Pet Chinchillas
You may wish to consider a chinchilla as a possible pet. They are of the rodent family, (but it doesn’t seem that way).
Also known as “chins” they have incredible velvety fir, and they resemble a chubby squirrel with Mickey mouse type ears. They are nocturnal, although they do get up and play alot during the day. Chins are very smart and playful, and I’m told can be trained. They are also very clean, so their cage area doesn’t tend to stink as many other types of caged animals can.
I got my first pair of chinchillas, as adults, a proven breeding pair. They were nice enough but they never really did bond with us. We ended up having 3 litters total. They usually have 1-3 babies (also known as kits), and their pregnancy is 111 days (about 4 months), which is a very long gestation period for an animal that size.
Kits are born fully formed “rearing to go” so to speak. They are fully furred, eyes open and running around within minutes of birth. They can even eat adult food nearly from the first day, although they prefer to nurse.
Chins eat a pelleted food called chinchilla food. They should have 1 raisin a day as well which they love as a treat. Every couple days, give them a bowl with chinchilla dust in it and watch out! They roll and swirl and play like mad in their “bath”. It is a blast to watch, always great for company to get a laugh.
The real joy for us came as we kept one of the babies. She bonded really well with us, as she was handled a lot from birth on. She has been one of the BEST pets I’ve ever had (of any kind of animal). She is playful, friendly, never bites, when she “barks” it’s a quiet, cute kind of bark. A whole lot of personality and character she is.
Chins aren’t so much of a quiet, lap pet who will sit there quietly, but are more active on the move pets. If you can get a baby over an adult I believe they bond better.
Another very nice quality about chins as pets, is they have no claws or fingernails. They have these little soft pads on the bottom of their feet, so you don’t get scratched. I wouldn’t recommend them with small children however, as young children could easily hurt a chinchilla.
The average lifespan is about 10-15 years, they do need to be indoors or climate controlled setting. They come in many colors but standard gray is the most common. The rare colors will usually cost more. Because of their long life span, be sure you are ready for the commitment.
When we were looking for good homes for the babies most people who came to look had never seen a chin before and really knew nothing about them. The ones who did know had one thing is common; they had either previously owned a chin or knew someone close who did. That really says something about chins as pets.
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