are chinchillas good pets?

Question

I live in a relatively small two bedroom flat. (We don't have a garden) Would one be a nightmare?

Answer 1

They are wonderful pets. But they have to have dust baths about every other day to stay healthy and the dust is a fine type of lava stuff. So when they take a dust bath it goes all over the place. So if you like dusting then it is okay. Hamster or rat would be less messy. And cats can live in smaller places like you describe and are much more affectionate than a chinchilla.

Answer 2

We have had our Chinchilla a few months now. We keep him in a large rat cage, approx £100 from local pet store. The cage itself is plenty big enough but we do let him out in the room (not the garden) where he plays and runs round quite happily. There are some foods they can't eat and need good water but you can pick up books easily enough about keeping them. I would recommend it if you can let him out of his cage. (But they're buggers for getting into small spaces and love chewing through cables).

Answer 3

not a good idea chinchillas need lots of space and do not do well cooped up in a cage. They are active at night and do not like to be disturbed in daylight. They are also very distructive and will chew anything. A friend of mine had loads of them but had them in a spare bedroom where they could roam free at night and go to their cages when they were ready to sleep . Given plenty of chewing material may stop them wrecking the house but they can't tell the difference between your stuff and theirs and can soon damage the electrics in your home. Buy a book or go to the library before you buy any pet, it is amazing how you can go off a choice of pet once you realise how hard it is to care for them

Answer 4

Chinchillas are really sweet, but very timid. They also have a tendency to have a rather musky smell, which may pervade throughout the flat. Something to consider. Air sprays are not a good idea as these can affect the health of the chinchilla.

Answer 5

Chinchillas are awsome pets, i have two , be sure to have a big enough spot for a cage thats big enough for it, so it gets plenty of exercise.. ive even heard of ppl litterbox train them b4...go 4 it , and as for the smell , they do sell a dust bath whitch can be set in the cage a couple of time a week, and its funny as hell to watch
..if you do get one its better to raise it from a baby..it will be less timid and more friendly

Answer 6

I was thinking about having Chinchillas as pets myself but they need a big cage ( and I do mean big! ) you really need two and they are not cheap .They are nocturnal so will be active when you're trying to sleep so you need to be some distance away. Perhaps hamsters would be a better bet.

Answer 7

No, they certainly are not. They're vicious m'f***ers which will attack anything with their teeth, including you. My son had pet ferrets, and they're nice creatures compared with chinchillas, but they killed all our pet birds and our next door neighbour's ducks, so we had to snuff them. Yes, one would be a nightmare. The only good reason for owning chinchillas is for their fur. They are good at escaping. You need very well-constructed cages.

Answer 8

Chinchillas are wonderful pets but expensive and require time. They are nocturnal animals though. Their cages take up a fair amount of room and if you don't have room for one it may be a problem especially at night, they will keep you awake.

Answer 9

they make good pets but without a garden they would b a nightmare

Answer 10

How about buying a large aquarium and keeping gerbils? They're great pets, take minimal looking after and will eat a wide variety of cardboard.