their cage if you’re not watching them

Reason 3 They don’t come when they call

Solution Train them

Reason 4 They don’t scare away burglars

Solution Get a dog

Now that you know the basics of how to take care of your chinchilla, have fun and play with it. Also, remember to read about how to take care of an injured chinchilla. Take care of your chinchilla!