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Chinchilla Accessories

To make chinchillas happy, you not only need a huge cage, but also interesting toys and some neat furnishing. Of course chinchillas need a few big branches to sit and chew on, apple tree, willow, birch or hazel (the shot on the right shows Moppel and Kleines on the day I installed a new branch - they're bone tired). Chinchillas love to climb and sit on perches. What else is there:

Clay pipe

Clay pipes rock - you can hide in them, climb on them, run through them, sleep on them when it's hot in summer and sometimes you even find goodies in them if your human henchman is so inclined. One can get them in DIY-stores, either single or some of them fused together (they are sometimes sold as wine coolers). Wine coolers are great because they offer even more opportunities to play and hide.

Sand bath

I'm not too fond of metal baths, the sharp edges scare me. I found that a large casserole does very well and bought a 30 cm long casserole actually thought as a microwave dish. It's great, easy to clean (just put it into the dish washer) and big enough for Moppel, my giant chin. I leave it in all the time and change the sand simply more often.

Exercise wheel

This has been the biggest improvement in the life of my chinchillas, a Flying Saucer Exercise wheel. It's great, the chinchillas can run smoothly on it and won't break a leg. They run like on a big - well, saucer, in huge strides and top speed. They like it so much I am feeling bad about them having to spend years without a wheel.
I have a Video of Kleines running on the wheel, but it's on an external page due to traffic restrictions, so please be patient if the download takes a while. Simply click on the pic on the right! And yes, Kleines is running that fast, it's not a trick. :-)
The wheel isn't exactly cheap. I bought it in the USA because it's so far unavailable in Germany, and it cost me 80 Euros shipped. But for that money you get a great, light toy made from strong aluminium, easy to set up and, what's the best thing of all, extraordinary silent. You can get this wheel at Underhill Chinchillas. It's been made by Dr. Marty Hull (Meadowbrook Chinchillas), who also sells the wheels and who is, if possible, even nicer than Laurie.

Drinking Bottle

You get them in all flavours. My favourite among the myriads is a very simple version, a plastic bottle with a plug and a glass tubelet in it. Everything is simple and straight, you can see where the dirt is and get rid of it with a q-tip and a bottle brush. Using water with a bit of vinegar in it, dirt doesn't have a chance.

Sleeping House

After doing a lot of research in the local pet stores and some web shops, I decided to build a house on my own. It's made of fir laminated wood, 30 cm wide, 18 cm deep and 15 cm high with an opening that's big enough to accommodate only one chinchilla at a time. It seems to feel more comfy with a smaller hole in it. It doesn't have a bottom. That way, I can just take it out and scrub the shelf it sits on. I used non-toxic white glue for it, no nails, no screws, so it's completely edible! I attached it to the cage wire mesh with a bar made from wood, from the outside of course so the chinchillas can't get at the screws.

But Moppel thinks big shelves make excellent perches too. Chinchillas don't always (=almost never) do what we think they should...