It's highly recommended that Chinchillas have some out of cage play time, a minimum of 3 times a week, but every day would be awesome! Not only is it good for them physically by allowing them to stretch their legs, but also mentally!
Play time should be supervised. A great place to have play time is in a bathroom, just make SURE the toilet seat is closed! A wet chinchilla is a very unhappy chinchilla - getting wet will require 2-3 hours to towel dry, then use a hair dryer on cool to get their fur dry again. If you ignore a wet chinchilla, harmful fungus or bacteria can grow in the moist environment of a wet chinchillas skin. Or, even worse, chinchillas can drown or be poisoned with the chemicals remaining from toilet bowl cleaner, or the invisible bacteria that grows for human waste.
Other places for play time would be hallways, bedrooms or, even, living rooms. Wherever you decide, please be sure its supervised. Chinchillas are notorious for getting into trouble! If you are limiting their area, you can use a wire fence, corral or even with cardboard (just watch out for them chewing on it). As for height, all chins are different. Some never attempt to climb or jump out, while others are constantly looking for ways to get out - climbing /jumping over, digging under, or even finding a weak place and pushing the seams apart. Whichever way you contain your chinchilla, be sure to supervise and watch for is chewing on electrical cords, baseboards and, pretty much, anything else they can reach! 😅 The only place NOT to try is taking them outside! And DO NOT use those plastic balls advertised as great for chinchillas running around... in the chinchilla world, we call them a death ball. Chinchillas can easily over heat in them, not to mention the running with 💩poop & pee floating around with them, GROSS!
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Joey, owned by Tina Sauer Harshbarger
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