Chipmunks as Pets
Modified: 30-11--0001 00:00:00
What Are They Like As Pets?
Chipmunks can make very entertaining pets. One thing is very important for these animals, however, and that is to make sure they have a sufficiently large enough cage for them to exercise and run around in. It is cruel to keep them in a cage designed for smaller animals such as gerbils and mice.
Like chinchillas and other small "prey" animals they are nto especially cuddly, but with handling will come and site on your shoulder.
What Do They Eat?
Jjust about anything. Many pet stores sell a special chipmunk food which is a mix of maize, peanuts, sunflower seeds, wheat, flaked peas, pine kernels etc. etc. They also eat: peanut kernels (we enjoyed watching them open them), bird seed, dried or fresh bananas, carrots, dried apricots, apple, peas, sweetcorn, tomatoes, grapes, animal treats, dandelion (leaves and flowers), grass, flies, chicken, cabbage, cucumber and so on. In fact they seem quite happy to eat just about anything you put in the cage!
They are very cheap to keep as you will be able to give them left overs from dinner - particularly the vegetables and all the peelings from the veg before you actually ate it.
What Do They Do?
They run around the cage a lot, they eat, they run round their wheel, they do acrobats on the tree branches they have in their cages, they sleep .... they make a racket when getting ready to mate, and the LOVE to dig in potplants and store food for the winter. And chew. They like to chew. On your furniture. On your curtains.
Chipmunks are delightful little animals when you let them out of the cage as they run up your legs, sit on your head, chew your feet and have a particular fancy to towels and dressing gowns. If you have a chipmunk let him/her near your dressing gown - they love the towelling material
What Should I Put In Their Cage
Though small animals, they need a large enclsoure. Don't buy a cage suitable for a rat, even though your chipmunk may be a similar size. They need far more space to jump, climb and run around. Recommended is a large TALL cage. They take up less floor space than a normal cage, and your chipmunks will be able to run up and down the cage.
There are a few essentials that should go in every chipmunk cage and most are fairly inexpensive to buy.
You should provide a nesting box for each adult. Ideally the boxes should be off the ground and at the same height in the cage. This will help prevent one chipmunk from becoming dominant over the other. They will usually arrange their own nest so all you need to do is provide them with suitable bedding material and leave them to sort it out. We put a layer of sawdust in each nest box and provided fresh hay, small animal bedding (there are 2 types; one is like cotton wool and the other is like shredded J-cloths), paper tissues and empty toilet roll holders.
Clean their cage out regularly but it is recommended that you only clean the nest box out twice a year and definitely not if you suspect the female is expecting a litter. Your chipmunks will likely empty, clean and replace their own bedding in anyc ase on a regular basis.
Always provide fresh water in an animal drinking bottle that can be attached to the inside of the cage. It is pointless putting a bowl of water in the cage as it will inevitable get dirty and be knocked over. It doesn't seem to matter where you hang the water bottle as they always seem to be able to find it - we hang ours next to the food bowl, a logical place to be really.
The food containers should be fairly sturdy - stainless steel or pottery - so the chipmunks can sit on the side to eat without tipping it over. We also hade several plastic food containers that hang on the bars - these are usually sold in pet shops as bird food containers.
Provide 'toys' of some sort or another. Lots of branches for climbing on and chewing. Don't use eacaltpus branches, the oil they contain does not agree with the chipmunks. They will gnaw at the wood so you need to make sure it won't splinter too easily or cause them any injury. Rope ladders and a rat wheel are also essential. Consider suspending the rat well from the roof of the cage, to make it more of a challange for your chipmunks to reach it.
Other than these essentials, you will find other animal 'toys' that probably amuse you more than the chipmunks. One fun thing to put in is a small plastic window box that can be tied to the cage bars. Fill this with compost or dirt and stand well back. Chipmunks love to dig and it won't take long before they start. All you will see is a tail sticking out of the compost as the chipmunk burrows down into the box. Note: this can get very messy as they throw the compost everywhere!
Who Can Live With Who?
When the Chipmunks are young they will live quite happily with either sex but as they mature into adults there are some rules that you will be well advised to follow.Males will generally live together quite happily if they are introduced an early age (or are from the same litter) unless there is an uneven number of females in the same cage. If you are going to mix males and females then ensure that the number of females is either equal to or out-numbers the males. It is not a good idea, for example, to put 2 males and 1 female together as when the female is ready for breeding, the males will fight over her. Ideally you should have 2 females and 1 male, that will keep him happy anyway! Females seem happy to live together regardless - I have introduced a young female to an adult without problem.If you are not sure how an adult Chipmunk will react to a stranger then be aware that you may end up having to buy a second cage to keep the new Chipmunk in! It is preferable to buy 2 Chipmunks (1 male a 1 female) whilst they are still young so you won't get any problems. Do not, however, buy the Chipmunks from the same litter if you are intending to breed them.
Breeding
Chipmunks are not that easy to breed. They do not breed until they are at least 1 year old and then they only breed twice a year. This is good news if you do not want loads of Chipmunks running around but bad news if you are desperately waiting for 'the patter of tiny feet'.Generally you will know when the female is ready to breed as she 'chirps' continuously and it will probably drive you bonkers(so make sure you can move their cage to the laundry if you want to get some sleep.
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