Choosing From Chinchilla Cages
Chinchillas are wonderful animals that enjoy staying active by climbing and jumping. You should keep this in mind when choosing from available chinchilla cages for your animals. They also need enough room to run around and play. Considering their high activity level and their size, they need larger cages than those used for guinea pigs and hamsters.
You should choose from chinchilla cages that are made from wire since the animals may chew their way out of cages made of softer materials. Stay away from wire cages that are coated or painted since they may ingest the substance. The mesh of the cage should have spaces that are no more than two inches apart with those on the floor being no more than one-half inch apart. Walking on larger spaces than this will put your chinchillas at risk of injury to their feet and legs.
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You will also need to consider the area where the cage will be kept. A constant temperature of 65 to 75 degrees F must be maintained in the area and it should be free of drafts. However, it will need to remain in an area that provides the chinchillas with ventilation. Although chinchillas can withstand higher temperatures of up to 83 degrees F in the summer, chinchilla cages should never be placed in direct sunlight. Do not place a fan on the animals to cool them but you may instead place a covered dish that is filled with ice cubes in the cage to lie against. Just be sure that they can’t get inside of the cover for their safety.
Some chinchilla cages are made with pull-out trays in the bottom so that they are easily cleaned. For those that have a solid floor rather than a mesh one, place wood shavings or newspaper in the bottom for absorption. Since chinchillas will often pick a spot to urinate in repeatedly, extra bedding and baking soda in the spot will help to reduce the odors. You will only need to clean the pull-out trays once weekly but a solid floor must be cleaned more often. Also, you will need to disinfect the entire cage once every month.
Exercise is important to keep your chinchillas happy and healthy. They need a large cage where they have the freedom to be active as well as an exercise wheel where they can run without limit. You should also let them have about an hour of supervised time to play outside of the cage in a room that is chinchilla-proofed. That means checking to see that there are no plants or electrical wires that could be hazardous to your animal if they are chewed. Like all rodents, chinchillas like to chew things and this is why it is important to supervise their time out of their cage. It will also provide you with the time you need to interact with your pet.
Even though you may give your chinchillas time to play every day, they will still spend the majority of their time in the cage. Choosing from the available chinchilla cages to find one that offers them plenty of room and keeping it clean will help keep your chinchillas happy and healthy!
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