If you plan on breeding your chinchillas’, you may want to purchase a smaller cage for the babies to use temporarily after they are weaned. This comes into play mainly because females can become pregnant at a very, very young age. As this can happen before their little bodies are really fully matured enough to handle the added stress, the possibility of death while giving birth is greatly increased…. for the young mother as well as the kits. Also, you may very well find yourself with more chinchillas’ than you are prepared to care for in a very short span of time; their numbers increase exponentially almost before your eyes!

If you are indeed intentionally breeding them and you have come to the point of having all that you can properly care for, then you will need to obtain another, very similar in size and set-up (to reduce the stress of “moving”) cage. You will then need to separate the males from the females. After doing this be sure to place the cages as far apart within your home as possible as the males will become more aggressive toward each other if they become aware that the females have come into their reproductive responsive state again; try to place the cages in completely different parts of your home, put them as far away from each other as you can.

Another approach you can take in the matter of housing your chinchillas’ is to build one yourself. You can find plans, size measurements and systematic instructions on the Internet on how to build a cage that is safe and escape-proof for your pet(s). There are also many books written that can take you step by step through the process. One of the nicest things about doing this is that it will allow you to express your own tastes and creativity. And, who knows, your pet may even be able to sense the love, caring and individuality that you put into it for him!

You can also customize a cage you bought for your chinchilla. You can add or remove things, even build on or remove parts of it depending on you, and your little friend‘s tastes, needs and desires. Another way you can personalize it can be to fill it with fun things for him to play with and do. Place toys that hang from the sides and roof and/or build shelves for your chinchilla to rest on. A hammock for the chinchilla to play on or lounge in will add fun as well as uniqueness.

Place things like grass boxes, and tubes in the cage which can be used for play as well as sleeping. Rotate the play things you use, it will give him the feeling that there are always new, exciting things available for him. Chinchillas’ like to chew on many things so be sure to provide him with things that are safe for him to do so on. Avoid using plastic of any kind for anything that he has access to, chewing plastic can harm his mouth, throat and digestive tract. Things made of treated woods are also bad for chinchillas’, they can cause all of the harm mentioned above or, at the very least, make him sick to his stomach

There are many types of cages that would work nicely for your pet chinchilla(s). Having discussed several different cage options and features thus far, you should have pretty good insight about what kind of cage you will want as well as need for your soft, fun and furry new little family member(s). Good luck with your new little creature. Undoubtedly, he will enjoy the cage that you provide for him!