Here are some common terms to associate yourself with when referring to chinchillas:

Blocky – this refers to the shape of the chins body, and it has a very literal meaning, as it describes how boxy the chin looks from overhead.

Blue - this refers to the tint of a chinchillas coat, and when looking at your chin it should have a blue hue to its coat, not a muddy or red tint.

Density - refers to how thick a chinchillas coat is, or more specifically the spacing/quantity of the hair, and a thin coat is undesirable. The best place to check the density is by looking at the hair on the shoulders or sides.

Giardia – An intestinal parasite that requires medical attention.

Guard Hair - this is the hair that when you look at your chin, sticks up at most about a quarter of an inch past the main coat. Too long of guard hair is undesirable. Also may be referred to as king hair.

Heterozygous – This refers to when a beige or ebony chinchilla is bred from two different colored parents, i.e. a homo beige bred to a standard.

Homozygous – This is when chinchillas of the same genetic background are bred, i.e. two homobeiges (who are only carriers of the beige gene) are bred together, they will always produce homozygous beige babies.

Popcorning - This describes when chinchillas jump into the air and twitch, this is perfectly normal and is often done with they are excited.

TOV – Acronym for Touch of Velvet, refers to the masking that extends from the face down the back of the chinchilla.

Veiling - is the pattern of dark tipped hair that extends down the neck and back of a chinchilla, and begins wrapping down the sides. Desirable veiling consists of the darkest hairs in the middle of the back with a color gradient down the sides of the chin, until it blends with the other fur. The veiling should be consistent through the animals shoulders and neck, and smooth with no breaks.

Wedge – this refers to the shape of a chin from above, and basically is the opposite of blocky. It is when the rump is wider than the shoulders, which gives it a distinct wedge looking shape.

Wilson White – This describes white chins with dark grey ears and grey coloring at the base of the tail.