Anyone have a chinchilla?

I just rescued a chinchilla yesterday. OMG, he is SO cute ... and SOOOO soft! Cute, cute, cute.

Anyone have one and can lend me some insight?

Thanks!

I don't have any experience with Chinchillas. But I know that they bathe in dust and not water! :D You probably already knew that....Well congratulations! Thanks for rescuing the little furball!!! Could you share the details of his rescue with us? And most importantly... do we get to see pictures? ;)

I don't have any at the moment, but I have had Chinchilla's before. I always feed them a premixed Chinchilla food, and raisins (sparingly) as treats. They can litter train if you put a small pan in there. Get a fish bowl and the ash from a pet store. They like to bathe in it and it's really cute. Get em one of those chew thingy's to help with their teeth. That's all I can think of. I am sure you can find alot of good info online.

Oh, same old story ... some idiot bought a chinchilla for his kids without knowing one single thing about the species. Then, of course, kiddies get tired of the chinchilla, so what does Dad do? He buys them a puppy instead, and the chinchilla ends up being sold on consignment .... at a feed/tack store! People never cease to astound me.

I'd love to post some pics, but I don't have a digital camera.

Yes I have a chinchilla and here a few things you should know about them. They love to eat wood, always have some around. Just make sure it's not treated in any way. Plain pine wood would be good. There's even some natural wood that's not good for them. can't remember then all, so stick with pine.

Chinchilla bath....once a week at the least. If it hot then more. Always change it. don't leave it in there, that's not good for them.
I found that a Betta fish bowl works best. Prop it up on something at a angle. They make a mess with it and this seem to keep more in the bowl...then all over the cage.

Chinchilla food.....Chinchilla food from the pet store of course. Just because it looks like rabbit food, don't mistake and think it's the same. They love sunflower seeds, raw peanuts, even some bird treats (the fruit kind) They should have Millet (the bird stuff) Also they make a power Vit. for reptiles....that's good to put on their food. Just a little.

Chinchilla cage items.... Need a place to hide, place the bath, Tunnles, they have the large size. (if you want to go all out)
A wheel, but for Chinchilla's it should have no open or very small opens in it. their claws are small and will get caught in the holes.
Salt wheel.....they don't use it much but a good idea to have it in there. Never put ceder bedding in their cage. Hay type. Water of course. Mine does better with a bowl then the bottle type, yours could be different.

And don't let anyone tell you it's ok to pick them up by their tails. IT"S NOT.....I heard to many people at pets shops say that. the old way of thinking.

Also if you ever think about getting another one.....make sure you find out if you can have the same kind toghter. I have a Black Velet and they should not be breeded with another Black Velet, Don't know what you have so can't say for sure about yours.

Chinchilla don't like it real hot or real cold, so keep that in mind also. Don't put their cage in front of the A/C vent or heat. :)

If you need any help just PM me and I'll do what I can for you, but this should give you a good start. Good luck and have fun with your new Chinchilla. You'll get a lot of laughs.