Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Cages => Topic started by: Kmac on February 08, 2015, 05:44:25 PM
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currently my two chins stay in a cage and I let them out into a bedroom that is completely theirs. I am wondering if I could leave them in the room permanently instead of putting them back in the cage. I would cover the walls with cardboard and/or sheets so they can't chew paint. Nothing is in the room except for their things and a futon. Is there any reason this would not work? I would really appreciate opinions, I am getting a third chin and I do not feel like my current cage is big enough for three.
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That might not be a good idea because you will have urine and feces scattered throughout the room which seems like a health hazard to me. Also opening and closing the door to the room without knowing there might a chin on the other side can be very dangerous and may lead to the accidental injury or escape of your pets. It is not too uncommon for pets to get accidentally stepped on or tripped over and killed under normal conditions. Having a chin proof room is nice and being able to let them out in a controlled manner is good for them. I don't recommend you leave them out indefinitely for the aforementioned reasons. I strongly recommend getting a second cage that is an appropriate size. You will need one anyway for the introduction period (which sometimes doesn't always work out) and it is recommended to have one available if one of them gets sick or needs to be separated for any reason.
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I'm no expert but I used to have rabbits who where litter trained with their own room, and it was messy! If it's carpeted then it'll be torture to you. All the little poops, hay, and food spills will be impossible to clean up. And from my understanding they like to jump and climb, which is why they really need a cage with many levels. If it's a smaller hardwood flooring room, then I'd say as long as there's nothing they can chew on and hurt themselves, then go for it if you really want. I'd definitely leave the cage in there and have it open though. I follow "Mr. Bagel" on instagram and I'm pretty sure I've seen on posts that she lets her chinchilla roam the entire house all the time and she posts videos of him all over the house lol. Different things work for different owners I suppose.
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Thank you for the feedback! I'll add a few things. I let them out in the room almost daily and all day on the weekends when I can. I haven't had any problems with it other than having to cover up the doors to prevent chewing. I vacuum the room occasionally and will probably carpet clean every once in a while but they mostly pee in specific areas so I would just put litter boxes there. I have two cages. the one they are in now would stay open and have food water hay and litter box. Also, I open the door slowly when I go in. And I wouldn't start keeping them in the whole room until they are bonded. They would stay in their own cages for a few days with separate free time, then supervised free time until I'm confident all three are comfortable with each other.
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Just one last warning here. Chinchillas are not like rabbits. They are extremely fast, do not run in straight or predictable paths, and are dead silent. If you step on one or crush one under the door when you open it I assure you it won't end well. I know of several now on our board that have been killed accidentally and it wasn't from abject negligence. Use extreme caution when chinchillas are out. Especially in your circumstances.
Also initial introductions should be made where you can easily and efficiently pull one out of a fight situation if it occurs. I wish I could be there to see all of that. It sounds like an exciting experiment and I hope it works out. Please keep us updated on the result.
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If the door opens in put a dog/baby gate up so you have some measure of protection when you open the door. You could build something of safe wood and wire if the door opens out. This also applies to when you let them out like you've been doing and go in and out the door. Sheets are a bad idea. They will chew them and the strings from the fabric can kill them. That's why we use fleece that is small pieces put together with no thread. Flannel sheets might be fine but fleece off the bolt is cheap so it's an unnecessary risk. I would also choose fleece over unsupervised cardboard that can cause impaction if they eat too much. A similar problem, which we don't have because I abhor carpet, is if they get bored they might eat carpet. This may happen all of a sudden. They might not touch the carpet for weeks and then someone will go "I'm bored and this has an interesting texture". Suddenly you lose several inches of carpet which goes in to a chin. I have seen them do it with wood houses and hay boxes. They are fine for months and then one morning the house is collapsed in one direction from a side being chewed out or the hay box no longer has a front. Personally I would not try this with carpet. I have been debating it in our all wood rooms. Particularly for a chin that has behavior problems.
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A simple answer no.the reasons are to numerous to list.