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Cages, products I like, and sites that look ok to me. #s correspond to articles that expand on something I briefly mentioned here.
Not affiliated with any of these. If it looks fishy, question it.

Lifespan Discussion¹ on Paw Talk forum.

Overheating/Drafts² on Greenwood Chinchillas UK

Chincare³ has info on chinchilla nocturnal behavior and compatibility with other species. Please consider section on rabbit/chin disease.

Chinchilla cages are a serious bitch to find. The ones specifically marketed with a picture of a chinchilla on the box, if you visit your local pet chain, are unacceptably small and usually made of things they will destroy in short order. The cage takes a lot of shopping around and in all honesty is 100x harder than finding a decent chinchilla. I've never worked in a store that sold a decent chinchilla cage that was less than $500, and nobody bought that cage. Expect to spend a minimum of $300 on a good chinchilla cage. The bare minimum of size is definitely not good enough for your pet to act as it would naturally and get the appropriate exercise for its health and mental well-being.

Other recommended chin reading:
Chinchilla Club's FAQ
Grizzly Run's Chinchilla Page
Chin overview page with cute picture :D
Pet Chinchillas
The above sites should help with further research, as this is only the briefest look into chinchillas and my personal recommendations on them as pets. Sites are always changing, so use your judgement.

Cages To Look At

36x24x48 cage. If you look more closely at the cage, there are obvious problems with putting a chinchilla in there. It's great for the animal, space wise. At least in comparison to other cages available on the market. It's wire instead of plastic, which is a must. Chinchillas can chew at a ridiculously fast rate. Plastic cages will be destroyed in short order. The most readily apparent issue is that the pan is far too shallow. Chinchillas don't walk; they fly! It's hard to understand how a healthy chinchilla rips all over the place until you've seen one first-hand. Bedding will fly. Even a chinchilla kept in a cage with a pull out tray will find ways to throw things and the owner should expect to clean up kicked-out bedding if the chinchilla isn't kept on wire.

Another thing to keep in mind is that chinchillas will find a way to take a turd or two on a toy or something and kick it out of the cage. They sell litter boxes for chinchillas (and every other animal that isn't a bird or fish). They say "these can be litter trained" in books and on websites. My advice: Do not count on it! Be prepared to clean up things that have been thrown out of the cage.

Wire is damaging to their feet. Horribly damaging. An animal that spends twenty years of its life standing on wire is going to have serious problems. Chinchillas require that the wire is covered in some places, to allow them to rest. These will be the places your chin collects their turd arsenal.

Final thoughts: Reiterating: Not a beginner's pet. See hamster if you're getting your first pet and it must be a mammal!

yay! and now I goes blah blahblahblahblahblah...

There are animals that can make great pets for the right person. Those will be dealt with in-depth. And some people just shouldn't have pets. Nothing wrong with that. Pets are a responsibility that takes money, time, and some education. They're a hobby and then some. So if you read up and you're getting tones of, "You shouldn't be doing this", don't take it as an insult. Maybe it's not the right time in your life for a pet. You'll be doing the animal and yourself a favor, in that case, if you reconsider owning one.

Above all else, remember: These are living things we are talking about.

~ Dana

Proudly not a member of peta since forever

All of these articles start with personal experience and end with research. I am not paid by anyone to write and I don't host ads. The point is to answer the most common questions I'm asked, and to have somewhere to point to so I don't have to answer them over and over. Hopefully, this helps some people and animals. There is no hidden agenda, I don't work for PETA, and none of the articles contain pop-up ads for Petco. If I suggest a site or store, it's just a suggestion and they don't pay me.

Chinchillas

First, the basics:

♣ captive life: average 15-20 years, but many live well past 20 ¹
♣ max size: 10-14" not including tail.
♣ diet: high-quality commercial diet, timothy/alfalfa hay mix (always available) and very small amounts of safe treats.
Chinchillas have very specific dietary needs and many avoidable vet bills and injuries are the result of not taking this into consideration.
♣ temperature: 60-70°F ²
♣ space: 24x24" floor space, min with at least 3 feet of climbing space. The upward space should have shelves and ledges. I strongly recommend against the minimum, in case you end up with a no-touch chinchilla that prefers to stay in the cage. They have strong personalities and many do not wish to be held, but it's fun to watch them play in a large cage. Also, chins who don't exercise don't live as long!
♣ Nocturnal. Need a quiet daytime place with dark places to hide and not much noise. Stress-related illness and behavior such as fur-biting can result from constantly interrupted nocturnal cycle.³

This isn't all-inclusive. See side-bar for further # info.

What's a chinchilla?!!?!1

Well first I should say what a chinchilla is not:

  1. Not: A beginner's pet.
  2. Not: Low maintenance or inexpensive to care for.
  3. Not: Your average pet or for taking out on a leash.
  4. Not: For people with asthma or bad allergies.
  5. Not: A cuddly pet
  6. Not: Recommended for a bedroom.
  7. Not: Like any other pet you've ever had!

Ok those are a few of the many things a chinchilla isn't. People often have very unreal expectations for these and other exotic animals, so I figure it best to nail those right off the bat.

A Chinchilla Is...

  1. Exotic: Chinchillas are an exotic animal, alongside species like sugar gliders and opossums. They have very specific dietary and environmental requirements that must be carefully met. Most chinchillas do not live out their full lifespan in captivity because these needs are not met. It is absolutely possible to keep a chinchilla and have them healthy and happy! They are, however high maintenance animals and I do not recommend them for the average person at all. They're just so much money and work. Finding a decent vet who actually understands chins can be a real nuisance.
  2. Unpredictable: People like to post videos and anecdotes of the chinchilla that is friendly and wants to play for treats. There are chinchillas that will run out of their cage and bounce up onto a shoulder. These aren't the average chinchilla. The average healthy young chin wants to run, play and explore. Once they are comfortable with their environment and with the patient and quiet owner who gives them ample time to acclimate, they will likely come out and investigate the person. This part is so COOL! :D They'll nibble your fingers, tug at your clothes, maybe eventually leap into your lap and stand up to investigate your body. Then, once they've satisfied that curiosity they'll likely run off and start looking for electrical wires to chew and furniture to hide under. Treats help keep a chinchilla interested for a limited amount of time, but should be given very sparingly. Chinchillas aren't like dogs and it takes a ton of patience to get many chinchillas to interact with people at all.
  3. Crepuscular: A chin is a nocturnal animal that gets extremely active at dusk and dawn. They're highly active and can be very noisy for something that doesn't bark. Well, alright they actually do bark and make other vocalizations but it's not like a dog barking. The real challenge to your sleep schedule will be the bouncing around and throwing stuff. Some like to drag things against bars! Chinchillas don't run on their wheel... they bounce in it lol. A chin's goal is to make that thing blast off!
  4. Fast: You are not prepared O_O
  5. Active: I can't stress this enough. Chinchillas need the mother of all cages. They need ledges for bouncing off of and new things to chew and shred apart. Chinchillas may bark or cry and moan when they're depressed. Others will just be silent and lay around listlessly or even bite their own hair off. Chins in captivity who aren't allowed to go about their natural routine of dashing around like they're hopped up on something make crappy pets at best. An animal that naturally likes to blast off for no reason shouldn't have to stop at two feet to avoid splatting into the wall!
  6. Funny as hell: Chinchillas, if kept properly, are clowns. Maybe not all of them, and maybe not to all people. Pet people know what I mean when I say this: It's just you and I laughing when the dog does "that face". It's sort of like that. Chins are little crazy guys. They fly all over the place, bounce when they're happy. A chinchilla kept properly is a dude who will show you how he feels about life via wild interpretive dance. If you're the type who can spare the cash, doesn't mind cleaning up, has a quiet home and can afford the space and time it takes to care for a chinchilla. Well, I say consider it in your list of options.

Read up on other sites to find out what the common ailments, recommended diets, best products for chinchillas are. Make sure you understand how their fur works because it's thicker than that of any other animal in the world (more hairs per follicle) and does require special care. Chinchillas need dust baths. Their teeth also need to be filed down by offering them things to chew. I prefer lava rocks. This isn't a chinchilla website. This article is just my point of view on chinchillas as pets. Take everything you read on the interwebs with a grain of salt. If you can find it written ten times, it's probably true. If you find it written ten times verbatim... watch out for delicious copy pasta. People who do that don't always know what they're talking about.

Links in the right sidebar. Make sure you know what you're getting into before you spend an arm and a leg on a very expensive pet.

Un-linked titles are articles being written or revised.
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Not all pets are created equally. And not all animals should be kept as pets. In fact, most animals don't do well in captivity at all. My personal definition of a species that makes an acceptable pet is one that thrives in captivity. Otherwise, leave it to the zoos to keep them and only in my humble opinion to breed them if the population is threatened.

Remember: The girl at the Petco counter or someone on Yahoo Answers saying "I keep mine in a bird cage!" doesn't qualify as sufficient advice on the purchase of a pet. And advice and anecdotes don't qualify as research. Remember: A $10 book to keep near the cage is much cheaper than a $300 vet bill!