Chinchillas are downright cute animals, so it’s no wonder why many people love to keep them as pets. Perhaps you’re considering the option too, and trust us, with a chinchilla at home, you’ll never lack entertainment.
However, before you bring in a darling little rodent at home, you must know about some crazy things they do. Let’s start by telling you that chinchillas throw their poop around. Many chinchilla owners will testify to this fact.
But let’s also put you at ease by telling you that there’s a reason why chinchillas tend to throw poop around. Keep reading below to find out why!
Chinchillas Throwing Poop
Chinchillas have this dirty habit, but they do it only out of stress or frustration. You will find your chinchilla pet generally pooping around when they are anxious or stressed.
For instance, if this rodent is unhappy with the food you provide, you’ll find them expressing it by throwing feces out of its cage.
However, the good news is that not all chinchillas tend to have this habit. And even those who do have it don’t throw it very often. So you can brace yourself to clean chinchilla poop only on some days.
You can also prevent your rodent pet from throwing poop by ensuring nothing makes them feel frustrated, scared, disappointed, depressed, anxious or stressed.
If anything triggers one of these unsettling emotions, or if you don’t devote too much time to your pet, you might as well get ready to wipe poop off the floor. One of the ways your neglected chinchilla might try to grab your attention is by throwing its feces around.
We understand that this habit can be quite unacceptable and discipline is necessary, even for darling pets.
But no matter how angry you get at the sight of chinchilla poop in your home, we advise you against smacking the naughty pet. You would only end up making the pet angrier, triggering more poop-throwing episodes.
- Poop Throwing – Other Possible Reasons
Besides lack of attention from the owners, several other reasons could trigger a chinchilla into throwing poop around. For instance, staying alone for longer might make a chinchilla feel stressed.
The reason is that these rodents are very social animals, and if pet owners keep them in solitude, away from other chinchillas, the rodent begins feeling lonely. The lack of socialization makes them vulnerable to depression and stress.
Secondly, chinchillas are somewhat sensitive animals and do not calmly make loud noises and bright lights. These can trigger stress in your pet, who is an animal that generally tends to monitor its surroundings very closely.
Hence, any power light in their zone might irritate the pet. So can loud noise, which could trigger stress in a chinchilla after startling them.
Then there is also boredom that could trigger a poop-throwing tantrum in chinchillas. We told you that the naught little rodents are sociable animals. Apart from this characteristic, these pets also possess bursts of energy.
If the chinchillas don’t get many opportunities for climbing, running, and expanding on their energy, they could likely feel bored.
If the pet is in its cage, for the most part, it can begin feeling restless and bored. And how do they cope with it? They start throwing their poop, of course!
- Frequency of Chinchilla Poop
Here’s another fact to brace for: chinchilla pets poop a lot. But before you change your mind about adopting one, let us tell you that their poop is odorless. You can count on no bad smell in the house if your pet has undergone a poop-throwing frenzy at home.
The best part about chinchillas is that their odorless animals and easy to keep at home. So you can clean the poop easily and without feeling nauseated.
You wouldn’t need rigorous cleaning supplies or stressful fashion to clean the poop. Your home will also not carry a pungent odor for extended periods after your pet has thrown poop.
Secondly, you can give the chinchillas a dust bath, and you can pretty much count the hygiene requirements met for your rodent pet.
You can also keep your little pet out of its cage for at least an hour or two daily. This will allow it to release its pent-up energy and not feel confined, unengaged, and un-socialized for long.
Another practice you can maintain is to keep your chinchilla’s cage clean as often as possible. Once you sense that your pet has already pooped, don’t leave the poop inside for too long.
By cleaning it up immediately, you’ll not give your pet any chance to find poop in its cage and start throwing it outside.
- Tips to Prevent Your Pet from Throwing Poop
The good news is that you can maintain several practices to prevent your pet from throwing poop around. Some of these tips are as follows:
– You can create a loving and fun-filled environment for the pet. Try to keep another chinchilla or two as pets, so there is no place for lack of socialization or boredom.
– Since chinchillas are sensitive to their environment or surroundings, you should try to keep them in the right room. Make sure there is no excessive sunlight or loud noises in the room where the cage is.
Final Thoughts
Chinchillas are adorable creatures to keep as pets. The best part about these rodents is that they’re relatively cleaner than other animals. They are odorless; even though they poop frequently, they do not cause a bad odor.
The only naughty habit these creatures can have is that they tend to throw poop around. But several triggering events could send the little rodents into poop-throwing episodes.
Being interactive and social creatures, chinchillas like to socialize with others, consume their energies and spend time with their pet parents. If deprived of these, a chinchilla could start throwing poop around.
