Cage - Can you keep a chinchilla in a dog cage?

Can you keep a chinchilla in a dog cage?

I have a male chinchilla but i want to get a female and keep it with him but im not sure if they will get on and all that. So ive got a dog cage! Im not sure if he can chew through the bars or escape from it. The gap between the wires are 3cm. Please help me

Public Comments

I dont see what the problem is as long as u give it all its nesecityys such as there dust to baith in and food water make sure they can get out...and enough breathing space.
Why don't you consider the animal welfare before thinking of your own entertainment? A dog cage wasn't really designed for a chinchilla was it, if it was it would be called a chinchilla cage. My best suggestion is to invest in the correct cage/hutch. I think an aviary or a rabbit hutch would be better, ok. Talk to a professional as well, not Yahoo Answers. Sorry.
Putting a male in with a female is not a good idea. They will start breeding and you didn't mention having any kind of pedigrees or health certificates for them. What does your breeding mentor have to say about this? Females who live with males become bossy and usually harass the male constantly. They can injure or even kill them. That's why most chinchilla breeders will separate the males from the females as soon as they are bred. And no, a chinchilla needs a more appropriate cage than a dog cage. Chinchillas need multi-story wire cages where they can get a proper amount of exercise. Unless you have a proper breeder mentoring you, you should not get a female chinchilla unless you are going to get it a proper cage and keep it completely separate from your male.
Dog cages are not safe and neither is at home breeding!!! It is extremely expensive messy and requires a TON of research. Please please please don't breed them. Leave that to the people who already breed them. You can however get the male neutered. Don't get the female spayed.
Rebecca gave some excellent advice. A dog cage is absoultely not an appropriate cage for a chinchilla. Breeding chinchillas is not for everyone and can be a very heart breaking experience if things go wrong.
yes you can, im a vet and i consider it as long you shelf it and add entertainment
No, I would not keep a chin in a dog kennel. I am seriously disturbed by what "vets" and "vet techs" have to say about chinchillas on Yahoo answers. It would appear to me that they are clueless as to the care and husbandry of the particular animals they are giving "expert" advice on. The bar spacing on a kennel is too far apart and a chin can easily get through it or get stuck in it trying. Not only that, but dog kennels sit on the floor. I am assuming since you have a dog kennel, you have a dog. Chinchillas are prey animals. They are used to staying up to escape from the animals that would prey on them. Putting them on the floor with a dog roaming around can cause behavioral issues to develop such as biting, spraying, fur chewing, etc. That isn't to say it will, but it can, and it just isn't worth it IMO. As far as breeding, because that is what you will be doing if you put a male and a female together, I hope you have done proper research into creating offspring and are not doing this as an impulse thing. Your female could kill the male as soon as you put them together. Having kits could kill your female. The kits could die (I held a 3 day old kit from 10:00 p.m. until it died at 3 a.m. this morning for absolutely no reason). There could be birthing complications that result in a large veterinary bills ($500.00 and up for a C-section and spay). There could be hand feeding every 2 hours around the clock, for a minimum of 3 weeks. That means if you have school, work, a family, a social life - tough. The kits come first. So you set your alarm clock and you get up every 2 hours to hand feed. Aside from all that - are both chins pedigreed and come from a reputable breeder? If they are pet store chins, please, don't breed them. Without a pedigree you have no way of knowing what their lines are, no way of checking to see if they are free of malocclusion, heart murmurs, or fur chewing. You could be breeding two animals who will give birth to offspring who will die painful deaths because you don't know their lineages and if they contain malocclusion in their lines. Have they been evaluated by a competent breeder or judge who can tell you if they even should be bred? Look at petfinder.com. You'll see plenty of chins that backyard breeders produced who now are looking for homes because no one wants them. A reputable breeder won't buy them. Most pet owners don't want them because they don't know where they came from or what their health history is. So there they sit, just begging for someone to adopt them. Please, do more research before you decide to breed, and if your female is a beloved pet, be aware of the risks before you choose to breed her. A few links you should consider reading before you breed: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/sh… http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/sh… http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/sh… http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/sh… Please read through them carefully so you make an informed choice. I am not picking on you. I say this to all people who want to start breeding. Too many people think it's all fuzzy babies and cuteness and it just isn't. There are days I do nothing but weep and wonder, again, why I ever started doing this. When you lose a favorite female, or hold that dying kit. When a male you really were attached to gets attacked and dies from blood loss and shock. I wouldn't want anyone to go into this without being completely informed on what could happen. If you just want companionship for your male, either get another younger male chinchilla or get him a stuffed animal to cuddle up with. A chin safe stuffed animal is often times a good substitute for a live critter to share the cage. You can even make your own out of fleece and stuff it with fleece. If you buy one it needs to be flat (like cotton or fleece), have no plastic eyes or noses, no loose threads, no inappropriate stuffing. If you want to get him a friend, get a younger male to try him with, but be aware that it often times just doesn't work out, whether you add a male OR a female to the cage. Some chins just do better alone. So you need to have an appropriate, chin safe cage to house the newcomer in, just in case. If you have more questions and want to ask them of experienced pet owners and breeders, please join http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com. You must be 14 to register, due to COPPA regulations, but you can read any of the topics without being a registered member. If you can't find what you are looking for, please email me and I'll do my best to answer your questions.