The back of the body of the red-cheeked chinchilla is sandy-yellow from the top of the head to the base of the tail, or gray-yellow, mixed with gray-black tones. Body back with yellow-white ripples, or no ripples. Brown or rust stains on nose, upper edge of eyes, in front of and above ears, and cheeks. Body side, neck side, medial side of fore and hind limbs, dorsum of feet and ventral surface are light yellow or straw yellow.

The tail hair of the red-cheeked chinchilla is sandy yellow or light brown in color above and below, or has tricolored hairs on the back . The base of the hair is brownish-yellow, the secondary hairs are black, and the tips are yellowish-white. The ventral surface of the tail is two-colored, the base of the hair is brownish-yellow, the tip of the hair is yellowish-white, and there is no black sub-terminal hair, only showing a yellow-white ring.