A chinchilla’s natural habitat is in the Andes Mountains in South America. The climate in those mountains is dry and cool. Your pet chinchilla’s home environment should mimic its native one, so consider this when you think about cage placement.

Your chinchilla likes a dry climate, so find a place in your home where humidity levels are low. Keep the cage away from bathrooms because these raise humidity levels. The temperature should be around 60 to 72 degrees Farenheit. Avoid putting the cage by air conditioners, vents and direct sunlight. This will make the temperature in your chinchilla’s cage fluctuate too much.

Buy a thermometer with a humidity setting from your local hardware store, so you can monitor humidity and temperature levels in the cage. Pam Oldham, a chinchilla breeder, said, “A good rule of thumb is when the temperature degrees and the humidity percentages added up become 150, your chin is not comfortable and may be in trouble.”

You should consider safety and traffic. Don’t put your chinchilla’s cage in a busy hallway because it will be disturbed throughout the day. Be aware of predators in the home. Don’t make the chinchilla cage accessible to dogs, cats and other animals that could attack your chinchilla.

Make the cage easy to clean by putting it on a sturdy table. That way, when you clean it you won’t have to hunch on the ground. Be aware that messes will occur. You chinchilla might pee outside of its cage or get wood chips on the floor. “I often tell people to have a small Dust Buster close at hand to keep the small amount of mess cleaned up daily,” Oldham said.

Your chinchilla loves to be entertained and always wants to know what is going on in the house. Put your chinchilla in the family room or a place where it can observe the everyday actions of life. Don’t put it in an isolated room where it won’t be able to observe family members.

Keep these things in mind when you consider cage placement. Be aware of your chinchilla’s natural habitat and safety. You will know you have found the perfect spot for your pet chinchilla when it is happy and healthy.