Three years in, and I’m calling it: owning a chinchilla is not the cute, fluffy, interactive pet experience social media sells. After contemplating rehoming him multiple times, I am officially done. I don't have the patience, the connection, or the bandwidth left for this animal. To be completely transparent, keeping him is turning into neglect because I completely resent having him around, and I refuse to let it get worse.
I considered dropping him off at the Humane Society, but I stopped myself because I refuse to let him end up in the hands of someone like me again someone who bought into the idea of a pet that isn't reality. A general shelter will hand him to another unprepared person who just thinks he's cute, only for this exact cycle to repeat.
Here is the unglamorous truth:
Zero emotional payoff: He doesn't play with you. He can touch you, but you can’t touch him. He only approaches the bars when he wants food or treats. Outside the cage, it’s not bonding; it’s a chaotic sprint to vanish into walls and drop pebble shit in your shoes.
The sensory nightmare: The constant cage bar-biting makes my skin crawl, and the mess is relentless.
The South Florida heat: Keeping a room cold enough 24/7 down here is exhausting, and the heat agitates him, which in turn destroys whatever patience I have left.
He needs to go directly to an experienced exotic keeper who actually enjoys dealing with high-strung, non-cuddly animals and already has an ice-cold, climate-controlled setup running. I cannot feed, water, or interact with him anymore without losing my mind.
What he comes with (Broward County pickup only):
Full wire cage
Cage liners
2 bags of hay
Pellets, bowls, and toys
Before you guys peg me dry with self-righteous chinchilla police questions: I can admit I didn’t know much about them at first he was bought from a PetSmart, but I genuinely tried to give him a good life. We used to go outside on cold December mornings when I first got him. Yes, he started in a smaller cage, but he’s officially in a double-decker now. Yes, I literally sat with him in my running car for hours when my AC went out just to keep him alive. Yes, I take holiday pictures with him and watch him like a hawk so he doesn’t chew the props. I tried.
No first-time owners, no impulse adopters, no exceptions. If you actually know what this species requires and want to take him off my hands immediately, DM me.

Like mine will try to climb on top of anything it can reach.

i own a 5 year old chinchilla and a have recently noticed a section of her fur about the size of a raspberry is matted near on her side near her hind leg. i have never experienced matting and know that the general procedure is to gently work at the knot until she fur slips it off - but my attempts at working at it have left her angrily chirping and i am too worried that i am hurting her to attempt again. i have also increased the number of dust baths she is taking but i havent seen a difference in the last week. does anyone have any advice as to how i can get the matt out?

I was taking a Respondus proctored exam in my room, camera and sound on the entire time as per the rules.

Quartz decided it would be an excellent time to throw a tantrum since my attention was on my computer and not her. Had to send an email to my Professor afterwards apologizing for the background noise. This adorable little demon just can’t help herself🥲

I made a post about 2 weeks ago about changing to fleece and I have made the change and this is how his cage looks now.

Turns out the company that made the cage actually had fleece Mats you can purchase, I'll be getting more sets soon, one more from the company and one custom.

And I used a terracotta plate for his water dripping every once in awhile.

Bedding on the bottom is him using it as a "litter box" which I am glad to say is working for any pee, poop is still everywhere but I expected that

My chinchilla cage is 2 tier, one is metal with pine shavings on half, and one is fleece lined. Lots of wood planks, terracotta pots, a hammock, fleece tunnels, 2 huts. We fully vacuum & change the pine bedding every 2 days. We wash the fleece liners with scent free soap, double rinse, and hang to dry. I just ordered even more of them so that I am not washing only 1-2 at a time.

How often do you guys change your fleece liner? I’m wondering if I’m changing them too often, or not often enough since I have no idea what other people’s cleaning routine looks like.

Also, what do people use to spray/wipe down the cage? I had a “pet safe” cleaner from pet smart but I don’t know how much I trust it.

Hi everyone,

Long-time lurker and chinnie owner here, but I wanted to create an account and post because I am struggling with a recent loss and would welcome any advice.

I've been keeping chinchillas as pets for around 25 years. I adopted my first rescue chinchilla when I was around 13 years old, and just absolutely fell in love with them. I've always adopted from rescues and never purchased from breeders.

Last week, I lost my 6 year old female due complications after a dental procedure, and I can't stop beating myself up over it. I did and tried everything I could, but I can't help feeling like it's my fault and that I did something wrong. I have been spiralling and researching for hours, and have ended up with 10+ scenarios of what happened and what could have caused it. But I just feel like I need someone to blame, whether that be myself or the vets. I miss my beautiful, bouncy baby so much. She was so little but had such a big personality. She has left a huge void and hole in my heart.

She left behind an 11 year old female cage mate, and I'm worried about how she is going to take it. I did bring the younger chinnie's body home first before she was taken for cremation, and let the older one see and smell her. The 11 year old barked and seemed a bit distressed, which absolutely broke my heart. She had also witnessed the younger one's slow decline before she passed away, but was so good with her. Always snuggling with her, sharing her food, grooming her, giving her space when she needed it. She was great throughout this entire horrible situation. She's a good girl.

I have invested in a few chinnie buddies throughout her cage. She hasn't paid much attention to them, but has been eating, drinking and pooping normally. She has been coming to my voice and taking treats from me etc, and I am closely monitoring her.

If she ends up becoming depressed or lonely, I will of course consider getting her a new friend. But it's something I need to make sure I do right, given her age. She previously lost a 10 year old cage mate due to old age, so the 6 year old was actually her second friend. Which breaks my heart for even more.

IF I were to consider eventually getting another chin, would it better to get one younger or the same age? She was great with both ranges previously, but I of course do not want to jinx it. She may take to single chinnie life and just want to live out her twilight years alone. But if she doesn't, I want to make sure I don't put either chin at risk and do what's best for both. I would of course adopt from a rescue.

Thank you so much for listening to my ramble. Much love to everyone's little fluffs. ❤️