Chinchillas are active little guys. Even though they’re small rodents, chinchillas need to get out of their cages sometimes to move around. These guys love to jump, and with their strong hind legs, even the larger chinchilla cages can’t give them enough room to handle that jumping.

It’s important to give your little guy room to run around in, this should be done only in a room that is closed off and prepped for his safety and never without you there with him. You would be surprised how tiny of spaces these guys can go through, so if there are any gaps or cracks leading to somewhere he shouldn’t be plug them up first.

Before any running around though, make sure you’re comfortable handling your chinchilla. When it’s time to get back into the chinchilla cage, you want to be comfortable picking him up without getting attitude in return. If he isn’t ready to get back in, then just put some food infront of the cage to bait him back in.

If you are confused on a good room to use, the staircase is a great choice, just block of the sides with baby gates and your guy will love running up and down the stairs. If the idea of giving so much freedom to your chinchilla is scary, a rodent ball is a great idea too. Still block off a floor space to keep a good confined area but now you know he won’t be chewing on wires, or jumping over gates.

Make out of cage playtime a normal event. Your chinchilla will get used to it and become more behaved when going in and out of the cage, and you can use the time as a perfect opportunity to clean his chinchilla cage out.