Chinchilla enrichment: toys and boredom busters

What does chinchilla enrichment mean?

It means giving your chinchilla things to do that match how it is built. Wild chinchillas live in colonies of more than 100 on rocky Andean slopes, says Burgess, leaping between ledges and searching for sparse, tough food. A pet chinchilla with nothing to do gets bored, and PDSA warns that boredom can lead to behaviour problems, overeating and weight gain. The RSPCA adds that chinchillas left alone or with nothing to do for long periods may develop abnormal behaviour.

Chinchillas are most active at dusk, at night and early in the morning, so enrichment has to work when you are asleep too. That is why the cage itself matters as much as play time: it should be full of things to jump on, chew and explore. Our chinchilla cage setup guide covers the layout, and these are the parts that keep a chinchilla busy:

What are the best chinchilla wheels?

A wheel with a solid running surface, at least 38 cm (15 in) across. VCA calls a proper chinchilla wheel essential for exercise and preventing boredom, PetMD recommends a flat 15-inch wheel, and Burgess says to choose a large one with a solid base, not rungs. Rungs and mesh can trap a foot or leg, and a small wheel bends a chinchilla's back as it runs.

• At least 38 cm (15 in) across; bigger is fine.
• A solid, flat running track with no gaps or rungs.
• Metal, as Mazuri suggests, or another chew-proof material, because chinchillas gnaw plastic.
• Bolted firmly to the cage side or a heavy stand, so it can't wobble or tip.
• No gap between wheel and stand where a tail or foot could catch.
• Quiet bearings, if the cage shares a room with sleepers.

Not every chinchilla takes to a wheel, and Woodgreen does not include one in its home set-up list, putting the weight on space and platforms instead. If yours ignores the wheel, a bigger cage and longer play sessions do the same job. Our chinchilla wheel guide goes into sizes and safety, and the best chinchilla toys page has wheels and chews we would look at.

Safe chews and toys

Wood, hay and cardboard are the backbone of chinchilla toys, because chinchillas explore with their teeth. VCA says the smallest piece of any toy should be too big to swallow.

Burgess suggests washing branches from your garden and baking them on a low heat for about an hour before use. Rotate toys every week or two, as Chewy advises, so there is always something new to investigate.

Foraging ideas that cost nothing

The easiest enrichment is to stop putting food in a bowl. Woodgreen suggests scattering pellets around the cage, and PDSA and Burgess suggest hiding food in tubes and paper bags. Try these:

1. Scatter the pellets. Throw the day's 1 to 2 tablespoons across shelves and the cage floor instead of a bowl.
2. Stuff a tube. Pack a cardboard toilet or kitchen roll with hay and push a dried rose hip into the middle.
3. Bag the hay. Fill a plain paper bag with hay, twist the top and leave it on a shelf to be shredded.
4. Use a plant pot. Woodgreen suggests hay in a clean terracotta plant pot, which is also heavy enough not to tip.
5. Hide the herbs. Tuck pinches of dried dandelion, nettle or rose petals into the hay rack or under a hide.

Our chinchilla diet guide has the safe herbs and treats to hide.

Hides, shelves and tunnels

Chinchillas are prey animals and need places to escape anything that worries them. The RSPCA asks for at least one hide or nest box per chinchilla plus one big enough for them all to rest in together. VCA suggests tubes about 10 to 13 cm (4 to 5 in) across, and Woodgreen suggests wooden nest boxes lined with soft hay, and ceramic or hard card tunnels with no sharp edges. Our page on the best chinchilla hides has picks.

Wooden shelves are where chinchillas spend much of their time, leaping between them and napping on them. Woodgreen notes anti-pill fleece hammocks serve a similar purpose. Space them so no drop is more than 60 cm (2 ft), as Burgess and the RSPCA advise.

Out-of-cage play: setting up a safe room

The MSD Veterinary Manual suggests about two hours of supervised exercise outside the cage every day. Woodgreen says only start once your chinchilla feeds from your hand, so it will come back to you.

1. Pick a small room. A spare room or bathroom, ideally the one the cage is in. Close the door and block gaps behind furniture.
2. Protect every cable. Woodgreen says to protect all wires. Lift them away or cover them in chew-proof tubing.
3. Clear the floor. Remove houseplants, shoes, books and anything chewable or poisonous.
4. Add things to do. Boxes, tunnels, a low platform and the dust bath. Burgess suggests a playpen if you can't proof a whole room.
5. Keep other pets out. The RSPCA says never let chinchillas out when a dog, cat, ferret or large bird is around.
6. Stay with them. Sit on the floor and let them climb on you. Use a tunnel to guide them home, as Woodgreen suggests, rather than grabbing.

Toys and set-ups to avoid

• Ladders: Woodgreen says they can cause leg injuries.
• Hanging ropes, swings and parrot toys: can trap or injure legs.
• Plastic toys, shelves and tubes: chewed and swallowed.
• Wire or rung wheels, and wheels under 38 cm (15 in).
• Exercise balls: we found no good source recommending them, and a chinchilla in a closed ball can't cool down or escape a fright, so we'd skip them.
• A dust bath left in all day: PDSA warns long baths can cause eye problems.

Chinchilla chewing fur: is it boredom?

It can be. The RSPCA lists chewing fur, their own or another chinchilla's, as a sign of stress, alongside pacing and racing back and forth. PetMD lists fur chewing (barbering) among the common problems vets see. Look for short, chewed patches on the sides, flanks or near the tail, often where the chinchilla can reach.

Stress, boredom, a small cage, a hot room, bullying by a cage mate and diet can all play a part. More space, more to chew and forage, a quieter room and a cooler temperature often help. But see a vet first, because skin problems such as ringworm and dental pain can look similar, and a vet can rule them out. Our chinchilla behaviour guide covers fur chewing and other stress signs in more depth.

Why does my chinchilla sound like a squeaky toy?

Usually because it is talking. Burgess says chinchillas communicate with soft, high-pitched grunts, chirps, squeals and barks, and that a relaxed, bonded chinchilla may make excited squeaks. Quiet squeaks while exploring, eating or greeting a cage mate are normal chatter. A loud, repeated bark or squeal is different: the RSPCA lists barking and whistling noises as signs of fear or stress. If squeaks come with laboured breathing, a hunched body or not eating, see a vet.

For the whole routine around play, food and health, see our complete chinchilla care guide.