What Do Chinchillas Do At Night? (You’ll Be Surprised)

Do you hear noises in the dark?

Noises coming from your chinchilla’s cage?

At some point, every chinchilla owner wonders what their chinchilla does at night.

What do those noises mean? Is your pet up to no good?

You might be imaging all sorts of things. But the truth is, chinchillas do far less than you probably think.

And none of it is overly exciting or unusual.

Keep reading to learn what chinchillas generally get up to at night, and when their most active periods are,. We’ll also let you know if there is anything you need to do, to help your little pet get through the night.

 

What Do Chinchillas Do At Night

Chinchillas are crepuscular, so they are active for a short span of time at night. During this active time, your chinchilla may jump around its cage and eat hay and pellets.

This brief active period is actually an ideal time to get your chinchilla out of the cage for playtime and social interaction.

All chinchillas are different and what they do at night will vary, but a few behaviors with chinchillas are consistent at night.

That is what the rest of this post will down for you. You will learn exactly what you can expect your chinchilla to do during the at night-time hours.

 

Chinchilla Behavior At Night

Surprisingly, chinchillas don’t do a whole lot at night. My chinchilla comes out and runs around and is active from about 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

If this is bedtime for you, it may not be the best idea to keep your chinchilla in the same room as you sleep.

Even after this active period, chinchillas are still noisy at night, depending on the kind of cage you use and what activities you have for your chinchillas inside the cage.

During active hours, my chinchilla will come out and go on a bit of jumping frenzy from shelf to shelf and place herself inside her exercise ball and eat any hanging toys or treats I have attached to the cage.

The exercise ball I have inside her of a cage has both sides popped out of it. I did this because it’s one of the old school plastic hamster/guinea pig balls and I was concerned with overheating.

I felt the best compromise to avoid overheating issues was to have just a ball that she can jump through, but with both sides open for ventilation.

Outside of that behavior, my chinchilla may grab some hay, or even a few pellets from her food bowl, and sit on the top of her hiding box and have a bite to eat.

M pet is always most active at dawn and dusk. This is normal. It is known as being crepuscular.

Chinchillas are typically awake between 10 to 12 hours a day and asleep for the rest. Nighttime is a more active period than daytime, but only the time around dawn and dusk are truly active. They still lie motionless for much of the night.

Often people complain of their chinchilla being noisy at night. This is quite common and the reason I always recommend not having your chin’s cage int he same room where you sleep.

 

Do Chinchillas Make Noise At Night?

Yes, it is entirely possible that your chinchilla is noisy at night, especially during the hours that it is awake.

Sometimes your chinchilla may make noises to attempt to garnish attention. If you have multiple chinchillas, they could also make noises while interacting, playing, or fighting with each other.

It is also not uncommon for your pet to make squeaking noises at night.

 

Why Do Chinchillas Squeak At Night?

Your chinchilla may squeak at night for various reasons. It’s possible it heard some noises that made it feel threatened.

It’s also possible it is trying to communicate with another chinchilla, if you happen to have multiple chinchillas or you’re perhaps a breeder.

A chinchilla can also make these noises if it is in heat, fighting with another chinchilla, or simply attempting to capture your attention.

 

Chinchillas Need Time Out Of The Cage Even If It’s At Night

Chinchillas spend most of their lives in their cages, so it is only understandable that they might get bored in there. Regardless of the size of the cage, this is one of the reasons it’s so important to get your chinchilla out of the cage at least once a day.

As fun as you may have the cage structured for your pet to play with at night, nothing beats that short amount of time you provide it out of the cage to interact and bond with you.

It’s how the relationship grows and how you take a normal shy chinchilla, to a cuddling, loving, and friendly chinchilla in the future.

They love the interaction time, and it gives them just something slightly out of the ordinary that they can do, even if it’s short-lived and doesn’t last long.

Chinchillas make fantastic pets so it’s always important to do everything you can to keep them happy and provide this interaction time to keep their mental state healthy.

Not to mention, they need the opportunity to take a well-deserved and highly-anticipated dust bath. This helps keep that dense fur healthy, shiny, and prevent any skin issues causing shedding or fur slipping.

 

Do I Need To Do Anything Else For My Chinchilla At Night?

Nope, whatever you are doing is probably perfectly sufficient. As always, I highly recommend that time out of the cage at least once per day, and this doesn’t necessarily even need to be at night time. I do it early in the morning, which is the other active period.

Outside of that, you need to ensure that you have a safe chinchilla cage, plenty of space for your chin to jump around, and adequate food and water supplies.

If you are checking all these boxes for your chinchilla, you’re doing a fantastic job, so keep it up. No further actions are necessary to keep your chinchilla happy and safe regardless of what time of day it is.

 

What Chinchillas Do At Night: Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, your chinchilla doesn’t really do much at night. This is in part because they don’t really have much they can do, regardless of how fun the cage is structured.

They sleep for many hours per day and in large chunks of time.

Sure, they become active for a few hours at dusk and may hop from shelf to shelf or jump around for a bit. But after they get that out of their system, they grab a drink of water and get themselves some hay and pellets.

That’s about it.

They quickly get exhausted from the brief period of activity and are ready for a nice nap. They sleep in 2 to 5 hour chunks, waiting for you to wake up and get them out to play.

Chili and I wish you the best of luck with your new chinchilla and the journey you have ahead of you.

What does your chinchilla typically do at night?

Do any of you have any stories about what your chinchilla does at night?

Any good video recordings of chinchilla behaviors taking place at night?

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!