Caging

Chinchillas are active, outgoing animals, and they require a significant amount of cage space with numerous ledges and perches for their exercise.  Walls should be mesh of either 1"x1/2" spacing or 3/4" by 3/4".  Some shelving can be wire, so long as the mesh diameter is not larger than 1/2"x1/2".  Ledges, perches, and toys should all be constructed of safe woods or other safe chewable materials.  Plastic shelves are not safe for chinchillas!

We strongly recommend the following cages:

Quality Cages:  Chinchilla Mansion
Martin's Cages:  Martin's Highrise (1 chin, or 2 closely bonded chins), Martin's Townhouse (up to 4 chins)

Any accessories in the cage should be of safe, edible materials, or metal.  Chinchillas will require a wheel or flying saucer unless otherwise specified.  These must be metal.

Diet

The diet of chinchillas is comprised of two major components:  pellets and hay

Chinchillas should be allowed access to an unlimited amount of grass based hay.  Timothy and orchardgrass are the two most common grass hays seen marketed for small animals, and additional varieties are recommended to be fed in addition for variety.  Alfalfa hay should be served 2-3 times per week!  Oxbow and Kleenmama's Hayloft are two brands that are greatly preferred by our foster animals.  Hay should be the majority of the diet.  Remember that many people are allergic to hay, so be sure that you can tolerate it in the house before committing to adopting chinchillas!

Pellets should be provided in unlimited amounts for chinchillas.  Although their similar counterparts are known to overeat and develop health related problems, this is not true for chinchillas.  They need to be a plain, alfalfa based pellet.  All of the chinchillas in our program eat Oxbow's Chinchilla Deluxe.  Pellets with added seeds, nuts, and other treats are poor quality and contribute to health problems.

Unlike many other small animals, chinchillas should have a very limited amount of fresh vegetables.  Treats should be fed sparingly, as sugar and grains can cause long term health problems.  We highly recommend dried rose hips and barley biscuits as chin treats.  More information on safe treats can be found here.

Bedding

Acceptable beddings:  Carefresh, aspen shavings, Yesterday's News, fleece, Wood Pellets, recycled paper pulp bedding

Unacceptable beddings:  Cedar and pine shavings (contain dangerous phenols), corn cob bedding (dangerously prone to molding and should not be ingested), straw (not absorbent), clay or clumping cat litter (dangerous if ingested), or newspaper (not absorbent).

Social Needs

Though chinchillas are social and may be kept in pairs (or larger groups), they also do well with a human companion to provide interaction and companionship.  However, this is a serious understaking which requires a commitment to daily out of cage time for exploration and exercise, and to providing suitable enrichment materials.  ACR&S strongly prefers to home chinchillas to live in social groups, though we evaluate each home based on its own merits and on the personality of the chinchilla.

Kids and Chinchillas

Chinchillas are an extremely poor choice for a "children's pet" for a variety of reasons:

• they are primarily nocturnal and may not be awake during reasonable hours for a child to interact with them.
• they do not like being held and are fiercely independent.
• they are extremely fragile and may sustain serious injury from a careless squeeze or being stepped on.
• their lifespan is twenty years or more.  As a family, you could be celebrating your child's thirtieth birthday with their childhood pet.

We do not reject homes on the basis of having children, however, it is important to us that the parents in such situations realize that a chinchilla is not a suitable pet for a child, and that the chin is primarily a parental pet to be enjoyed with strict supervision.

Life with Chinchillas

Chinchillas are frequently abandoned because of their many special requirements.  They require dustbaths two to three times per week, which are messy and will leave dust strewn about your house.  They are primarily nocturnal, and need a quiet place for daytime rest.  As in humans, repeated sleep interruption and deprivation has negative health effects.  A stressed chinchilla may self-mutilate, become aggressive, or spray urine (typically onto your walls).

Though they are unique and interesting pets, they are certainly not for everyone, and they do not mesh well into every lifestyle.

Vet Care

Chinchillas require specialty vet care from an exotics practitioner.  As such, most veterinarians are not qualified to see them, and you'll have to seek out an exotic specialist.  ACR&S has compiled a list of veterinary references which may be helpful in finding your pet's new vet.  Please be aware that not all vets that "see" chinchillas actually have up to date knowledge or relevant experience with them.  An uninformed vet can very easily kill your chinchilla through well-intentioned ignorance.

We encourage all of our adopters to research as much as possible on the animals of their choice (though of course we will work with you to help educate you as well!)   We especially recommend ChinCare.com for more information on chinchillas.

Adoption Fees for Chinchillas
$75 - unaltered chinchilla
$150 - spayed or neutered chinchilla

Adoption Process

1.)  After researching the species that you are interested in, please fill our our small animal adoption application.  Make sure you indicate the animal(s) that you're interested in!  This is not a commitment to adopt, and there is no fee for the application or for withdrawl of an application.

2.)  An adoption coordinator will verify your landlord approval (if applicable) and your vet reference.  Once these are passed, you will be contacted about adoption.  If there are any questions or concerns about information on the application, they will be addressed at this time.

3.)  A date for a home check/meet and greet will be set up with the animal(s) that you choose.  If we are trying to pair up your current pet with a friend, this may require several visits if the first candidate does not work out.  Please note:  ACR&S is a collective of foster homes, and as such we do not have a single shelter facility that can be visited, although we are happy to bring the animals that you are interested out to meet you, and we frequently conduct adoption events.