By nature, we're nocturnal. However, we do like playing with our humans and are happy to adapt our routine to suit you. That's as long as you then stick to the routine, because we like to know where we are.

We need lots of room in which to climb, run around and play. A metal cage is best as we can chew through wood and even plastic! A cage with a slide out bottom will be much easier to clean. Put a layer of woodshavings onto the tray, but make sure your chinchilla never comes into contact with soiled bedding, which will spoil his fur. If you've never had a chinchilla before, it's best to start with just one. Never try and put two males or two females in the same cage.

Unlike you humans, we don't bath in water, but in dry powder. It's much better for us and is very important to keep our fur nice and clean. Let your chinchilla spend around 10 minutes a day in a metal bath filled with Charlie Chinchilla Bathing Sand - it's lovely stuff!