Cages for chinchilla: types, features of choice and arrangement

Chinchilla is considered one of the cutest and funniest pets, which can often be found in many houses and apartments. In order for this miracle to feel comfortable at home, and also to be provided with proper care, before purchasing it, it is worth choosing the cage and the place for its installation. If you have mastery skills, then you can make a house for your pet yourself.

Chinchilla is recommended to be kept in a specially designed cage or display case. If the size of the room allows, then for such animals get spacious enclosure. The main feature of chinchilla cells is that they must be free and equipped with all necessary accessories.

Since this pet spends a lot of time entertaining (jumps a lot, frolics and runs), you should additionally equip the cage with running wheels, various ladders, tunnels and hammocks.

Regardless of whether the cage will be purchased for the chinchilla in finished form or made independently, it must meet certain standards. This will provide the pet in the future with appropriate conditions for his stay. Housing should not only be comfortably decorated, dry, bright, lit, but also have good ventilation.

In addition, several characteristics are important for the design.

To maintain an adult chinchilla requires a lot of space: the dimensions of the cage should not be less than 50 cm in length and width and 70 cm in height. If the cage is small, then the animal's activity will decrease, it will begin to hurt more often.

This size will be enough for the pet to have a place to rest, eat and play.

To protect the animal, this indicator should be no more than 20 mm. Otherwise, the "fluffy" can easily get out.

Facilitate the process of cleaning the house will help the presence in the design of a pull-out tray where it will be possible to pour small chips or sawdust. If you buy a cage with a fixed floor, then washing it will be difficult and inconvenient.

To date, cages for chinchillas are presented in a huge assortment, with each species not only differing in size, design, but also in price. For the maintenance of this type of animals, several cell designs are best suited.

It is made in large sizes and is intended for group breeding of pets. As a rule, such models are acquired by those who plan to professionally breed chinchillas. The shop window is made of various materials, but the wooden structure is in special demand.

A wooden cage is considered environmental, looks attractive, but it must be additionally sheathed with dense materialotherwise, the pets will quickly gnaw through the walls of the structure. It is also possible to make shop windows from strong plywood and glass.

This is a common type of cage that can be found in every zoological store at an affordable price. Additionally, the boxes are equipped with houses, which allows you to save money on arranging housing for the animal. Such cells can be disassembled into separate parts, they are conveniently stored, transported in bags. In addition, the box is easy to clean. The only drawback of such models is rod products are not able to absorb sound.

It can be multi-tiered, three-story, angular and wall. For more convenient operation, owners master the designs on wheels using old cabinets and chests of drawers. The main advantage of such a house is that it can be assembled from any available material on an individual design.

Since the chinchilla spends his whole life in a cage, it is for her a permanent home and an entertainment venue. In order for the furry animal to feel as comfortable as possible in such limited living conditions, its housing should be hygienically clean, spacious and comfortable. Therefore, before choosing a cage for your pet, not only personal wishes should be considered, but also the general characteristics of the design.

It is worth considering the main criteria for choosing a cell.

• Overall dimensions. It is best to purchase large houses ranging in size from 90x50x40 cm. Such a space is enough for the chinchilla so that she can run freely, play and equip a place to relax.

• Retractable tray. This will simplify cleaning and shorten its time.

• The material of manufacture of the cell. It is advisable to give preference to metal and wood products. A combined design will also be a good choice, its frame is made of boards, and the sides are sheathed with metal grilles.

• Operational safety. To prevent the animal from getting hurt, the distance between the iron rods of the structure should be minimal.

In addition to all of the above, when buying a design, you should pay attention to on air circulation.

In the absence of good ventilation, the animal may begin to deteriorate, and it will become sick.

When the issue with the choice and purchase of the cell is resolved, it remains only to properly equip it. For a rodent you need arrange separate areas intended for eating, sleeping and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Such shelves of various shapes and sizes can be independently made from any wood.

In addition, the design should include drinking bowls and feeders. A drip drinker is ideally suited for chinchillas, this is due to the fact that the "fluffy" loves not only to drink a lot, but also to swim. But he can’t wet his coat, face and legs.

As for the feeding trough, it should have good stability, otherwise the animal will easily turn it over during its mischievous games. It is allowed to buy a feeding trough both from metal, and from ceramics with strong fastening. The design should be quite sturdy and heavy. Plastic models are best not to buy, as they will not last long.

In addition to the main feeder, a special hay compartment is also installed in the cage. So that the chinchilla always feels great and does not hurt, hay is necessarily included in her diet. Avoid hay from garbage installation of a separate feeding house. It is found on sale in the form of a ball of wire, but this option has its drawbacks - the animal will stick its head through the rods and may get hurt. Therefore, it is good for a sennica running ring, it is pre-closed and securely fixed.

An obligatory constituent element of a chinchilla cage is considered a house. It is a wooden structure, the details of which are fastened with glue or carnations. In the house, the pet will spend daytime sleeping. At night, the rodent will leave him and begin active games.

The house can be made not only from wood, but also from plywood., but in this case it will have to be changed often, since the “fluffy” will quickly gnaw holes. If you plan to contain several individuals, then you need to install one house for each of them individually.

We must not forget about such an accessory as a hammock. It often replaces the main place for their chinchillas to rest, animals like to sleep in peculiar “cribs”. Hammocks are easily sewn with their own hands from a fabric folded into two layers, which is usually used jeans and fleece. 4 holes are made at the corners of the tissue, metal chains are installed in them, which are fixed to the cell walls.

Since in the wild, the animal does not wash its fur coat with water, but with volcanic dust, with home maintenance it must be provided special bath, in which crushed zeolite, sand, talcum powder, medical sulfur, wood ash are poured.

The bath should be bought round in shape with a hole in it, the animal will arrange its bathing. Watching this process is quite interesting: the pet first lays on the sand, then at an incredible speed it begins to spin in it, creating unusual movements and thus cleaning its fur. It is strictly forbidden to replace special sand with ordinary river sand, when bathing in it, a valuable fur coat of a beauty will lose its natural luster and beauty.

For the pet you will have to buy toys and sharpeners for teeth in the form of a pumice stone and a special stone. Not simple pebbles, but sharpeners with admixtures of minerals and vitamins are well suited. They allow the animal not only to sharpen its teeth, but also help maintain its immunity.

To "fluff" does not get bored and lead a healthy lifestyle, set in a cage running wheel. It can be from any material, but it is worth remembering that the animal starts playing at night, so metal elements are not recommended. Over time, they will make an unpleasant creak that will bother the owners of the house.

For small cells, they additionally buy walking ballsby which the pet will be able to move freely around the room. In addition, rodents adore various funs, so their house must be decorated with ladders, tunnels, swings and suspension bridges.

The transitions between zones in the cell are often decorated with branches made of edible tree species, they are regularly replaced with new ones.

An important role is also played by the arrangement of space for the toilet. Chinchillas are clean animals and quickly become accustomed to the toilet. To do this, a separate place is allocated in the cage, it is covered with corn filler, special granules or sawdust.

It is advisable to purchase the filler without additives and flavorings, since rodents will eat it. A good solution is to install a finished toilet with or without a folding grate, any glass container is also suitable.

If the cages are large, they can be equipped with all of the above accessories, since there is enough space for this. As for the small structures, they are equipped with only the most necessary, and retractable plastic pallets are installed.

In addition, to improve ventilation in the cage, a grid should be placed on both sides of the structure. It should be made of steel wire, have rectangular or straight cells, as well as a corrosion-resistant coating.

You can familiarize yourself with the features of making a showcase cage for a chinchilla in the next video.