It is not recommended that wild Chinchillas per kept as pets but there is no harm in keeping a domestic chinchilla. Because these animals are so small they tend to be skittish and really aren’t a good pet for young children you may become startled when they hold a small animal.

Chinchillas have a long life span of about 15 years but if you take very good care of them they have been known to live 20 or more years.
Like guinea pigs, chinchilla’s squeak, bark or chirp to communicate, for every situation they are in they use a different form of communications. They can bring out a calm loving sweet chirp when they are content or they can bark when they are aggressive or they are scared.

To house a chinchilla it is recommended that a large cage be used; if possible make sure there are shelves in the cage because chinchillas like to climb. You can put toys into the cage like wooden toys and a wheel if you like but do not put any mesh of any kind in their cages because their nails can get stuck. Never put any plastic in the cage at any time. If a chinchilla like a guinea pig and a rabbit can get plastic caught in their intestines.

Make sure the cage has good circulation; chinchillas do not sweat so if there body temperature goes over 75 degrees Fahrenheit they can overheat or suffer from heat stroke. Make sure they take a dust bath once a week. They sell the dust in pet’s stores, it is the only way a chinchilla will clean their fur. Never bathe your chinchilla in water, they cannot dry themselves internally, so if they get wet they water may turn to mold in their fur.