Okay, so you get your chinchilla home – but where in the house is the best place to put his (or her) cage? Well, what you need to do is first realise exactly what the natural habitat for a chinchilla actually is.
Chinchillas come from the Andes Mountains, and although yours won’t have actually lived there, year’s worth of genetics and breeding will mean that he’s still attuned to that environment. Because of that, you need to take careful consideration as to exactly where in your house your chinchilla lives.
Naturally he would live in a relatively cool and dry place, so it’s important to try to mimic this. The following are all elements to take in to consideration when you’re selecting the perfect spot:
– Keep his cage away from any bathrooms. These raise the humidity level, which is something your chinchilla won’t enjoy.
– He won’t appreciate any dramatic fluctuations in temperature. For this reason it’s important not to have the cage near any air vents, fans, air conditioning or direct sunlight.
– If you can, purchase a thermometer that measures humidity as well as temperature. If the two totals combined climb above 150, then your chinnie will not be happy and you need to move his cage.
– Chinchillas sleep in the daytime. So try not to put his cage in a hallway or somewhere that he’ll be constantly disturbed. But on the flip side, he’ll enjoy being in a family room or lounge where you sit in the evenings. He can watch you and feel a part of the ‘pack.’ The last thing he needs is to be isolated in a room all by himself.
Picture by Crazy for Chinchillas and reproduced under attribution licence thanks to Creative Commons and Flickr
– Remember that predatory animals will worry your chinchilla. Ensure that his cage is safely away from cats, dogs and any other animal that might look upon your furry bundle of fun as a tasty snack!
With a little thought, it’s simple to find the best place for your chinnie’s cage. And if you get it wrong first of all, don’t think that you can’t change position. You’ll know you’ve got it right when your chinchilla is happy and healthy.
Thanks for dropping by, and till next time. Love those chinnies…
The post So where’s the Chinchilla? appeared first on Small Pet Select.