• Place bottle on outside of cage with water tube pointing inside.

• Smell before you buy.

• Check the taste after water has been in it overnight.

• One tablespoon of bleach in one gallon of water.

• Soak for fifteen minutes and rinse well.

• Pellets: Approximately 2-3 heaping tablespoons per chinchilla. Use Chinchilla or Rabbit Pellets. Check ingredient labels. Many rabbit pellets are very similar to chinchilla pellets and freshly milled rabbit pellets are more readily available. Don't let them run out they don't over eat. Change daily.

• Hay: Timothy (best choice), Bermuda Grass, Alfalfa or Oat. Change daily.

• Treats: Chinchillas have a very sensitive digestive system. Serve no more than one half level teaspoon per adult chinchilla per day.

• These treats can consist of:

• Raw Sunflower Seeds

• Sliced Almonds

• Fresh Fruit

• Dried Fruit

• Carrots

• Whole Grain Bread or Cereal

• Rolled Oats or whole oats

Part of a chinchilla's happiness and pleasure is derived from their dust baths. They need room to roll and stretch in their dust bowls, so a bowl of thirteen inches or larger in diameter works best.

• Dust Bowl Notes:

• Chinchilla dust is available in most pet stores.

• Since chinchillas like to chew, a non-plastic bowl is recommended and to use either stainless steel, glass, or ceramic bowls, but make sure there are no sharp chips or edges on them.

• Set the bowl in their cage for approximately three minutes per day and watch the fun begin!

If you need to pick them up, encircle their body with your hands, arms, and body. While holding them, allow them freedom to move on and around your body.

They do not like to be heavily stroked like a cat. However, they do like to be scratched or rubbed around their ears, chin, and face.

It is helpful to see how they groom and interact with each other. If you want to pet them, do it very lightly.

• Wheels: Chinchillas love to have enough room to hop in their wheel; wheels 14" in diameter are best.

• Natural Elements: Branches are fun and make the cage easier to clean because droppings and urine fall to the bottom.

• Keeping it Simple: Since chinchilla's move more by hopping then actually running, they DO NOT like the plastic balls that many people get for their hamsters and other rodent pets. The motion of the ball is awkward for the "hopping chins" and also, because they have such refined senses of smell, the plastic does not allow them to get the full olfactory pleasure of their environment.

• Requirements: Chinchillas need a hideaway house to feel secure.

• Safety: Sawdust on bottom level. Solid, non-wire shelves to prevent leg breaks or other injuries. Also, terrace the shelves all the way up, so chinchillas are less likely to fall.

• Outdoors: If their cage is kept outside it will need more enclosures to prevent drafts and to protect them from becoming fearful of the possible approach of predators. Wood can be placed on top and sides. Temperatures should never get above 80°F or below 0°F. If you have enough chinchillas so that they can cuddle together, they can tolerate lower minimum temperatures. In their natural habitat it can get 40° below 0.

• For Easy Cleaning: Place litter boxes onto wooden shelves.

• Note: Eucalyptus, Red Cedar, Redwood, and Plywoods are reported to be toxic for chinchillas. Soft Pine is best.