Having pets means that you have the responsibility of taking care of them.
Certain pets need specific care and that is the case with chinchillas.
Here are some things you should expect once you have a chinchilla.

- Some Foods Harm Them
Chinchillas are herbivorous creatures, meaning they only eat plant-based foods, and their digestive systems, like those of most other rodents, are complex and delicate.
You’ll notice that they like to eat early in the morning or late at night. Individual requirements will vary depending on your pet’s age, lifestyle, and health.
Chinchillas have delicate digestive systems and eat grasses, leaves, twigs, roots, and stems in the wild.
Chinchillas need a high-fiber diet based on grasses and hays to keep their digestive systems healthy as pets.
There are a handful of items that chinchillas are harmful to, so always double-check before feeding them.
Asparagus, avocado, peas, cabbage, corn, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, rhubarb, and rhubarb leaves are some of the vegetables that can be used.
Bananas, sunflower seeds, and peanuts are other harmful foods. This list is by no means complete, and if you’re unsure whether something is safe to eat, it’s best to avoid it.
Find a veterinarian who can help you with these issues.
- They Sleep With Their Eyes Open
It’s an understatement to say that chinchillas are light sleepers.
They are not only prone to being startled by the smallest disturbance, but they are also prone to sleeping with their eyes open, especially in unfamiliar surroundings.
You can read more about how a chinchilla is likely to behave, and you will be amazed by all the weird things that happen with them.
Assume your chinchilla is snoozing if it looks to be staring at you but is in a sleep stance.
- They May Need a Partner
In general, keeping a single chinchilla is not a good idea, and keeping at least two chinchillas is highly recommended.
A chinchilla can be kept as a solo pet in some instances. In that scenario, you’ll need to devote a lot of time and attention to your chinchilla.
If your pet is acting strangely, it could be because it is ill, but it could also be because it is lonely, so investigate further.
Females have a tendency for becoming aggressive to other females. They are mostly monogamous, meaning they only have one mate for the rest of their lives.
Males, on the other hand, have the ability to have a large number of female partners.
This is especially true in the case of domesticated males. One male is frequently bred with a large number of females in order to produce a large number of offspring.
- They Do the Same Thing as Other Rodents
Cages are used to keep chinchillas as pets.
These cages are similar to those used by other pets, particularly rats.
Furthermore, chinchillas require many of the same items that other rodents do in their cages (exercise equipment, food bowls, and water bottles).
- They are Nocturnal
For chinchillas, the day is night and night is the day — that is, they sleep most of the day and are up from twilight to dawn.
Chinchillas reside in burrows or rock crevices in the wild sites that provide safe havens for them to take refuge and sleep stress-free.
A pet chinchilla will appreciate a secure sleeping area in your home, such as a tunnel or hammock, where it is safe from prying eyes.

- Breeding
Chinchillas have a breeding season that lasts from November to May in the Northern Hemisphere and May to November in the Southern Hemisphere.
A pregnant female chinchilla will carry her children for approximately 111 days before giving birth. Females give birth to children twice a year.
They will have one to six babies each time they give birth. Litters are the names given to groups of chinchilla newborns.
Kits are the names given to individual newborns.
- They Do Not Take Conventional Baths
Chinchillas do not bathe in water like humans and other pets.
Their fur is too dense for water and takes so long to dry that it retains moisture near to the skin, creating a breeding ground for fungi.
Chinchillas do not bathe in water; instead, they bathe in dust.
Your pet chinchilla will enjoy a dust bath, but before you grab for the shovel to dig up some soil in your yard, keep in mind that chinchillas require special dust-bath dirt, which can be found in most pet stores or ordered online.
Chinchillas are not like other pets when it comes to taking care of them.
You need to educate yourself on how to raise them properly, what they like, and how to clean after them.
Hopefully, we were able to give you some insight into what you need to do.