What is a Chinchilla?

Chinchillas are small, quick rodents, native to regions of the andes mountains. They can make excellent pets, but do require special attention. They have very soft hair, which makes them very popular in the fur industry, and come in a variety of colors, the most common be gray. They have long tails, mouse ears, and are very quick.

Where can I purchase a Chinchilla?

The best way to find a chinchilla is to look online and find a breeder near you, or a breeder who can ship to your area. It is usually better to buy a chinchilla from an established breeder. Its beneficial for many reasons, like getting the chinchillas family history.

If you do buy a petstore chin, I recommend getting it checked over by a vet upon purchase, and its not recommended to breed petstore chins.

How much do they cost?

Depending on who and where you buy your chin from, prices generally range between $100-$300. Cage prices vary from $60.00 dollars and up. Food is relatively cheap, at the petstore you can get a bag of Mazuri Chinchilla Food(2.5lbs) for $6.99. If you have multiple Chins I would recommend buying in bulk (25 lb bags) for it is much more inexpensive.

Do they need shots?

Chinchillas do not require vaccinations, and since their fur is so dense, they cannot carry fleas.

Are they smart?

Chinchillas are very smart, and have good memories. They interact with you more so than most small animals, and can learn their names. They are very independent animals and can problem solve very well. They are constantly plotting on how to get to things they are not suppose to!

Do they like to cuddle?

All chinchillas vary, but the majority of chins will not sit still for long periods of time and cuddle. However there are exceptions, and some chins will like to cuddle. Most chins will stand on you and climb up to your shoulders, however, they generally do not like to feel confined. When you provide outside of the cage playtime, sit there and your chin will eventually begin to use you as a springboard and roam all over you.

Room Temperature?

That depends. If your room temperature is over 25 celcius or 77 fahrenheit, you should take precautions to protect your animals. If it is even hotter, over 30 celcius or 86 fahrenheit, you are in trouble.

There are a number of things you can do. Obviously, turn up the air conditioner if you are lucky enough to have one. If you get the temperature down to the 25 celcius / 77 fahrenheit mark, they will be fine. There is no need to lower the temperature more.

If there is a cooler room in the house, move the cage there. Since a move of this type is sure to awaken the chin, be sure to do it during the cool time of the day to avoid their activity during peak heat

Alternatively, you can also give them a large cooking pan filled with ice cubes. More than likely, they will snuggle up to it to cool down. Make sure they cannot fall in though.

Safe & Unsafe Wood, Metal & Fabric

Providing your chinchilla with safe toys and cage things should always be a top priority.

Wood

Metal

Aluminum, Gold/Silver Plating, Nickel Plating (toxic if ingested) and Stainless steel are all considered safe.

Avoid metals such as Copper, Brass and Zinc.

Fabrics

The safest fabric to make chin toys out of, hands down, would have to be fleece, as it cannot be ingested.

This is a tough one. You would not be the first to be suprised by a litter when come up to the cage one morning. It is almost impossible to see it coming.

One strong sign is when you find the mating plug. This is a small, white, wax-like plug, about one inch long. It is formed by the female shortly after mating. Once you see it, you can start counting. In 111 days from now, be ready to become a chinchilla grand-parent. Also keep in mind once you introduce the male and female start counting from the introduction date for more than likely the male will inpregnate her soon.

Keep in mind the mating plug is almost never found in a cage because it is usually hard to see in the bedding.

The alternative is when you actually witnessed the mating. Look closely for the mating plug the next morning. Perhaps now, because you know, you are able to find it. If you find one, it confirms what you saw the day before. If not, start counting the 111 days anyway. You have a big chance she is pregnant.

Another sign is when she suddenly start sleeping in unusual positions. If this happens, and the other reasons for doing this do not apply, she may be pregnant. This however is by far not as certain a method as finding the mating plug.

The last alternative is weighing her on a regular basis. If you see a small decrease in weight, followed by a steady increase, she again may be pregnant.

You will have noticed chinchilla pregnancy is not as easy to see as it is with humans or other animals. Don't worry, there is no need to take exceptional precautions. If she does suddenly deliver, there is no immediate need to help her. Chinchilla mothers are pretty self-supporting.

No. They will most likely not urinate outside of the cage (unless released for hours and hours), but will leave a trail of dropping everywhere. I have the feeling the animals don't even notice they are doing it. However, since the droppings are hard and dry (like rabbit droppings), so they can easily be removed using your vacuum cleaner.

My Chinchilla started sleeping on its Side

This can be caused by a number of factors. These are :

• Pregnancy.
• High temperatures (over 25 celcius, 77 fahrenheit)
• Exhaustion
• Feeling confortable in its surrounding
• Or just plain 'looking for another sleeping position'.

It is no cause for concern.

Is it safe for chinchillas to chew on cardboard ?

Yes, as long as you follow some simple guidelines:

1. The cardboard should be relatively new. Don't use cardboard that has been sitting around and may have had a chance to get wet as this may have been infected with a bacteria or mold. This could make your chinchilla very sick or even kill it.
2. The cardboard should have VERY little or no ink.
3. The cardboard should be clean.

Some other things to think about:

1. Cardboard is NOT a substitute for wood or pumice stone. Unfortunately, when chins chew on the cardboard it does not wear down their teeth enough. The only reason to provide it to them is that Chins love to *destroy* something and cardboard seems to be as good as any. Also, alot of Chins are locked up in there cages for at least 22 hours a day and so it gives the Chinchillas something to do. One of the ways to keep a chinchilla happy (and therefore healthy) is to give it fun things to do in its cage.
2. Many people have suggested toilet role centers as a suitable cardboard chew toy.
3. Keep in mind that cardboard should not become part of the diet. Any cardboard which gets eaten is some nutritious food that isn't eaten. It has been noticed that pets who get lots of cardboard for extended periods may lose tooth color, indicating inadequate nutrition. This means you should take precautions to prevent them from eating too much.

What is TOV?

TOV is an acronym for Touch of Velvet, which refers to an animal that carries the velvet gene. If a chin is TOV it will display a mask and a stripe down its back, and it will be able to pass on the TOV gene to 50% of its offspring. It is not always easy to determine if a chin is TOV, especially in ebonies and younger chins.

Paw stripes are sometimes used to determine if a chin is TOV, but this method is hardly foolproof and many chins without TOV influence demonstrate paw stripes.

Hetero or Homozygous?

Learning the difference between hetero- and homo- zygous traits is very simple once explained. I like to keep a simple definition.

Hetero means different, therefore the parents are not the same. So anytime you breed to different colored animals, regardless of the color produced, the animal will be a hetero.

Homo, meaning same, means that the parents were the same color, therefore if you breed to homo beiges together, you will have homo beige babies.

Recognizing whether an animal is hetero or homo can be tricky sometimes if you are just going by how the animal looks, but typically homo beiges are lighter than hetero beiges since they carry two genes for beige.