Contents Introduction: The Chinchilla's Personality, Your Personality And Your Habits Chinchilla Personality Factors Chinchilla Personality Factors: Number Of Chinchillas Chinchilla Personality Factors: Type Of Wall And Material Chinchilla Personality Factors: Ventillation Chinchilla Personality Factors: Noise And Chinchilla Cages Chinchilla Personality Factors: Feeding And Chinchilla Cages Chinchilla Personality Factors: Chinchilla Cages And Temperature Control Your Personality And Habits Factors Your Personality And Habits Factors: Cage Material And Feeding Your Personality And Habits Factors: Cleaning The Chinchilla Cage Your Personality And Habits Factors: Chinchilla Cages And Your Visitors Miscellaneous Factors Summary Checklist Buy chinchilla cages and accessories online Invitation

Picture courtesy of Suzy Zarin Shiflet, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA website:http://www.pineviewstables.org email:suzy@pineviewstables.org Next Picture Previous Picture

Introduction: The Chinchilla's Personality, Your Personality And Your Habits

Introduction: The Chinchilla's Personality, Your Personality And Your Habits
There are two important considerations to take into account when deciding the best type of chinchilla cage to purchase or construct.

1. A chinchilla has a mind and personality
2. You, the chinchilla pet owner, have a mind, a personality, and as a result, certain habits.

i)Chinchilla Personality Factors
A chinchilla has a mind a personality, and most of all, one must remember that the chinchilla is being kept as a pet to enrich the pet owner's life. Therefore, the happiness of the pet chinchilla is paramount in the decision of the type of cage that you are going to buy or construct.

Chinchilla Cages And The Number of Chinchillas You Keep As Pets

Personality, as we all know, determines how people interact with one another, and how chinchillas will interact with other chinchillas. How many chinchillas do you plan to keep? Will the chinchilla cage be big enough to accomodate all the chinchillas you have? What gender are the chinchillas? Is there a chance that they may breed and have baby chinchillas? Will there be adequate space for all of them? Do you have reason to believe that the chinchillas will fight in a single chinchilla cage? Should you have two separate cages? Or do you have reason to believe that toys in their single chinchilla cage will keep them adequately happy?

Chinchilla Cages And The Type Of Cage Wall And Material Used
What are the walls of the chinchilla cage going be to be like, and how will they affect the chinchilla's happiness? Are the walls going to be completely opaque, with no space to see what is outside? Or are there spaces on the walls of the chinchilla cage that allow the chinchilla to see outside? As we will see in the next section on your personality as the chinchilla pet owner, there are times when a chinchilla cage with a completely blocked view can play an important role in the happiness of a chinchilla.

Since chinchillas have personalities, whenever possible, a chinchilla cage should be placed in such a way that the chinchilla can look outside a window; it will be less bored than if it is placed all day in a room with enclosed walls.

However, other factors must be taken into consideration.

The decision on the type of walls that the chinchilla cage should have will depend on:
a) what percentage of the day you plan to keep the chinchilla in the cage.
b) safety of the chinchilla- the type of environment that the chinchilla will be place in-the presense of other pets that may scare the chinchilla, or, in the extreme case of escaped reptiles such as snakes, view the chinchilla as a potential meal

If you have a playroom that you let the chinchilla play in for a significant portion of the day, and simply to it to sleep at the end of the day, limited view from within the chinchilla cage may not be an issue. However, if you plan to have the chinchilla spend a significant portion of the day in the cage, obviously choosing a chinchilla cage that has walls that will allow adequate lighting is paramount.

If you also keep other pets, such as roudy dogs or exploring cats, you will want to choose a chinchilla cage that can positioned in such a way that the chinchilla gets adequate lighting, but offers:
A)protection from accidental toppling of the chinchilla cage by the pets, and possibly children: not only should the cage walls be strong enough to withstand the fall, accidental injury to the paws of the chinchilla should its paws stick out of the openings that allow light should be avoided. This might entail choosing to construct a cage that has a dual wall design. One inner wall with solid transparent material, with an opening at the top to allow the chinchilla to breathe, and an outter wall of strong metal meshing.
B)protection from other pets putting their paws into the cage to try to reach the chinchilla, or, in the case of reptiles, being able to get inside the cage and make a meal of the pet chinchilla

Chinchilla Cages And Ventillation
Is the environment that you keep the chinchilla well ventillated? Are you planning to put the chinchilla in a cage that is outdoors? Or will the chinchilla cage be in a room? Is the air hot and stuffy? Does it flow adequately well in the chinchilla cage? Do you plan on installing a fan if the air is doesn't move adequately well? Have you taken into consideration the extra costs to be incurred by running the fan-electricity, maintenance, etc? Where will you place the fan? High in the ceiling, or is it adequately protected if you place it in the chinchilla cage.

Noise And Chinchilla Cages
Are you placing the cage close to an environment that is noisy? Barking dogs? Traffic? Will the chinchilla jump against the sides of the cage in fright every time there is a sudden noise? Will the sides of the chinchilla cage injure it if it does so? Perhaps you need a chinchilla cage that has got padding on walls to prevent unintentional self-inflicted injury to the chinchilla. Or will the chinchilla attempt to chew the materials used to make the chinchilla cage in nervousness? Is there the possibility of placing the chinchilla cage in an environment that is not noisy? Perhaps even a room that has music? Will this chinchilla cage fit the general plan of the layout of that room?

Feeding And Chinchilla Cages
Will the chinchilla be eating food inside its chinchilla cage? Or do you plan to remove the chinchilla from the cage any time you give it food? Will the chinchilla cage have enough space for the food containers to be placed for the chinchilla to eat in comfort? If the chinchilla tips over the food or water container, can the chinchilla cage be easily cleaned? If you are not close to the chinchilla cage when the chinchilla tips its food, will there be adequate space for the chinchilla to remain in relative comfort in the chinchilla cage before you clean it out? How easy is it to place food and water in the cage? If the cage will have a water container, will you have an automated water refiller?

Will the food in the chinchilla cage be in an environment relatively free of flies and insects that may bother the chinchilla when it's eating?

Chinchilla Cages And Temperature Control
What kind of environment do you plan to place the chinchilla cage in? Will it be in a room that is relatively hot? Chinchillas are prone to heat stroke because of their thick fur. On the other hand, if the chinchillas are placed in an environment that is too cold, they may be extremely uncomfortable, possibly even dying from the cold. The layout of the chinchilla cage should allow the chinchilla to benefit from the response of the enviroment to your actions to control the temperature. A cage with completely solid walls may not allow air to circulate an feel the effects of the environmental change. In this case you might have to custom design the placement of a fan to move the air.

ii) Chinchilla Cages And Factors Related To Your Personality And Habits
Your personality should also be a guiding factor in deciding what type of chinchilla cage to buy or construct.

Your Personality, Chinchilla Cages And Cage Material And Feeding
Do you mind taking the time to prepare fresh food and change old food for your chinchilla? If you do, you may inadvertently leave food to spoil in the chinchilla cage. This could ruin the cage if it is not made of durable materials (especially home-made, cheaply constructed chinchilla cages.)

Your Personality And Cleaning The Chinchilla Cage
Are you impatient with yourself when cleaning the chinchilla cage after the chinchilla has passed droppings and urine? Perhaps a cage that has a moveable bottom that can be changed and/or cleaned quickly and easily may be a better option for you to buy or construct. In this manner both you, the chinchilla pet owner, and the chinchilla, can avoid having to deal with the bad smell emanating from the chinchilla droppings and urine.

Chinchilla Cages And Your Visitors
Are you a family oriented person, in the sense that your brothers and sisters, friends, etc regularly come to visit you? Do they bring their children over with them? Do you play loud music and have games and party when they come over? Loud noises and children running around can easily frighten your chinchilla. This is an example of a situation where a cage that is covered on all four ends may be extremely useful, and is also an example of why having more than one cage may come in handy.

Planning ahead will be useful. Ideally, you will want to put the chinchilla in the sealed cage or hutch before your visitors arrive. If possible, you will want to place the cage in a room that has music playing in the background, as far away as possible from the room that your guests will use. The music will help mask the loud noises that your guests are likely to make. Putting a treat in the chinchilla cage such as a biscuit should help keep the chinchilla calm for the duration of your visitors visit.

Miscellaneous Factors Related To Choosing Chinchilla Cages
You may want to have a chinchilla cage specifically for carrying the chinchilla on visits to the vet. This cage may also be of use if you don't have a room to put your chinchilla when you are cleaning the cage it spends most of the time in.

Chinchilla Cage Summary Checklist
Summary check list of factors to consider when purchasing/constructing a chinchilla cage Use the following checklist as an aid to helping you decide the best type of cage for your chinchilla

• Number of chinchillas in the cage
• Gender of the chinchillas
• Are the chinchillas neutered?
• Toys to be placed in the cage?
• Opaque vs transparent walls of the chinchilla cage
• Size of spacing between meshes on walls of the chinchilla cage
• Padding for the inner walls of the chinchilla cage?
• Percentage of day chinchilla will spend in the cage
• Safety of chinchilla in the cage in case of other pets in the household
• Do chinchilla cage walls allow adequate ventillation?
• Durability of cage wall material-can the chinchilla chew the material?
• Ease of feeding the chinchilla when it is in the cage
• Speed at which temperature conditions in the chinchilla cage adapt to your temperature control
• Ease of cleaning the chinchilla cage
• Is more than one type of chinchilla cage necessary?
• Is more than one cage necessary?

Click here to see a variety of chinchilla cages(or adapted small-animal cages) and accessories that you can buy online.