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Chinchillas
by Paulina Barbour
by Paulina Barbour
I've owned a variety of pets over the course of my life, but the animal I most enjoyed petting was a chinchilla. My first encounter was as a child while visiting an uncle who owned one. His chinchilla would sit still to be pet and he had allowed me to hold her. My recollections of the visits to his home are of sitting on his sofa and petting her quite contentedly for as long as I was allowed. Those childhood memories had not been forgotten as an adult and I made the decision to purchase my own chinchilla because I still remembered her fur and how much I had enjoyed petting her.
The fur of the chinchilla is wonderfully smooth and silky, perfect for petting and there is really nothing to compare it to, which is why many of us want them as pets. Along with this incredible fur, comes the fact that they have no dander, making them ideal for those who may have sensitivities to other fur bearing animals. The fact that chinchilla fur is so thick brings a surprising and pleasant advantage because it is so dense that fleas can't live in it. Fleas would suffocate in this ultra thick fur, so as the owner of a chinchilla, you would never encounter a flea infestation.
A chinchilla's face looks much like a mouse with huge ears topping it off, somewhat reminding me of a Mickey Mouse costume. Their body shape is similar to a rabbit's, with a tail that could be compared to a squirrel's although I don't think it looks quite as full and fluffed out as the squirrel's tail does. When fully grown, a female chinchilla should weigh less than 1.5 pounds; she is usually the larger of the pair and they can live as long as 20 years.
Throughout the relatively short history we have of chinchillas, the most notable thing about this timid creature is their fur. Their territory originally included the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, but Chile is the only place they can now be found. The very thing that attracted and intrigued people has caused them to be trapped for that fur, to the point of near extinction and placed on the endangered species list.
There are two species of the members of the rodent family that we call Chinchilla. The one we would keep as a pet is the Chinchilla lanigera which has a longer tail than its relative. Chinchillas are native to the Andes mountains where sparse vegetation, little rain and lots of rocks would be their habitat in the wild.
In the wild they are social animals, never living alone. This practice, as with many animals, is for the safety and security that being a member of a group provides. One would stand guard while the other forages for food, then they switch positions or duties, affording each other the opportunity to eat. The male is the overall guardian in the wild, with a tendency to be a bit more aggressive than the female would be. This is their normal life in the wild and the instinctual tendencies continue as pets. In captivity, the female may not do as well on her own as a male would. This factor is one that I would encourage you to consider prior to purchase of a lone chinchilla, simply due to the stress it may create in a single animal. A companion to live with is always best for a chinchilla.
Although chinchillas are generally healthy pets, needing minimal veterinary care, they do have some basic requirements which would need to be considered. They need to have a very tall cage that is spacious enough for climbing as well as running and jumping. Most people who keep chinchillas as pets take them out of their cages for some period of time each day to interact and allow their pet to roam a bit. In order to do this, chinchillas need an area where the tendency to chew on items such as electrical cords or toxic materials would not be a problem.
Dietary requirements are a bit different than for most pets. They require little water, in fact it is not recommended that they get wet, but chinchillas need a specialized dust bath to maintain both their fur and health. The small amount of water they do need for drinking should be distilled water, because tap water may contain bacteria that our body can handle, but would cause digestive upset for your pet.
The main food they eat in captivity is specialized pellets quite similar looking to rabbit pellets, but the chinchilla diet is not alike enough to the rabbit to substitute rabbit pellets as rabbit food does not provide the nutrition chinchillas require. The chinchilla pellets need to be supplemented with hay cubes; each cube will last them a few days, along with a seed mixture to which vitamins and minerals have been added. Additional treats for your chinchilla can be such things as special treats that are made specifically for them and handy right there in the pet store, or as simple as a box of raisins. Many chinchillas like plain Cherrios and UNsalted peanuts in the shell among other things. Salt can be harmful or even fatal to a chinchilla.
Bedding would complete your shopping list, but be sure it isn't pine as this also contains a resin which can harm the chinchilla if they chose to give it a taste test, which they probably would just because they so love to chew!
Once the initial expense of covering all the basic requirements had been met, I found my chinchillas to be relatively inexpensive to maintain compared to other animals. This is due in large part to the fact that they are so small and eat so little compared to more common pets.
I've covered only the basic items here, but if you think you see some potential in having a pet chinchilla of your own, I would encourage you to do a little more investigating. I'm including a couple of links to chinchilla specific websites that have massive amounts of wonderful information that could help you make that final decision!
http://www.chinchillaplanet.com/
http://www.chincare.com/
The fur of the chinchilla is wonderfully smooth and silky, perfect for petting and there is really nothing to compare it to, which is why many of us want them as pets. Along with this incredible fur, comes the fact that they have no dander, making them ideal for those who may have sensitivities to other fur bearing animals. The fact that chinchilla fur is so thick brings a surprising and pleasant advantage because it is so dense that fleas can't live in it. Fleas would suffocate in this ultra thick fur, so as the owner of a chinchilla, you would never encounter a flea infestation.
A chinchilla's face looks much like a mouse with huge ears topping it off, somewhat reminding me of a Mickey Mouse costume. Their body shape is similar to a rabbit's, with a tail that could be compared to a squirrel's although I don't think it looks quite as full and fluffed out as the squirrel's tail does. When fully grown, a female chinchilla should weigh less than 1.5 pounds; she is usually the larger of the pair and they can live as long as 20 years.
Throughout the relatively short history we have of chinchillas, the most notable thing about this timid creature is their fur. Their territory originally included the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, but Chile is the only place they can now be found. The very thing that attracted and intrigued people has caused them to be trapped for that fur, to the point of near extinction and placed on the endangered species list.
There are two species of the members of the rodent family that we call Chinchilla. The one we would keep as a pet is the Chinchilla lanigera which has a longer tail than its relative. Chinchillas are native to the Andes mountains where sparse vegetation, little rain and lots of rocks would be their habitat in the wild.
In the wild they are social animals, never living alone. This practice, as with many animals, is for the safety and security that being a member of a group provides. One would stand guard while the other forages for food, then they switch positions or duties, affording each other the opportunity to eat. The male is the overall guardian in the wild, with a tendency to be a bit more aggressive than the female would be. This is their normal life in the wild and the instinctual tendencies continue as pets. In captivity, the female may not do as well on her own as a male would. This factor is one that I would encourage you to consider prior to purchase of a lone chinchilla, simply due to the stress it may create in a single animal. A companion to live with is always best for a chinchilla.
Although chinchillas are generally healthy pets, needing minimal veterinary care, they do have some basic requirements which would need to be considered. They need to have a very tall cage that is spacious enough for climbing as well as running and jumping. Most people who keep chinchillas as pets take them out of their cages for some period of time each day to interact and allow their pet to roam a bit. In order to do this, chinchillas need an area where the tendency to chew on items such as electrical cords or toxic materials would not be a problem.
Dietary requirements are a bit different than for most pets. They require little water, in fact it is not recommended that they get wet, but chinchillas need a specialized dust bath to maintain both their fur and health. The small amount of water they do need for drinking should be distilled water, because tap water may contain bacteria that our body can handle, but would cause digestive upset for your pet.
The main food they eat in captivity is specialized pellets quite similar looking to rabbit pellets, but the chinchilla diet is not alike enough to the rabbit to substitute rabbit pellets as rabbit food does not provide the nutrition chinchillas require. The chinchilla pellets need to be supplemented with hay cubes; each cube will last them a few days, along with a seed mixture to which vitamins and minerals have been added. Additional treats for your chinchilla can be such things as special treats that are made specifically for them and handy right there in the pet store, or as simple as a box of raisins. Many chinchillas like plain Cherrios and UNsalted peanuts in the shell among other things. Salt can be harmful or even fatal to a chinchilla.
Bedding would complete your shopping list, but be sure it isn't pine as this also contains a resin which can harm the chinchilla if they chose to give it a taste test, which they probably would just because they so love to chew!
Once the initial expense of covering all the basic requirements had been met, I found my chinchillas to be relatively inexpensive to maintain compared to other animals. This is due in large part to the fact that they are so small and eat so little compared to more common pets.
I've covered only the basic items here, but if you think you see some potential in having a pet chinchilla of your own, I would encourage you to do a little more investigating. I'm including a couple of links to chinchilla specific websites that have massive amounts of wonderful information that could help you make that final decision!
http://www.chinchillaplanet.com/
http://www.chincare.com/
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How? It's easy!
Privacy policy:
Your email address is safe;
we NEVER share our list.
