Can You Potty Train Chinchillas?

While chinchillas can be trained to do basic tasks, potty training is not one of them. According to the chinchilla breeders of Lowcountry Chinchillas, the animals are going to poop wherever they want.

  1. In Nature

    • Chinchillas are prey animals and are naturally tentative around other creatures. Because of this, they take time to tame and train. But with consistency and patience you can teach them how to simple tasks, such as returning to their cages on command or standing to receive a treat.

    Behavior

    • The good news is that chinchilla's generally pick one spot, most often a corner, to urinate in; they leave the rest of the cage relatively clean.

    Prevention/Solution

    • If you observe your chinchilla, it will be easy to figure out your chinchilla's "spot." You can then place something more absorbent underneath the bedding for easier clean up, such as newspaper or a "pee-pad."

    Upkeep

    • You do not need to clean the chinchilla cage every day. If you clean the cage once every week, everything will be fine. Pine shavings are also the best to use for bedding, as pine is chinchilla friendly (unlike cedar shavings) and it helps absorb the smell.

    Misconceptions

    • Due to the chinchilla's mousy appearance, many people think chinchillas are closely related to rats and therefore can be trained as such. Chinchillas, however, are a species of their own and have their own training standards. Chinchillas are native to South America, and belong to the chinchillidae family, a series of rodents with chinchilla-like qualities. It is more closely related to the degus than the rat.