Pet Habitat South Africa

<< Back To Blog List

24 Jun 2014

Chinchilla Enrichment

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Chinchillas | Pet Care

Your chinchillas may start off as quite timid pets, but with plenty of love and enriching activities, they can become quite lively creatures. Chinchillas can be quite inquisitive and should be introduced to new activities and games for the duration of their 10-15 year life. Here are just a few enrichment activities.

Enriching activities for your chinchilla?

Chinchillas are prey animals, and they will spend plenty of time hiding until they become comfortable with their surroundings. They’re likely to enjoy hiding away almost as much as they love running and jumping. The enrichment activities that you choose for your chinchilla should address these natural desires – and their need to chew. You may want to consider:

Creating tunnels,

Adding boxes to hide in and jump from,

Ensuring that different levels of the housing are moved occasionally, or

Providing a chinchilla safe wheel (with a smooth surface and no gaps to catch tails or feet).

Provide a sand bath for your chinchillas. They love to roll around and clean themselves.

What else can you do to provide enrichment for your chinchilla?

Chinchillas can be stimulated by an environment that occasionally changes. Be sure to rotate toys and hideaways so that there is always something new to explore and discover.

Don’t forget about gnaw blocks to help with filing rodent teeth. Look for gnaw blocks that are specially designed for chinchillas – or offer them fresh branches from chinchilla-safe trees.

Weekly health checks are also an excellent way to interact with your pet. As part of your daily routine, always check that your pet;

is eating and drinking normally

has clean eyes and nostrils with no discharge

is producing normal faecal pellets, with no sign of diarrhoea

is breathing normally, with no wheezing, coughing or rapid chest movements

isn’t dribbling saliva from the mouth

is maintaining its normal weight

is bright and alert, not quiet or depressed

Take the time to understand where and how your chinchilla likes to be held as soon as possible – and you will find that simply offering a check-up will enrich your chinchilla’s lives (possibly in more ways than one).

Top tips to remember:

Chinchillas can live a rather long life (between 10-15 years). Keep your pets happy and stimulated through enrichment activities.

Top enrichment activities for your chinchilla include anything that stimulates their natural behaviours, such as hiding, chewing, running and jumping.