Suitable Cages
The cage
Chinchillas can be very energetic when they are awake and need to be let out on a regular basis for exercise. Most owners let their chinchillas out for a run for a while in the evenings on most days, but other than that the chinchilla spends the rest of the day in its cage. Chinchillas are nocturnal and awake for most of the night, so appreciate a cage with lots of room to bound about in and different levels comprising of shelves to hop and perch on. Long cages are also preferable to tall cages as chinchillas are rock hoppers rather than tree climbers.
Having a pull-out litter tray will make the weekly cleaning of the cage much easier. The mesh of the cage should be of a gauge no larger than 3/4" per square. Chinchillas can collapse their bodies to fit into surprisingly small spaces, and baby chinchillas should be contained in the cage by 3/4" mesh, but may escape through anything with a wider gauge Preferably, the bars of the cage should be plain metal, and not coated with plastic, which the chinchilla will gnaw on and swallow.
Cage Checklist
The cage should be set up ready before you bring your new chinchilla home to minimise stress for your chinchilla.
Cage
A suitable cage. A 36" wide by 18" deep by 24" high cage is a popular and easily obtainable cage size and will comfortably house 2 or 3 chinchillas. Tall cages are also available. Particularly tall cages can be broken up into different levels by using ledges and hammocks. Chinchillas will enjoy playing on them and they will also stop a chinchilla from falling too far and really hurting themselves.
Hay Rack
Preferably, the cage should contain a built-in hay rack to stop the hay from getting soiled. If not, a separate one marketed for rabbits can be bought and attached to the inside of the cage.
Drinking Bottle
Chinchillas don't drink huge amounts but still need access to fresh drinking water daily. The size of bottle pet shops sell for small rabbits should be fine. You could get a standard drinking bottle, or the reinforced type, which is protected by an extra wire mesh and hung so it is diagonally facing away from the cage.
Dust Bath & Sand
Chinchillas don't take well to getting wet and could quickly catch pneumonia if not dried quickly and thoroughly. If your chinchilla gets wet dry with a towel and then a hairdryer on a low heat to dry closer to the skin. Chinchillas need to clean themselves by rolling in sepiolite sand - a type of fine dust. Normal sand is not suitable as it will be too course for use in bathing. This should be contained in a sand bath. One could be bought especially for that purpose, but a large bowl, baking tin or empty biscuit tin should work just as well.
Litter
Wood shavings or wood-based cat litter to be changed weekly - mind, cat litter expands when it gets wet. Alternatively, recycle your newspapers as litter for your droppings trays. Newspapers will need to be changed more frequently.
Food Dish
The food dish will need to be heavy in order to stop it getting knocked over by the chinchilla. A small ceramic one is good, as is a flip-feed hopper, but the metal ones that is designed for attaching to parrot cages will work.
Food
A supply of chinchilla pellets. There are several good brands available. a lot of people prefer to give their chinchilla pellets that do not have treats mixed in with them for fear that their chinchilla will selectively eat only the treats and not the pellets which contain the balanced nutrients they need.
Hay
A supply of fresh, dry hay. Some people like to dry off their hay a little bit extra by putting it in a paper bag and then into an airing cupboard before giving it to their chinchillas. Long strands are easier to put into hay racks and are usually less dusty.
Shelter
Most chinchillas like somewhere to hide. A next box or card tube where can be an ideal place for them to hide and shelter. If made of wood, solid, untreated woods such as pine are best. Mind that there are no spikes from long staples or nails sticking out, as chinchillas can catch themselves on these things and hurt themselves.
Toys
Something for mental stimulation and enrichment. I find wooden chews on hanging skewers (e.g. kabobs) usually go down well with my lot.