Cage

Wire Cage : Grill spacing should be no larger than 2 cm. 1 cm is good for babies.

Glass or Acrylic cage : Must have enough ventilation. Preferable to be kept in aircon.

Cages with solid bottom is better than wire. If wire base is used, make sure there are houses or platforms so that chins do not need to stand on the wire all the time.

Cage Equipments

1. Heavy food bowl for pellets so that chin will not topple it.
2. Hay rack for Hay
3. Pee pan for bedding
4. Chew stone
5. Water bottle
6. Untreated pine wood or Apple tree branches as chew toys
7. Platforms and Hammocks
8. Hiding house
9. Running wheel

Cage Location

Always keep the cage at a cool location away from the sun. Chins get heat stroke easily. If you can provide aircon in the day will be ideal especially during the hot season, If you feel warm, you chin will be very hot. If temperature above 30 degree C, chances that chin will get heat stroke is high. If possible, try to reduce the humidity of the room.

Bathing and Grooming

You can dust bath your chin every other day. Always use chinchilla dust.

Put the chin into a container with cover (plastic tank is a good choice). Let it row a few times then remove it from the tank. The dust can be reused until it looks clumpy. If the chin urinates in the dust, do not reuse the soiled dust. Remove it and the rest of the dust can still be reused,

If your female chin gives birth, wait for 10 days before giving the mother and babies dust bath. When the mother gets her bath, the babies should too.

Comb your chin to remove matted fur. You should comb it in the reversed direction. Usually once or twice a month will be sufficient.

Unless your chin is very dirty, try to avoid water bath. It takes more than 2 hours to dry the chin using a hair dryer (cool air). If you have to water bath it, get someone experience to do it for you.

Feeding

Chin main diet is pellets (Oxbow or Mazuri) and Timothy Hay

On average a chin will eat 1 pound of pellets in about 20 days.

You can also feed it rice cereal with Nutrical,  Mega Acidophilus and Osteocare (liquid calcium) once or twice a week.

Other treat : Almond, oats, raisins, sunflower seed, alfalfa hay and dry fruits.

Treats must be given in moderation (2 or 3 times a week) if not the chin may have soft poo or worst, Diarrhea.

How to carry a chin

When carrying a chin, the main thing is to support its back feet. Do not move your hands too much and let it find its own balance.

Never grab a chin by the tips of his tail or it might break. If you need to hold it by its tail, always hold it right at the base where its tail meets the body.

Gender

Male

There is a space between the penis and the anus

Female

The two are side by side. No space between them.

Pairing or Introduction

If chins are not properly introduced, they may fight to death if put together too fast. Pairing is very stressful to both chins and owners. Best to get someone experience to help you do pairing. Lost of fur, fingers and part of the ears are very common during pairing. Pairing must be done slowly.

1. Place their cages side by side for a few days so that they can meet through the cage bars. Once they seem ok with one another, place them in a new cage. Make sure you are around to stop any fights. Best to keep an eye over them for first few days of pairing.

1. Place the chins in each other's cage for half a day and then switch cages. Repeat the procedure for a week or so. This is to let them get use to each other's smell. Then put them into the same cage to see if they can get along.

If both methods fail, look for more experience owners to help you do pairing.

Breeding

1. Chins are sexually active as early as 3 months. But preferably not to breed females until they are 8 months old or above 400g. She may not be big enough to deliver the babies. So females should be kept away from males until they are heavy or old enough. Sons should be separated from their mother and sisters by 3 months to prevent inbreeding.
2. Gestation period for chins is about 111 days. They can have from 1-5 babies. During the last few weeks of pregnancy, her nipples will elongate.
3. Mother chin will bend down and pull the babies out with her teeth. Babies can be born as much as 45 min apart or more. Mom might accidentally bite off a toe, a piece of ear or even part of baby's tail during birth.
4. Mom will expel a placenta. Some will eat it. It is alright, this will give them back the nutrient. If you are not comfortable with it, you can remove it.
5. Some father chins will help look after the babies. Mother chins will go into heat right after the delivery. If male try to mate while female is in labor then he should be removed. This is to prevent breed back and babies being crushed to death.
6. The male can be put back 4-5 days after delivery.
7. You can play with the babies. Mom will not mind.
8. No dust bath for mom during the first 10 days.

Illness

Heat Stroke : Chins will appear weak and walk as though it is drunk.

1. On the aircon and get a fan to blow at it.
2. Feed it some water through a syringe or dropper.

Fits or Seizure : Symptoms are similar to heat stroke.

1. Main cause is due to lack of calcium. Chin's teeth must be nice yellowish or orange. If whitish then they are lack of calcium.
2. Massage its neck and mouth region and slowly try to feed it some Osteocare.

Diarrhea : Flat or wet Stools. This may be due to :

1. Too much treats or sudden change of diet. Stop all treats and pellets. Let it eat hay only until its stools are back to normal then slowly introduce back the pellets slowly. Burnt toast or charcoal tablets are good cure for tummy upset.
2. Dirty water bottles. These should be wash and clean on a regular basis to control bacteria.
3. If all these don't work then your chin may have internal parasites. Round worms can be cured with panacur and Drontal. Giardia or Flagellates can be cured with Stenzil. It is best to send its stools for a Fecalysis Test which cost around $13.

Eye Problem : Chins often have minor eye irritations due to dust or scratches.

1. Minor eye irritation can be cured with tea. Dip a cotton ball into tea and hold it over the eye for a few min. Eye should improve by the next day.
2. Use antibiotics eye drops to treat the eyes. These can be obtained from the vets.

Fungus : Fungus can be contagious. You will notice bald spots and skin may look a bit scaly. It usually starts on the mouth, eyes and area near the private parts.

1. Bring it to the vet for a skin test. If it is fungus then give it Krisovin (Griseofulvin). It will take up to 80 days to completely get rid of it.
2. Its cages must be clean and disinfected daily and all wooded stuffs must be thrown away.
3. Athlete's foot powder can be used to prevent fungus but it may not always work.

Respiratory Inflection : If chins has runny or wet nose, bring it to the vet ASAP.

1. Chins may die due to flu.
2. If discover early, the chins will recover after some antibiotics.

Drooling : Constantly wet near the mouth eye  region and begins to smell. The chin may have teething  problem. Bring to the vet for dental check up.