Sand bath

[Jasmine]

Dear pet consultant,
Would appreciate your help. I am a new owner of two cute chinchillas. I have not tried sand bathing them yet. May i know what appropriate equipment should i get for their sand bath? For instance what is a flat pan? Suitable for them to utilise? Thanks so much!

[Pet Care Consultant]

Hi Jasmine,

You may use sand bath to your chinchilla, regardless of the brand, as long as it is intended for chinchilla, it is fine. For sand bath, 2 things are needed.  One is the sand bath and the second one is the pan or bathing ceramic house. 

These ceramic chinchilla bathing house are flat bottomed.  This means that the bottom part of the "pan" don't have a wire mesh and it is really intended for sand bathing a chinchilla.  A gentle reminder: Don't leave the sand bath at all times, remove and clean it as soon as your chinchilla finished their bathing session.

For other related information, please visit and talk to our Pet Care Consultants in all our PLC outlets.

Warm regards,

Eliezer M. Bauzon, DVM RN

[Jasmine]

Dear Consultant,

thanks for the reply. I have been to PLC to enquire about the bath house and staff had recommended the ceramic one as plastic is not so ideal since the chinchillaa might bite. However, the ceramic bath house is not very wide and my chinchillas are about 1 yr old, will they have sufficient space to turn themselves in the bath house?
Also the staff suggested to put the bath house in the cage for approx an hour to 2 (as i have 2 chinchillas) for their bath, however my chinchillas' previous owner used to bring them out and put them in a clear tank for their sand bath, will they get used to the new ceramic bath house or how should i train them to use the new bath house? Also, the male chinchilla does not like to sand bath itself thus i am worried by using the new ceramic bath house, he might totally not sand bath on his own. Any advice?

Thank you very much!

Best Regards
Jasmine

[Jasmine]

Dear Consultant,

My pet chinchillas like to chew at the metal cage. May i know if its alright? I have other chewing toys for them but these two days they seem to like the cage more than the toys.

Would greatly appreciate your advice for this post and the previous post on the suitability of the bath house.

Thank you so much!

Best Regards
Jasmine

[Pet Care Consultant]

Hi Jasmine,

It is a common situation wherein chinchillas chew on metal cages.  It may cause serious injuries if left unchecked (example, sharp broken metal parts of the cages on long period of chews). We suggest to use chew block/ stone or wood as it may help.

There are also product that helps deter your chinchilla from chewing the metal cage. These are the chew deterrent spray made from natural plants which are bitter, hence correcting the chewing habit of your pet.

For other related information, please visit and talk to our Pet Care Consultants in all our PLC outlets.

Warm regards,

Eliezer M. Bauzon,  DVM RN