How to Keep Chinchillas Safe from other Pets

Chinchillas can make excellent pets, with proper care. Part of proper chinchilla care is keeping your chinchilla safe from all other pets in your home—including other chinchillas. If you have multiple chinchilla pets, this means providing a means of separation and privacy for each chinchilla. If you have cats, dogs, rabbits, or any other type of household pets, chinchillas should be kept in a completely separate area for their own safety. Creating a dedicated chinchilla habitat away from other pets will help your chinchilla enjoy a long and stress-free life in your home.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Setting up a Safe Chinchilla Habitat

Chinchillas will gnaw on anything, and can easily chew through a plastic cage. A wire and mesh cage is the recommended caging to keep your chinchillas secured and safe.^{[1]XResearch source}
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Provide separate nesting boxes for each chinchilla you own. Chinchillas are sociable animals within-species, but they can still become afraid or anxious around their fellow chinchilla cagemates. Having a private space where each of your chinchillas can retreat, hide, and rest within the shared cage is critical for the chinchillas’ wellbeing.
- You can buy or build a nest box. It is simply a small wooden box with a round opening large enough for your chinchilla to crawl inside. If you are building your chinchillas’ nesting boxes, check to make sure the wood you select is safe for your chinchillas.^{[2]XResearch source}
- If your chinchilla becomes aggressive with his or her cagemates, research shows it is likely due to a lack of exercise or a cage that is too small. Try getting your chinchilla a larger cage, or giving your chinchilla more access to an exercise area.
- A tunnel can also make a good hiding place for your chinchilla, so it’s a good idea to provide a tunnel or two in your chinchillas’ habitat.^{[3]XResearch source}
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If your chinchillas perceive a threat outside their cage, they will want to hide and rest together. In addition to their individual nesting boxes, a larger shared nesting box will allow your chinchillas to soothe each other during moments of fear or stress.
Chinchillas should be kept as a same-sex pair or group from birth, or you can group one castrated male chinchilla with multiple female chinchillas. If you want to pair chinchillas of different litters, do so while the chinchillas are still very young for the best chance of compatibility.
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Monitor your chinchillas’ interactions for signs of aggression. Both related and unrelated chinchillas inhabiting the same cage should be monitored for signs of cagemate aggression, particularly around the time of sexual maturity. Watch for aggressive behaviors to make sure your cagemate chinchillas are not a danger to each other, as chinchilla infighting can result in serious injuries or death.^{[4]XResearch source}
- Signs of aggression in chinchillas include: teeth chattering, growling, and urine spraying.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Keeping Other Pets Away

Chinchillas and other species are known to have behavioral incompatibilities that could result in physical harm to your chinchillas. Chinchillas also have very unique needs in their habitat, which makes caging them with other animals impractical and potentially dangerous.^{[5]XResearch source}
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Give chinchillas their own designated space in your home. The chinchilla cage should be set up in a room that your other pets will not be allowed to access at any time. Having an off-limits chinchilla area will greatly reduce the risk of physical harm to your chinchillas from your other pets.
- Chinchillas are a prey animal, and other house pets such as dogs and cats are predators. Your other pets will experience a natural instinct to hunt and kill your chinchillas if given the opportunity.
- If your other pets have a particularly strong predator instinct, keeping those pets out of the chinchilla area may prove difficult. Anticipate this possibility in advance, and implement multiple means of separation if necessary based on your other pets’ temperaments.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Not only will the physical presence of other pets upset and potentially harm your chinchillas, even the scents and smells associated with other animals can be distressing to your chinchilla—triggering fear and anxiety. It’s best if your chinchillas are consistently out of range of the sights, sounds, and smells of other pets.
Transporting your chinchillas to another area of your home to access their exercise area increases the possibility of interaction with other pets in the home. Reduce the risk—set up your chinchilla exercise area directly next to their cage in the chinchilla-only area to avoid encounters with other pets.
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Do not let other pets play with your chinchillas. An occasional playdate between chinchillas and other pets is never a good idea. Even if your other house pets are sweet and gentle with the smallest of animals, you should still keep them separate from your chinchillas at all times.
- Although you could supervise your other pets and their behavior around your chinchillas, a moment of forgetfulness and neglect on your part could be deadly for your chinchillas. Don’t risk it.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Pet cats and dogs can be carriers of the bacteria Pasteurella, which can be deadly to your chinchillas.
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