Keep Sandbox in Cage?
Piku asks...
Is it okay to just leave the sandbox in the cage or do you have to take it out after every bath?
Chinchilla Planet answers...
You should take it out. The first reason is that you want to keep the dust clean and if it's in the cage all the time then it won't stay clean. The second reason is that it is possible for chinchillas to dust too much which can result in dry skin.
Is it OK for the chinchilla to bathe every day??? I let mine bathe every second day (3 to 4 times a week). Am I doing wrong?
put the chinchilla bath in for ten minutes each day but never leave it in there for more then 20 minutes.
Brian,
Sand (or preferably dust) can last quite some time. It's hard to say in all cases just how long because it depends on how often you use it and whether is clean enough after to use to re-use. In terms of volume though, we used way more food and hay cubes than dust.
How long should a pack of sand last? (I buy them in 10 oz. packs)
Caz,
You probably should start by using a different room than your livingroom. There are too many hiding places in a typical livingroom. Also, you need to teach your chinchilla that her cage is the safe place that she should run to whenever she is scared. This means NEVER chasing her with your hands when she is in the cage. Also, if you provide a treat at the same time every night IN the cage your chinchilla may learn to return to it at that time by herself. Ours do just that. It's been years since we've had to chase them in their cage. Good luck!
I have had my chinchilla for 6 months.She is lovely but I hardly let her out of the cage because I can never get her back in.I have tried everything but she ends up whizzing around the living room for 4 hours.Sometimes I cant even go to bed because I cant get her back in. I feel so cruel as she isnt getting emough exercise but when she is out for this long its such a game to get her back in and she gets stressed and over heated.Any suggestions.
We recently bought a fleece hammock. We've yet to have much luck in getting our chinchillas to sleep in it though. Check out our short blurb about it here.
I have two chinchillas and they used to sleep in a homemade hammock together, but after washing it, the shape wasn't the same and they didn't like it. I was wondering if there are any hammocks on the market that anyone would suggest for dual sleeping?