Raising a Chinchilla

  I was recently asked about raising a Chinchilla by someone I know.  Specifically, "How can I keep them from chewing on furniture?"

So, the first thing to say is that I haven't actually had much of a problem with furniture.  Chinchillas are rodents, with constantly growing teeth, and they need to chew stuff in order to keep their teeth from overgrowing.  Wood is one of the main things they like to chew on.  Having said that, I actually don't have a lot of wooden furniture.  

If you are someone with a lot of wicker chairs or something like that, then I would say you need to simply keep your Chinchillas out of the room containing those items.  This is mainly because if you left for a 5 minute bathroom break, then your chair could be compromised by the time you got back.  

I have a (probably fake) leather sofa from Ikea, and this sits flat on the floor.  There is no way for them to get underneath it, and nothing good to chew.  They could technically chew on the leather itself, not there are no pieces that stick out attractively, so they haven't done so.

I have a futon with a wooden bench, and they have not tried to chew that - probably because it is very, very hard wood and there are other things to chew on.

I have a bed, but that has a metal frame, so they don't chew on that either.  

1. Leather (or similar) Bags - If you have an expensive $5000 Louis Vuitton bag or similar, you should keep this far away from Chinchillas if you care about it.  Although I think we can be pretty sure that Chinchillas don't chew on leather in their natural habitat, they will chew on the handles and other parts that stick out of bags, leaving unsightly bite marks.  Putting it on the window silll or similar will not work since Chinchillas are jumpers, but this is actually easily enough accomplished by hanging it on a hook on the back of a door, on top of the refrigerator, etc.  Technically, they could still get to it, but they aren't likely to be quite that motivated.  At least if they do chew on your bag, it is still usable, and more importantly, not going to harm them.  

2. Cables - For our purposes there are two types of cables: High Voltage and Low Voltage.  High voltage cables include anything with line voltage (i.e. 100v in Japan).  For example, extension cords, and the cables going to your TV, coffee maker, etc.  Low voltage cables include USB cables, the cable for your laptop and WiFi router, ethernet cables, etc.  Note that cables with a "brick" in the middle are effectively hybrid cables, since they have a high voltage section on one side, and a low voltage section on the other side.  There are also "no voltage" cables like the fiber connection for most home internet in Japan.  

Some Chinchillas like to chew on cables, and some cables are more attractive than others.  If they chew on a high voltage cable: It could injure or kill them, trip the breaker, and obviously damage the cable.  It the cable is in a place where you can easily see it, and you can watch your Chinchilla 100% of the time, then fine, as you can wave them off if they seem a little too interested in it - but bear in mind - it may only take one second for their sharp teeth to slice through the insulation.  If you are watching TV or go to the bathroom, then they are in danger.  Even a Chinchilla that has never chewed on a cable before might suddenly decide to have a try.  Cables in places you can't see (like under the TV or behind the sofa) are worse, as you probably can't see what they are doing, and they may chew the cable little by little over time.  

Low voltage cables are much less worrying, as your pet is much less likely to be injured.  At the same time, though, this can still be very annoying, since you will be left puzzled with questions like:  "Why doesn't my phone charge today?", "Why doesn't my internet work anymore?"  One of my pets loves Eithernet cords for some reason.

3. Baseboards - Basically anything made of wood, grass, or paper that sticks out will be a target, and baseboards are perfect for chewing because they are at a good height, and usually circle the entire room.  That means there will be some hidden section behind the sofa, etc, where they can chew without you noticing.  In my experience, this is the most likely thing to be chewed.  

4. Other Edges (stairs, corners, etc) - Corners on the wall, and wooden stairs are also likely to be attacked.  Perhaps not aggressively, but little by little over time.  

5. Loose wallpaper - If you have an area where wallpaper is peeling even a little bit, they will find it, and enjoy peeling it off the rest of the way, eating it as they go.  This is bad not only for the appearance of your house, but also for them, as I am sure the glue used in most wallpaper is not eactly healthy, and may even be toxic.  

6. Tatami - Many Japanese homes have at least one room with Tatami flooring.  Since this is flat, they usually don't chew on it, but if they urinate on it, it's hard to clean.  

Prevention and Mitigation:

1. L-beams - I don't know the official name for these, but you can buy plastic or metal L shaped beams.  The plastic ones are specifically designed to put on corners that stick out, usually with the intention of preventing scuffs and dents.  These also work to prevent chewing.  Longer metal ones work well to cover the baseboards.  Double-sided tape works well to attach these in place.  

2. Cable shrouds.  Armored cables exist, but these are usually overkill and only necessary for cables that would run into their cage.  (For example, a heater).  I have seen these armored cables on extension cords (to prevent dogs from chewing them), USB cables, etc.  

Converting all of the cables into your house into armored cables is probably not feasible or economic, but you can add cable shrouds instead.  Multiple types exist, including the split loom type, wrap-around type, soft zipper up type, braided nylon type, etc.  In my experience, the split loom type works best, as it also increases the diameter, which seems to decrease the attractiveness.  This works best for things like TV sables, etc., where the extra bulk is not important.  The wrap-around type seems to work best for things like laptop cables, USB, etc., there the cable is more likely to be visible to you.  The cables should be inspected periodically even if they are protected, because obviously Chinchillas can still chew plastic.  

Bear in mind, if there is a small section that is unguarded, they will go for that.  For example, I used the zipper up soft style sleeve to protect my internet router, and it had four ethernet cables coming out of the router and going into it.  That means that the cables were wider than the sleeve where they come out of the router due to the spacing of the port.  This maybe 2cm was unprotected, and so they always try to chew there.  

If you do have an unprotected cable that you see any damage on, then you want to inspect the damage and act accordingly:

a. If ti is only slight damage to the external insulation, then wrap the affected area in electrical tape, and put it in a cable sleeve immediately to prevent further damage.  If they have already chewed it, then they are interested and will probably chew more later.  

b. If it is more severe damage (i.e. to the inner insulators or metal conductors), then you need to repair or replace the cable and replace it with a new one that is in a sleeve (or armored).  

You can also use those boxes that they sell to put outlet strips in, so as to prevent them from chewing around the plugs.  

Also of course, try to locate cables in a place where they can't get to them in the first place.  For example, I mount outlet strips to the bottom of my desk.  USB cables, etc., should be run over your desk and not drape down to the floor.

3. Sprays and dabbers - There are sprays that are sold to prevent chewing.  These are supposed to taste bad, and are usually flavored with bitter apple, wasabi, or some kind of spicy peppers.  The idea here is that they are offensive, but not toxic.  The effectiveness may vary greatly depending on the brand, "flavor", and your pet.  For example, I researched online and found that a lot of people said that the green apple spray worked great for their Chinchillas.  I sprayed this on the wall there my pet, Pikachu was eating the wallpaper.  The next time I let him out, I found him licking the wallpaper, so it appeared he liked the flavor.  (Though, I suppose licking is better than chewing?)

4. Barriers - You can try to erect a barrier to keep them away from places they shouldn't be.  For example, I had outlet strips with lots of cables under my TV stand.  I just wrapped the whole thing with chicken wire to prevent them from even going in there.  I have seen a number of people who basically put some kind of fence along the wall to prevent any chewing (but I have never see any of my Chinchillas tty to chew a flat wall anyway).  Bear in mind that Chinchillas can easily jump over a meter high if properly motivated, so short fences are unlikely to stop them for long.  They are also very clever and will find a way around just about anything eventually.  

5. Distraction - Your pets are much less likely to chew on things around the house that you don't want them to if you provide them with things that are even more attractive.  This could be pumice stones, apple tree branches, etc.  These things tend to be in the "overpriced but still very cheap" category.  A small bag of apple or pear tree branches will set you back $3 - $5 and keep their teeth busy for a while.  

6. Observation - I believe that Chinchillas should generally be let out of their cage at least a few hours per week for exercise and quality of life - but I don't recommend leaving them out all the time without supervision.  No room is 100% Chinchilla proof unless it was built just for that purpose.  If appropriate measures have been taken, then you can leave your Chinchillas in a room for 5 minutes or so, but don't go away for a weekend trip with them on the loose.  You can be sure that when you get back, they will be injured, something will be damaged, or both.  

A final note:  In my experience, Chinchillas tend to be the most destructive when they are around 2 years old.  This of course probably varies by individual, but If you have a 1 year old that seems not to be a chewer, you may find that things change 6 months to. year later when he suddenly seems intent on demolishing your house and clearing it of all cables.  Likewise, by the time your pet hits three years old, they will probably be much less aggressive with regards to chewing, but that doesn't mean they will stop entirely.  

Conclusion:  Chinchillas are very rewarding pets, but their drive to chew, combined with their intelligence and ability to squeeze into any place and jump quite high means that you do have to protect your property, and them.