We're the Internet's #1 chinchilla resource. Here, you'll find detailed guides on care and health, plus printouts you can use at home. All of our guides are backed up by owner experience and scientific research, and we aren't paid to sell products, post links or write reviews.
Chinchillas are susceptible to lots of health issues, bladder stones among them. But what causes bladder stones? And why are they so painful, even lethal? Can chinchillas get bladder stones? They can. Excess calcium and other minerals are excreted through uric acid (something found in pee). These minerals can form…
Wild chinchillas likely eat nuts and seeds, when they find them. So should you feed a pet chinchilla peanuts? And if not, why not? Can chinchillas eat peanuts? They can, but peanuts of all kinds are nutritionally unsuitable for chinchillas. That includes roasted nuts, raw peanuts, unsalted and salted, and…
If your chinchilla will not eat, you’re right to be worried. So, what is anorexia a sign of, and is it always serious? What can you do to help a chinchilla that won’t eat? Why is my chinchilla not eating? It is ill, likely with a digestive issue (stasis or…
Title image courtesy of J.F. Rabbits. Sometimes, chinchillas eat their own poop. But they only eat a special kind of poop called cecotropes. But how? Why? Won’t ‘cecotropes’ make your chinchilla sick? What are cecotropes? Cecotropes are a kind of partially digested poop that chinchillas eat again. The purpose of…
Most pets groom themselves, but do chinchillas? And if they do, what do they do—lick themselves, bathe, or what? And do they groom each other? Do chinchillas groom themselves? They do to an extent, but nowhere near as much as other pets like cats do. Chins will bite at their…
