Bringing Home A Chinchilla (How To Do It Like A Pro In 5 Steps)

Bringing home a chinchilla is exciting.

But it’s not something you can just do on a whim.

You need to plan ahead and be prepared.

You need to get your home ready for your new pet.

And you need to have a solid plan to help your chinchilla feel comfortable in its new surroundings.

It will be scared to death at first, so you want to make sure you make the transition as easy as possible.

Keep reading for a 5 step plan to successfully bring your chinchilla home. I’ve done it twice myself and have done tons of research, so I know the best way to go about it. And soon, you will too.

 

Bringing Home A Chinchilla Like A Pro

If you want to bring home your chinchilla like a pro and want the process to be anxiety and carefree, then I highly recommend you grab some caffeine or whatever makes you focus and strap in for a minute.

Give me the opportunity to explain all of the crucial information you need to be aware of, before you pull into your local breeder’s location or the pet store.

Trust me, in case you are lost or have not been to this website before. All of my advice comes from my own real-world experience.

I went through the same situation and want to help you avoid the same anxiety, fear, and cluelessness I experienced the first time

We’ll begin with this quick summary video I made. It doesn’t contain anything that is not in this post, but  I know some people prefer video. I myself prefer to read. If you’re the same, skip the video and continue below.

 

Preparing For The Adoption And Choosing A Chinchilla

Before you even prepare for the chinchilla adoption, I believe you have one important question you need to ask yourself.

Drum roll, please.

Do you really want a chinchilla?

To answer that, you need to ask yourself a few more questions.

Can you dedicate a few minutes a day towards interacting with your chinchilla whether that is out of the cage or with your chinchilla in the cage?

Are you ready to clean the cage properly several times a week for the next 15 years or more?

These are essential questions to ask.

While chinchillas may be nothing more than an exotic rodent to some, they mean much more to others, such as myself.

Chinchillas have personalities, show affection, and deserve a loving home.

If you answered those questions with a yes, then it is time to start moving on and covering more of the basics about bringing a chinchilla home.

If you answered no to those questions, I strongly recommend you reconsider. Keeping a chinchilla would be cruel under those circumstances.

 

Ask Your Chinchilla Breeder These Important Questions

When you arrive at the local chinchilla breeder you have chosen to work with, you need to be prepared to ask questions to help you not only better understand the chinchilla you are adopting, but better understand what you can expect and how to do certain things with your new chinchilla.

I could honestly list out hundreds of questions that would be worth asking, but I have decided to narrow it down to the top 5 questions I would recommend you asking.

 

#1: How Social Is My Chinchilla?

This question is essential so that you understand what environment your chinchilla has been exposed to prior to your adoption.

You also want to know how friendly your chinchilla will be with you, kids, and other chinchillas, in case you want to adopt a second a chinchilla.

You also want to know how much work is going to be needed to socialize your chinchilla.

This question can help you understand if you need to give your chinchilla space for a while when you arrive home, or if you just need to allow your chinchilla to adapt slowly with soft and light interaction.

 

#2: Can You Show Me How To Hold My Chinchilla?

I am in Illinois, and the chinchilla breeder that I chose to work with was willing to show me multiple times how to pick up and hold my chinchilla. This might surprise you, but one of the best methods is to pick them up by the tail.

This is going to help you with getting your chinchilla into the carrying/travel cage and getting your chinchilla in and out of the cage when you arrive home.

Overall, even if it is an emergency that arises in the first few weeks, you need to know how to hold and pick up your chinchilla.

You can learn more about how to get a chinchilla to enjoy being held here.

 

#3: Has My Chinchilla Had Any Health Issues Thus Far?

This is an important question to ask any time you adopt any pet. It is nice to know the health history and what you can expect with your new chinchilla.

 

#4: Will You Be Providing Me Any Initial Supplies?

I do not necessarily mean that you should expect any of the supplies for free from your breeder. But if you know ahead of time what they have on hand or what they sell, it can help you to understand what you need to purchase before you arrive home with your chinchilla.

 

#5: Can You Tell Me What You Have Noticed About My Chinchilla’s Personality And Behavior Thus Far?

This is remarkably like the question about understanding your chinchilla’s health history.

It is not necessarily imperative to ask this question, but it is a huge benefit you get from working with a breeder, as opposed to a pet store, so I highly recommend asking it.

The more insight you can gain about your chinchilla, the better. It is going to help you immensely. Plus it is simply part of learning how to take care of a chinchilla properly.

Now, I did not want you to think I forgot the pet-store purchasers reading.

If this is you, do not worry and simply refer to helpful blog posts, and ask your pet-store employee as much as possible.

And what do you know: there are a lot of helpful blog posts right here! I have a dedicated blog post or YouTube Video explaining almost every question I just recommended asking.

Simply use the search bar in the top right corner to search the topic, like “how to get your chinchilla in and out of the cage,” and the results for my articles will appear.

Now that we have the initial questions out of the way, it is time to move on to the next phase.

 

Ensure A Safe Ride Home With Your Chinchilla

If you were not aware, chinchillas can travel. However, they do tend to get stressed during travel. Stress can cause other issues, such as overheating. Overheating, in turn, can lead to heatstroke.

This means that you need to do your best to keep your chinchilla comfortable. To do this, I recommend keeping the car at a very cold temperature by running the air-conditioning.

Also, if possible, avoid heavy jarring or bumpy situations for your chinchilla inside of its chinchilla travel crate.

Once you are home, get your chinchilla into its permanent cage and allow it time to adapt to its environment.

 

Allowing Your Chinchilla To Get Used To Your Home

Now it is time to do the hardest step of them all. Wait and be patient.

Boring, I know.

However, this patience and waiting are huge for your chinchilla to begin to trust you.

A chinchilla needs this time to adapt to its new environment and to get used to its surroundings.

Over-handling, too much time out of the cage, or other over-stimulating activities will do nothing more than scare your chinchilla during this initial few weeks.

Ensure you are not pushing the boundaries. Allow your chinchilla to warm up to the new house and environment for a few weeks.

I also highly recommend purchasing a playpen for your chinchilla. This can be used to avoid having to chinchilla-proof a room during your first weeks of ownership.

This obviously eliminates potential hazards.

I also love that it forces a close interaction with you as the owner. It will build the bond much faster with your new chinchilla while keeping it safe.

I highly recommend the Jespet 61 inch play tent.

It is the same playpen I have been using for the past 4 years, and I love it. I have never had any issues with it and think it is a massive benefit to any new chinchilla owner.

 

Ongoing Care Needs And Required Accessories

Now it is time to discuss the ongoing care needs you can expect with your new chinchilla, once you have brought it home.

For starters, I highly recommend you read my complete guide about how to take care of a chinchilla here.

Outside of this guide, it is important to know that your chinchilla needs a few important ongoing things:

• Time interacting either through playtime or another method
• A steady supply of Timothy hay and chinchilla pellets
• A large, safe and comfortable cage (you’ll eventually need to upgrade if you started with a smaller cage)
• Filled water bottles
• Bedding
• Love and attention

The guide that I referenced above will do a good job breaking down these categories in-depth for you and have you much more prepared to care for your chinchilla like a pro.

 

Relax And Learn As You Go

My last recommendation is to relax and take a breath. Bringing a chinchilla home is extremely exciting and gets easier each day you own a chinchilla.

Chinchillas make for great pets, and I highly doubt anyone will regret the decision. Buying a chinchilla is awesome.

That is the best way to put it, so breathe, relax, and have a blast with your new chinchilla. The rest of the process will come to you after you bring your chinchilla home.

This article lists some things you can do with your chinchilla, to give you some awesome ideas for fun activities.

 

Bringing Home A Chinchilla: Final Thoughts

As mentioned when we began this post, bringing a chinchilla home is extremely exciting.

It can also cause some anxiety and fear. But it does not need to.

I assure you that all the resources, helpful individuals and other chinchilla lovers are always around to help.

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

Share your thoughts.

Do you have any other tips you can provide the community about bringing home a chinchilla?

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.