Hello everybody. There are scientific articles found on scholar.google.com , which are trustful and original sources. If you read up-to-date scientific articles, you make your own informed choices and do not need any German sites to worry about. What wild chinchillas eat: https://chile.unt.edu/sites/chile.unt.edu/files/catalogue/pdf/42%20Cort%C3%A9s%20etal%20ChinchillaDiet%202002%20MammalBiol.pdf Review of chinchilla feeds: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/252183/1/252183.pdf When you search on scholar.google.com, type 'chinchilla lanigera' (scientific Latin) to filter out authors whose names literally read 'Chinchilla'

She would only eat or chew on wooden sticks if I held the other end up for her...

Otherwise she just lets the stick drop and not bother with it anymore...

Still love you though Toto.

So obviously, oxbow chinchilla pellets and timothy hay are the best things to give your chinchillas. But i have some extra questions.

Oxbow chinchilla pellets are alfalfa hay based, and don’t contain timothy hay. According to my research, feeding them alfalfa hay on its own is too high in calcium (and other things?) and is unsafe. which is why we feed timothy, orchard, oat, or meadow hay. Why is it safe for their pellets to be alfalfa based if they can’t have alfalfa hay?

Other brands of chinchilla pellets (and rabbit/guinea pig pellets) have the exact same ingredients but are timothy hay based instead of alfalfa. How is this not safer? and if a small amount of alfalfa is needed in their diet, could they be fed timothy hay based food, timothy hay, and alfalfa hay as a treat? As a life long rodent owner, every critter i’ve had has loved alfalfa hay as a treat or while small.

Admins,

This user continuously gives advice to to people that is HARMFUL for chinchillas. They argue with anyone who tries to correct them and advocate for giving chinchillas fruits, vegetables, etc… I mean, just look at their history on this sub. This does not make this a safe space for people who want the best for their pets.

Hello!! I really want a chinchilla but I want to know everything before I get one to make sure I can provide what they need!! Any suggestions or tips ?

Today I say goodbye to my sweet girl Onyx, she passed away sometime last night in her bath. May she rest in peace and frolic freely over the rainbow bridge

A few months ago I saw a random YouTube video of a chinchilla holding a sign, I'm assuming its kind of like a tik-tok type trend where people take videos of their chins holding little things as well as signs/notes etc..... I was like "omg thats adorable!" .... I then went down a brief 'rabbit' hole of chinchilla content on YouTube. Within a few days I was recommended the r/chinchilla subreddit through google and I remembered back to the video I saw and figured I would join because I think they're super cute and didn't mind getting cool pictures of chinchillas on my feed. For the first few months I had no intention of getting a chinchilla at all and just enjoyed the cute content online, but now I'm on the fence.... when I was a kid (about 10) we had 2 ferrets and they were super fun to have around, were well cared for and lived relatively long lives, but also there were issues with them pooping in the house/my stepdad hated the way they smelled (I never minded)/and funnily enough they would steal sponges and hide them in our couch... literally inside of our couch. That was around 20 years ago and since then I've only ever had cats/dogs as pets.

I'm much older now (in my mid 30's) and I'm thinking about getting 2 young(er) chinchillas via adoption, but I'm only thinking about it. I'm not sure if I should. There's a part of me that thinks these little guys should be in their natural habitat and why should I put beautiful creatures in a cage in my house ... but there's also the logical side of me that knows there are tons of chinchillas out there (In certain US states) that are in need of homes because of breeding/neglect etc. Side note; if you acquired your chinchilla via a breeder; no hate or shame at all, personally I would rather not but that's just a personal choice of my own... I don't want to start a chinchilla political debate type thread lol.

So when I first had the thought "I think I might be interested in getting a chinchilla" I started to do a little research; I know they need relatively large cages, made of a certain kind of material, no plastic accessories in their cages, what kind of food they eat/what type of food they cant eat/how much it costs, their bedding material, the types of things that need to be in their cages/outside their cage i.e. dust bath, multiple ledges for climbing, space to roam etc.

If I end up deciding to do it, just know I will 100% be a responsible chin owner :D I'll do even more research and make sure that I have all the proper things that they need and want. If not, I'll continue to look at your adorable chinchilla posts on this reddit and elsewhere :)

Anyway ... that's where I'm at; I want to get 2 little munchkins but I'm still not 100% ready. If you read all of this - Thank you - If you read all of this and have some advice/something to share - Thank you as well!

(I apologize for the repetitive use of ellipsis --> "..." , its a bad grammar technique I picked up from texting/school/college)

Hi guys I just adopted my two boys (Yin and Yang) and I’m struggling with finding the right sand box (preferably with splash proof—all enclosed) for them. The ones I saw on Amazon (I’m located in Germany) are so small. Too small to fit both chinchillas together. So, I was opting for a cat litter box but it’s waaaaaay too big.

What do you guys use? Please let me know. Thanks 🙏

Okay guys!! So I’m getting a chinchilla tmr but I have some questions

1 I have a full bag of oxbow rabbit food, can the chinchilla eat that or am I gonna have to donate it This one I’m expecting a no on

2 I also have Oasis vitamin drops (rabbit) can I give that to my chinchilla ((it’s literally just vitamins))

3 what about cardboard (toilet paper rolls ect) Some places say no some say it can make great toys

Don’t worry, yes I’ve done my research ((far too much)) these are just some last minute things I’ve been hearing mixed opinions on

Thank you!

i saw one of my chins eating bedding and as far as i can tell it’s the first time they’ve done this. i looked it up and it said that pine is safe but some kinds of pine isn’t safe and another place said that all pine is bad and another said that pines fine. the brand is full cheeks pine bedding. i can’t add a photo onto this because the button isn’t working :/

I’m building a cage for my boys- it’s enclosed but will have normal wire walls that leave an inch gap between the wall and the wire. What would be the best material for the walls? Easy to clean urine off of and easy to work with would be ideal.

I'm a new chinchilla owner to my chinchilla named Gydget and I have a Chinchilla Chiller Granite Stone but I wanted to ask if thare is anything else I can do to keep my little chinchilla happy on the hotter days I want the best for my chinchilla and I'm scared to mess up

i posted my cage make over a few weeks ago, and now i think we have finished building all of out of cage accessories so here are some pics :D

https://preview.redd.it/u4jm0qb3jovc1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3becbb8a8cf30a281a2eff3c89bf45ce9d17d03

https://preview.redd.it/tmf45qb3jovc1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab2d2e934dda7caa079f36611e38de99d8d9c97b

https://preview.redd.it/pvyj6sb3jovc1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d38e71619a38473765ae6d4a2708b02c8f3e4d75

https://preview.redd.it/ggw9gtb3jovc1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f065276a3c3f29fecb13f04613a6db7af382f53c

https://preview.redd.it/c2w7cub3jovc1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b96b6c163021dae9af88d5ff4ce5331402fae91

https://preview.redd.it/e2mhuvb3jovc1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f92c405b5cdd0aa4063bdbc657f0ebdc7936dd8

I’ve moved countries and will be finally able to drive home and get my chinchilla. I really want to spoil him as I’ve not seen him in a few months due to not being able to leave the country so am wondering what the best cages that you could suggest for me?

He’s currently in a very big steel cage with fleece but I want to get him something that will really last his whole life. I don’t want to spend thousands or anything but I’m willing to pay for a really good quality cage if anyone has any suggestions. Also we would like to get him a fairy decently sized cage as we are getting bunnies he will still have playtime but only for a couple hours a day as they will hopefully be free roaming by then.

Thank you for any advice 💗