Do Chinchillas Pee? (What To Beware Of & Watch For)

Chinchillas are mammals.

And all mammals urinate. This means that chinchillas do pee.

But that’s only part of the story.

There is actually quite a bit you need to know about chinchilla urination.

This includes the frequency and amount, what it smells like, how often you need to clean it, potty training and more.

Keep reading to learn absolutely everything you need to know about chinchilla pee.

 

Do Chinchillas Pee?

Yes, of course chinchillas pee. Chinchillas pee or urinate like any other animal. They will pee in their cage and or on the shavings and bedding.

Also, chinchillas may spray urine to inform someone to back up, back off, or to let you know that they feel threatened.

Although being sprayed by chinchilla urine isn’t a common occurrence, it’s still something to watch out for.

Plenty of other frequently asked questions tend to arise on the topic of chinchilla pee so I want to be sure I touch on this topic in-depth today.

In addition, there are some other fun facts that you should know, so you are 100% totally prepared to be an ethical and responsible new chinchilla owner.

That’s what this entire post is all about.

Answering all questions related to chinchilla pee and urination and what you can expect moving forward.

Additionally, I’ll give you tips on how to prevent your chinchilla from smelling too help keep its hygiene at top-notch quality.

 

Overview Of Chinchilla Pee

First and foremost, yes chinchillas do pee.

I’m not honestly sure why so many people end up wondering if this animal needs to urinate.

They consume fluids including water out of a bottle attached to their cage just like any other animal in the rodent family.

The good news?

They pee where most other rodents pee when kept in captivity as household pets. On their fresh shavings or bedding within their cage.

Or, if you follow my recommendations, they will pee on fleece liners which ultimately replace your Aspen shavings as your bedding.

For the most part, chinchillas tend to pee in one area of the cage because they are like many animals.

They do not like to lay or live where they pee, so they make every effort to do this in one area of the cage.

It is one of the reasons it is always a good idea to provide your chinchilla with a large cage that has multiple levels.

The shelves that are in the cage for your chinchilla are not going to be soaked in urine, and your chinchilla is not going to pee much of anywhere except on the bedding at the bottom of the cage in one corner.

This surely makes the cleanup process much easier and plenty of steps can be taken to ensure your chinchilla remains completely odor free and smelling good!

It’s easy to clean up.

It really doesn’t smell as bad as some other rodents would make a cage smell over time and cleaning the cage is extremely easy.

It is even easier to clean using the fleece liners I mentioned a moment ago, specifically because you can get your chinchilla out for playtime and place the liners in the washing machine 1-2 times per week.

That is all there is to it.

In fact, I have a video about cleaning a chinchilla cage that you can see here.

The video above shows you how I thoroughly clean the cage in roughly 10 minutes. And this is a full blown-cage cleaning.

As far as the chinchilla pee color, it is typically a brownish yellow.

If they happen to pee on the floor while out for playtime, it will be more of a dark yellow when it is fresh. Once it dries, it will appear to be darker.

It can even be somewhat reddish. This often worries new owners, because they wonder why their chinchilla’s urine is red. They fear it may be blood, which could indicate a UTI. But most of the time, it is just the natural color of their pet’s pee.

 

Where And How Often Chinchillas Pee

Chinchillas pee when they need to. This will obviously vary, depending on how much water they consume. And that varies, depending on how much physical activity they are getting.

I have a female chinchilla that is currently 5 years old.

I use a tent-like playpen enclosure when she is out of the tent. Sometimes, I have the unfortunate circumstance that she needs to pee while she is out of the cage.

Other times she does not pee at all when she is out of the cage for an hour or more. It completely depends.

It can also happen that they pee because they are scared. This is known as spraying. We will cover this in more depth shortly.

It is also possible that becoming excited may cause a chinchilla to pee instantly, wherever it happens to be at the time.

After a lot of excitement, or after playing with my 4-year-old son (kind of the same thing, really), she will squat in a corner and dribble out some urine. But it’s always a minimal amount.

I never really notice much of an odor coming from the pee, and she doesn’t do it often, but she has undoubtedly done it before.

Incidentally, their poop doesn’t smell either, although they do poop non-stop.

So let’s do a quick recap.

A chinchilla will pee when it needs to pee, when it is excited, or when it is scared and not in the cage. And it will pee wherever it happens to be when these circumstances occur.

 

Do Chinchillas Pee Everywhere?

I think we have kind of answered this already, but the answer is yes. It’s possible that your chinchilla pees anywhere you interact with it.

This could be in the cage or in a designated play area. And yes, it is also 100% possible that a female chinchilla decides to spray you, although this is rare and won’t occur often.

That brings me to my next point, since I’m one of the fortunate chinchilla owners who has not had to deal with urine being sprayed at me to this day.

We are 4+ years into this now, so I think I am doing a pretty good job. Or have just gotten lucky.

 

Do Female Chinchillas Spray Urine?

Chinchillas are a household pet that hasn’t always had it easy in life.

They have been the victim of hunters in their natural habitat on mountainsides and have always struggled to survive in the wild.

They have grown to run in packs, and they don’t forget negative experiences as quickly as you may think.

This is why it always best to choose a chinchilla from a reputable breeder or rescue near you.

This increases your likelihood of getting a chinchilla that has been socialized well and has a strong chance of being a loving, friendly chinchilla towards you and other family members.

I lucked out big time with this and got a female that needed very little time to adjust and will love, cuddle, and interact with me, my wife, and my 4-year-old son.

Chinchillas make fantastic pets to say the least.

However, not everyone gets this lucky.

People who have purchased a non-socialized chinchilla from a pet store such as PetSmart or Petco usually have a harder time of things.

For one, a non-socialized chinchilla has natural defense moves that they use to either fight off predators or merely to let you know that it’s time to back off.

For females, this may come in the form of spraying urine and it’s possible a chinchilla may even bite.

I haven’t personally had this happen and will share a quick story with you about how much my chinchilla is willing to put up with.

If a female chinchilla does happen to spray you with urine, it is important to recognize that they are using their body language to try and send you a message.

Respect what they are saying and approach them slowly and make them feel safe.

 

My Chinchilla Has Been Provoked, But Never Actually Sprayed Urine

My four-year-old son will handle her a little rougher (not dangerously) and sometimes make quick movements towards her, laugh loudly, and just be a little more intimidating to my chinchilla.

However, she has never sprayed urine or pee at any of us at any time.

She hasn’t even urinated anywhere near us, except in a play area. Sometimes she will make a squatting motion and drop a small amount of urine in a corner away from us.

Yes, chinchillas are smart and don’t pee right where they plan to interact, play, or in, on or around shelves or other cage housing items as we mentioned previously.

At least I’ve never seen it thus far into owning one and don’t think it’s going to be a problem in the future either.

 

Does Chinchilla Pee Smell?

Unfortunately, yes. This is one of the only ways you’re ever going to pick up on an odor emitting from your chinchilla.

The pee itself does not have a strong odor.

But if you aren’t diligent with cleaning the cage as often as you should, you may notice smells coming from the bedding area of the cage that has been soaked with urine over time.

I clean my cage relatively often and urine causing an odor has never been an issue for me. Keep up with it and it will not be an issue for you either.

 

Keep The Pee Odor Free By Cleaning The Cage And Bedding

Clean the cage more often!

That’s right. Do a little bit of extra work, and smelly pee won’t be an issue. I make sure to do a quick sweep and clean of my chinchilla cage every single day.

I shop-vac all poop pellets, check her water and bedding, refill her food and hay if need be, and give the cage a good wipe down.

Every third day or so, I wash the fleece liners.

I highly recommend purchasing a set of the fleece liners I have if you want the optimal and cleanest cage possible.

I love them. The ones I use are the Piggy Bed Spreads.

A simple wash every 3-7 days is all you need to never worry about chinchilla pee.

Therefore, I can say with 100% confidence that chinchilla pee is nothing to fret over.

If you keep up with the cleanings and ensure that your chinchilla’s cage is maintained and kept up as often as it should be, you won’t have anything to worry about.

You also will have no smell due to urine will be emitted into your home or the room where your chinchilla is currently housed.

The image above is my chinchilla’s cage on day 1. This is what clean non-urine soaked bedding will look like.

Urine soaked bedding will typically be dark shavings that look wet and after too much time has passed, can emit an odor.

Keeping it clean often will take care of this issue for you.

As I already mentioned, I use fleece liners with the Critter Nation 2 cage now so things are a bit different in that regard.

 

How Do I Stop My Chinchilla Cage From Smelling Due To Pee?

We basically already covered this question in-depth, but I will hit on it one more time.

So, how do I keep my chinchilla cage from smelling?

Clean it more often.

Do a quick clean of your chinchilla once a day. Clean the bedding and perform a more substantial clean once every 3 to 5 days.

This will remove the odor from the cage.

 

Chinchilla Pee: Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, yes, your chinchilla will pee like any other small rodent.

However, chinchillas are unique in the fact that they are careful where they place their urine. Unless you being sprayed.

They are an odor-less pet in this fashion, if you just take the time to complete a few everyday cleaning tasks and remain an ethical pet owner.

In all honesty, chinchillas will probably never spray you, once they recognize you as the owner and the bond and love grows.

Chinchillas can make for great family pets. Do not let a little pee scare you away from adopting.

Chili and certainly wish you the best of luck with your chinchilla if do decide to adopt and the journey you have ahead of you.

Share your thoughts on the topic of chinchilla pee.

What’s your experience with chinchillas when it comes to pee?

Have you ever been sprayed by a female chinchilla with urine?

Do you have any additional tips or insights you can share with the community about chinchilla pee?

Be sure to share those thoughts, stories, and concerns by dropping a comment below.

As always, Chili and I appreciate you stopping by and reading today and we will see you again next time.