While cleaning and disinfecting the cage a good scrub brush or pad would be very helpful especially when cleaning the bottom. Scrub top, bottom and all sides of it. Start with the top first, this will keep anything that is on the top of the cage from falling down onto the bottom while you are cleaning that part of it; it will save you the time and trouble of having to go back over parts that you’ve already cleaned. Another thing that would be of help is a good, thick pair of rubber, kitchen gloves. The gloves will protect your hands from the harsh cleanser as well as keep them clean during the clean-up.

If you are able to clean the cage out-side, hopefully you will also have access to a water hose as this works great for rinsing after you are done. After you have cleaned and disinfected your chinchilla cage, you will need to let it dry. Just a few hours in the sun, or open air in a room in your home if cleaned inside, will dry the cage nicely as well as give it a good “airing-out”. This is the time to clean under the cage as well; when it is removed from it’s normal resting place.

Now that your chinchillas’ cage is cleaned, disinfected and dried, you can start putting it all back together. Putting about a half inch, first layer of cat litter down is very helpful in reducing odors but be sure to cover this with a softer bedding material of some kind. Although you will find several different types of bedding for small animals available at you local pet store, keep in mind that a feed store (if one is available near you) will have more natural types of bedding. “Natural”, as used here, means materials like untreated-wood shavings, small wood chips and different types of hay (several kinds of hay are also sold in pet stores).

Timothy hay is not only nutritious to eat but is great as a nesting material and can be found in pet as well as feed stores. As a low-energy, high-fiber, nutritious pet food, this hay is a natural, healthy food your small pet will love. Plus, the constant chewing needed to break these foods down helps wear down and clean your pet’s teeth. As a nesting material, Timothy hay will have your pet believing he’s foraging in the wild for materials (hide bits of carrot, apple….etc in it); it is sold with no preservatives, colorings, or additives. Hay can also provide entertainment, as your pet will burrow through and build nests out of it.

Alfalfa hay is sold in pet and feed stores in tightly compressed compact blocks and although nutritious, should be given as a snack rather than used as a “free-feeding” lining for the bottom of the cage as it is extremely rich in calories and contains a very high percentage of calcium. Amusing to watch, he’ll toss one around like a toy, stopping from time to time to nibble on it. A few other natural, edible and bedding “hays” are Orchard, Brome, and Bermuda grass and Oat hay.

Reattach the water bottle and food bowls. You will also want to provide your chinchilla with new chew toys: throw the old ones away. Like the bedding, you can find wooden chew-sticks as well as other types of things specially made for small pets to chew on and play with at a pet store; these “things” will provide a way to wear-down his “ever-growing” teeth and keep him occupied and from becoming lonely when left to himself. You can also buy a little “hut”, or hutch that you can put inside the cage for him to hide out or sleep in. There are also toys made specifically for small animals like chinchillas. These can be balls to roll around and chase or things to suspend from the top or sides of the cage.

One important note: ALL things, bowels, toys, chews, “huts”…..etc NEED to be made of some kind of metal or, ideally, ceramic. In the case of chews— wood, plain raw-hide or some other, edible, material is needed. Rubber (unless extremely hard and small pet approved) and especially plastic should NEVER be used for any small, “rodent-like” animal! These animals all but live to chew and will do so on just about anything they can get a hold of. If allowed to chew on plastic, rubber or even fabric they could choke, cut the inside of their mouth or end-up with a perforated stomach or intestine!

Now that you’ve gotten your chinchilla set-up and comfortable, you will most likely need, and want to, look at the area around his cage. In their rowdy play and just everyday living, chinchillas tend to push some of their cage-contents out through the side openings. Ths just comes with the “territory” of being a “small-pet-parent”. For this small clean-up project you’ll want to sweep or vacuum. A shop vacuum cleaner works well for the removal of hay, pellets and any other items that have been pushed out. It will also have the power to suck-up particles embedded deep into the carpet.

You and your furry little friend are now “good-to-go” for another week of fun and play.