Do Chinchillas Pee? Everything You Need To Know About It

Chinchillas are one of the few animals that can be considered truly domesticated. They are highly social animals living in colonies and have various interesting behaviors.

Do chinchillas pee? Yes, chinchillas pee like other animals. Most of the time, they pee in their cage in a single place every time. Also, chinchillas spray urine when they feel threatened. It is also a sign of avoiding other chinchillas whom they don’t want to be accompanied by.

That’s a glimpse of a chinchilla’s behavior that you need to be careful about, especially when you get closer to them. However, here I will discuss in detail why chinchillas pee and how you should deal with that.

Why Do Chinchillas Pee?

Animals must adjust water balance and remove nitrogen and unwanted salt through urination. Chinchilla, a small mammal also goes through a similar approach to keep the water balance in the body.

Chinchilla’s pee whenever they need to. It depends on their activity and the amount of water consumption. So, it is hard to say how often chinchillas pee, but generally, it is 4-5 times a day. Mostly they pee in a single place in the cage and do not make a mess all over the cage. However, the behavior can vary among individuals. In that case, you should make a bigger case and solve this issue carefully. You need to change the bedding once a week or, likewise, to get rid of bad smells. Indeed Chinchillas do not like smells, which can make them uncomfortable living in the cage.

Also, when a Chinchilla gets scared, it can spray pee. It can happen while you are handling it. Thus, you can get into that awkward situation, like I have many times!

Where Does a Chinchilla Pee?

Usually, they pee in the cage. They will pee on the bottom bedding if you have a multiple-level cage. The good news is they used to pee in a single place rather than messing around the cage. Also, they do not like a bad odor. Thus, it would be helpful to have multiple levels in the cage to ensure a better living place for them.

Also, if you take your chinchillas out of the cage, they can pee on the floor or other surfaces. But that is a totally unusual case unless you’re keeping chinchillas out of the cage for more than an hour.

In addition, if a chinchilla gets excited, it can pee instantly, regardless of the place. That is also related to spraying pee.

Do Chinchillas Pee Everywhere?

No, they tend to pee in a similar place. However, if there is no scope to do so, they will pee anywhere. So, it could be the cage or play area. If you know its behavior, you can assume the pee timing and interact according to it. However, they can act unusual if they get scared. Overall, you can say that Chinchillas do not pee everywhere unless they are bound to.

Do Chinchillas Pee When They are Scared?

Yes, it is a common sign of a chinchilla getting scared. Regardless of the place, it will pee immediately as a matter of self-defense. This behavior often seems to occur for the newly captivated chinchillas. Since they do not have the experience of interacting with a human, it will get them scared, and eventually, they will pee.

Sometimes when you approach to take them out, they will do the same thing. If they treat you as a threat, it is a big chance to pee on you. Also, they will spray pee all over you to get rid of unusual threads.

Why and When Chinchillas Spray Pee?

Whether it is a human or other threat, they will spray pee to get rid of it. That is a self-defense behavior of chinchillas. And it is a common sign to leave them alone. However, that can happen for other reasons too.

In the wild, female chinchillas spray urine to determine their territory. Also, when a male chinchilla tries to get closer, the female chinchilla will spray urine to get rid of them.

Do Male Chinchillas Spray Urine?

Fortunately, no. They do not spray urine and live in a group, while females are more territorial. It is the same reason to pee around the cage to define the territory.

Also, chinchillas can spray urine on the food if they do not like it. However, it is the least reason to spray urine.

Do Chinchillas Pee Smell?

Unfortunately, chinchillas’ pee smells bad. If they pee all over the cage, you will get a strong odor that can be uncomfortable for both the chinchillas and you. That is why you need to clean the cage once a week to get rid of the unusual smells. Also, if you have potty-trained chinchillas, you will get less odor since they used to pee in the litter box.

image Source: facebook.com/groups/chinchillaowners/Ashley

In addition, you can add fleece liners on the bottom to clean the cage. And you need to clean the fleece every three days to stay hygienic and odorless. If you want to potty train your chinchillas, make sure to do that at an early age. When you get chinchillas in your home, give them a few weeks to adjust to the environment, then you can train them to potty in the litter box.

With That Said

Indeed it was enough to state that chinchillas do pee like other animals. However, it is one of the vital signs of their behavior. And if you do not know the reason for urination, it can be harmful and uncomfortable for their lives. Since they pee to avoid something, you have to act accordingly.

If you’re trying to handle a chinchilla on your hand and it pees on you, it is better to get it back in the cage and leave it alone. Also, you have to clean the cage and bedding regularly to eliminate unusual smells arising from the chinchilla’s pee.