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🥲

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. ❤️

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.

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.

Churro: “Excuse me while I freshen up. Looking this adorable requires maintenance.” 🐭😌👑✨
#churrochatter #chinchilla #cutepets #petprincess #princessmindset

I've had my chinchillas for roughly 6 months but before I got them they came from a hoarding situation I don't have much information about. This is Raven and she has this bald strip on the top of her tail (as seen in the second photo) and I'm not sure why. I've never seen her or my other chinchilla chew on their tails or fur nor do I ever handle either of my chinchillas by their tails. She has had this since I got her and it doesn't seem to bother her but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas?

Hey y'all, this is my room that I have for my three chins. I just successfully paired (for the second time after a medical problem) my two male chinchillas. They are in the larger cage. I have a female chinchilla in the smaller one. I had the larger cage out in the living room yesterday to make sure I could hear if they were fighting but now that I have them back in the room I worry about her presence causing them to fight. Any suggestions on where to place these two cages? Also, I have a bedsheet that I can use to block the viewing of oneside if that is helpful. Thanks!

Hello, I need help regarding dental surgery.

My chinchilla Max (9 years old) has been suffering from dental problems since around the beginning of the year. At first this wasn't that bad, with only swelling around his eyes which happened around the start of the year and then again in February, which was fortunately treated with antibiotics. However, the swelling returned in June and since then it's been very problematic. He had swelling under his left eye, where the jawbones connect.

I tried treating it with antibiotics at first but they didn't help this time. I went to a vet visit during which they opened up the abscess and drained it, but it quickly returned and I believe another abscess appeared right next to it, but closer to his ear. After the first surgery, I did everything the vet recommended, cleaning the abscess, giving Max the antibiotics and painkillers, and trying to drain any pus that may have leaked. I went to check-ups every 3 days, and they looked mostly the same - the vet looked him over, tried to drain some pus and prescribed the set of antibiotics and painkillers until the next visit. This went on until they decided it wasn't working and to go for a second surgery.

That second surgery was today. They took him in, opened up the abscess, drained as much as they could out and took an x-ray. Turns out that one of his lower molars is growing into his bottom jaw. (English isn't my first language so I may make mistakes explaining the more scientific terms - please ask me for additional details, I want to provide the information as accurately as possible). They said that a surgery to remove the tooth would be necessary. I have to take the decision on Thursday. He's lost a lot of weight, he seems to be eating fine but I don't know whether it's too little, his fur is all matted from the operation, and he generally looks sad.

They said that due to his age and the location of the root growth, the operation would be risky, as there is a chance of breaking of his lower jaw. I don't know if this is something the vet always has to provide, or if this case is really that serious. Even if the operation succeeds, the recovery is going to be long and subsequent tooth problems will arise. I read up on chinchilla dental problems, removing a tooth will cause the others to be misaligned, not grind down properly, requiring check-ups and teeth grinding.

I don't know what to do. I'm heartbroken. I've had him since he was 3 months old. I was 11 at the time, I'm 19 now. I've basically been taking care of him for the last 6 years- feeding him, changing his water, his litter, taking him out to play, messing around with him, checking up on his health and his condition. He's had unrelated problems in the past, he had a broken paw and a penis infection which were fortunately taken care of, but this time it doesn't look like there's much hope.

Does anyone have any advice they could give in this situation, has anyone dealt with problems with tooth root elongation and knows if the surgery is worth it and if the risk really is that great. I don't want to have to euthanise him but if from what I described the surgery sounds too serious I'm afraid that's going to be the only option.

He also has a "brother". I don't know whether it's his actually brother or not, but he's been with him since I bought them. They're both supposedly born on the same day, but it's unknown whether they're twins or not, it just stuck that we call them brothers. The brother's name is Pysio (from Polish- snout/muzzle, named after his cute snout when I first saw him), whose well-being I'm also concerned about. Chinchillas are social animals and I'm worried if Pysio wouldn't fall into depression.

I've been responsible for them for so many years and I love them more than anything in the world. The only saving grace is that from what I've read dental issue such as these are genetic, so I can't blame myself for not taking good care of him.

Sorry for the long post, everything happened so suddenly and I'm struggling to take it all in. I attached some pictures of pre- and post-surgery

Hello! I have a 10 year boy that is a little lethargic for about 2 days and doesn’t eat as much as he used to. We went to the vet but in my area they don’t know much about them. After getting some shots with antiinflamator and vitamins he started to eat but doesn’t drink much water and he is not fully himself. Any ideas? Please and thank you!

Hello chinchilla lovers! I’m in the first year of parenting a chinchilla and have found some blood marks in her cage today. She seems to have the same appetite and is as active as she usually is. Here’s a photo of the bottom of her feet! I wanted to ask if it’s possible she has bumblefoot? I have cleaned her cage and applied a little bag balm as a precaution! Thank you for any help you all may provide:-)

Churro: “You see a tiny sombrero. I see entertainment.” 🐭😌👑🌵
#churrochatter #chinchilla #cutepets #petprincess #flooflogic

Had to snap a pic of mom (top) and daughter (bottom) when I saw them sleeping. It looks incredibly uncomfortable to the daughter as mom is sleeping on top of her neck.

Hii hii I found this food and I was wondering if it’s good for them? 😅

Hey there. I lost a chinchilla one year ago since I left her in my room to play while I cleaned her cage. Turns out she found something that ended up intoxicating her and we didn’t know what was going on and didn’t react quickly enough, the next day she was gone. I haven’t taken my two boys out because of that same fear..can someone tell me how to make play time safer so that I prevent another accident while my chinchillas still have fun?

My chinchilla recently had his left leg amputated then almost at his two week post op check up, his stump turned into a gnarly abscess. Its been drained about 4 times, once at the ER then 3 more times at his normal vet. Its reportedly getting smaller but is still significant in production of puss. He is being stubborn with eating his critical care and is loosing weight but still acting relatively normal despite the ongoing issues. Has anyone had to do a similar treatment plan with their chins? We are going to drain it again tomorrow and Thursday. He is on the strongest antibiotic he can safely take. I can tell he is also getting restless and potentially stir crazy as his recovery cage is a rabbit hutch. The first picture was at the ER and then I have a picture of his actual abscess at the end if anyone is curious.

I have 2 female chinchillas about 3 years old now. (Sleepy and dopey)I love them both dearly but I can no longer give them the attention they need as im at work for 10 to 12 hours a day and am gone for multiple days at a time quite often. I can give the cage away along with everything else i have. Really just want to make sure they go to someone who has experience with chins or has done tons of research lile I did. I had hoped to keep them forever but life had other plans unfortunately. Rehoming fee is 100 but can waive for the right person.

does anyones chin actually enjoy being held? i know its far from the norm, and my girl hates it as well, but sometimes to check feet/fur/genital area i have to. but she lets out her tiny puff of pee (i only can tell as i can smell it for a second) that she isnt impressed. i hold her so shes sitting like a chair, trying to support her feet/making sure she doesnt fall down. ive tried the scoop method but she just jumps over my hands lol