Companionship
Chinchillas are highly social animals, so we do not adopt out chinchillas to live alone. We can assist with bonding for chinchillas being adopted from us to join an existing chinny, and support and advice after taking your chinchillas home will always be available, with full rescue back-up provided should any bonds fail.

Chinchillas adopted from us must always be housed with at least one suitable chinchilla companion.

Housing
Chinchillas require a large cage/enclosure and many marketed as suitable simply are not big enough. Ideally, we would like to see chins housed in large DIY enclosures with at least 1mx1mx1.5m space or even a specific chin safe room. 

The absolute minimum cage size we will accept is the Liberta Explorer (or cages of the same size). The Savic Royal Suite 95 and Critter Nation Double are also acceptable for chins, but the plastic shelves will need to be covered with fleece (or replaced with metal/wooden shelves) and regularly checked for any signs of chewing.

Chinchillas also need daily out of cage playtime, as they love to bounce around, jump off walls, and use you as a climbing frame! They live up to 15-20 years so this is a big commitment. Please ensure you have the time to provide chins with the care they need before taking any on.

For more housing advice visit https://www.tinypawsmcr.org.uk/advice/chinchillas/

Diet
Hay should make up the majority of chinchillas’ diets and must always be available. We feed a mixture of meadow hay and timothy hay, with the occasional addition of oat grass hay and readigrass or graze-on (dried grass).

Alongside hay, we feed a daily handful of dried or fresh forage (leaves, herbs, flowers, roots, bark, branches). Chinchilla Scientia has some great advice on feeding a ‘natural’ diet and research on the diet of wild chinchillas, including lists of safe leaves, herbs, branches etc.

Please read our advice pages for more info on diet: https://www.tinypawsmcr.org.uk/advice/chinchillas/

Health
Chinchillas are considered ‘exotic’ animals in the veterinary world and therefore need to be treated by an exotic vet if unwell. Adopters must have access to an exotics-savvy vet and have considered the potential high cost of veterinary fees. 

We monitor all animals in our care carefully for at least 2 weeks prior to adoption, and any concerns will have been checked out by an exotics vet prior to adoption. We can’t guarantee the future health of any animal (no one can!) but we will be open about any previous issues we’re aware of. 

Adoption Fees
Our adoption fees are minimum donations to help towards covering the cost of caring for our rescued animals.

Single chinchilla (to be bonded with adopter’s existing chinchilla/s) – £40
Castrated male chinchilla – £60 (castration costs us £130)

Discounts are usually offered where a ready-bonded pair/group are being adopted.

Adopters must be age 18+.

Bonding
We can provide up to 7 days of initial bonding for adopters adopting a chinchilla/chinchillas to join their existing chinchilla(s). We use the 24/7 neutral space method, which we find to be the safest and least stressful. We make no guarantees about any bond and are led by the individual chinchillas’ behaviour indicating whether each pairing/grouping is a good match. Adopters will need to be prepared to continue the bonding process on return home after the 7 days, following our advice and guidance. 
Bonding is offered at a minimum donation of £5 per day per adopter’s chinchilla to cover the costs of caring for your chinchilla(s) during their stay. Bonding is incredibly time consuming and resource-heavy (tonnes of hay and forage used!).