[PETS] Two new chinchillas born today!

We breed chinchillas and had two more kits born today. These two are both white mosaic possible ebony carriers. The mother (pictured) is also a white mosaic. Their father is the ebony, which is why they possibly carry the ebony gene.



Have a question about chinchillas?

Ask away! I've done some pretty extensive research in the nearly four years we've been breeding and should be able to answer just about anything. I love spreading knowledge about my family's favorite little furballs!

Oh, and why the [PETS] tag, you ask? Click Here!

how much for a coat?!!!
can toy eat them?
they look like they would be good on a bun!!!
just kidding! cute stuff!

reply to post by reficul




I'll answer your questions anyway!

We don't breed for fur, just for pets and the fun of it. I know full length coats usually cost upwards of US$20,000. They typically take about 100-150 pelts to make. Chins aren't like sheep, where you can shear the fur off, so the animal has to be euthanized for fur production.

I'm sure you could eat them, but it would be pretty expensive, probably not very tasty, and definitely not filling. Chins usually cost around $100-$150 each, eat hay and rabbit feed (actually tastes like black licorice), and only weight about a 1.5 pounds.

They are cute though! When chinchillas are born they have their eyes open and are fully furred. They're able to run and jump within hours of being born! By the time they're six to eight weeks old they're mature enough to be weaned from their mother and handle life on their own!

reply to post by cmdrkeenkid


Adorable! I used to work for an "exotic" pet distribution company, as a driver, and dealt with all variety of small mammals on a regular basis. Chinchillas included. I developed a fondness for them simply because out of all the varieties of small mammals I dealt with, chinchillas bit me the least.

They can be a bit pricey - but if I had a friend who was thinking of a small pet, such as a bunny for his kids, I'd honestly suggest considering moving up in price and getting the chinchilla. IMO they're much more intelligent and pleasant than many other small pet options. The fact that they feel like a little ball of velvet is just a bonus!

Having never owned one, I guess a good opening question would be what would one need to bring a pet chinchilla home from the pet store? The basic starter kit, so to speak?

Cute little critters!

S&F!

~Heff

Here's a question for you.
My son had one. The bars of the cage were maybe 1/4 inch wider than the one in your pic.
How in the world do they manage to escape that?

It was an all metal cage, and we had clamp locks on the door. (our first suspicion was it somehow figured the latch out.)

Poor thing ended up chewing something he wasn't suppose to during one of his escapes.

Next door to us had one but since they're more social animals we persuaded her to find it a home with some company since it was never happy but shes 98% mad cat woman...last 2% preserved for when we see her running after a cat with a full bowl of food

reply to post by Hefficide


They are pretty great! Another great thing about them is they're considered to be hypoallergenic. They don't shed and have no dander, so they're perfect for people with allergies. Whenever someone is selling one because of allergies it's usually because of the hay they need to eat or the dust baths they need to take. An easy way around that though is to feed compressed hay cubes. There is almost no dust from them! Also, as chinchillas are becoming more popular, many of the dust companies are developing allergy-safe dust for them too.

They do always seem to have more personality than rabbits or other animals. Another thing is they are incredibly long lived for rodents. They typically live to be 12 to 15 years old. Hearing of chins that are over 20 years old is not terribly uncommon either.

Being a breeder, I have to say not to buy from a pet store. That goes for pretty much any animal though. Granted, pet stores have to get their animals from somewhere, but you still never know what you'll end up with. It mostly boils down to pet stores not always keeping their chins in the best environments, illnesses can spread a lot more easily between them (rabbits are carriers for diseases that are deadly to chins), and the staff aren't always as knowledgeable about what they're selling.

The basics that you'll need to keep a chinchilla as a pet are listed below:

1.) A large cage! It doesn't have to be wide or long, just tall. Chins love to jump! When fully grown can even jump six feet up with ease! It's pretty awesome to see. I usually recommend a cage that is two feet square at the base by four feet tall. You'll want to position the shelves so that they can't fall all the way from the top to the bottom, just to be safe. The cage should have a solid bottom, as wire bottomed cages can lead to broken toes, legs, and an infection known as bumblefoot.

2.) A glass water bottle and ceramic or stone food dish. Chinchillas are rodents, and as such always need to chew to keep their teeth filed to the proper length. If you give them a plastic water bottle chances are that it will get nibbled on and spring a leak. Then you have a mess, possibly a wet chin, and need to buy a new water bottle! The food dish is also to prevent them from chewing on it, plus the weight of it keeps them from knocking it over and wasting food.

3.) The correct type of bedding! There are a few ways you can go with this. The big thing is to never use fresh pine bedding or cedar bedding. There are toxins in the wood than can make a chin very ill or even be fatal. Examples of safe beddings to use are kiln dried pine, recycled paper bedding, or fleece cage liners. The recycled paper bedding is great and very absorbent, but very expensive. The kiln dried pine (what we use) is cheapest, but has to be changed more often. The fleece cage liners are the most expensive up front, but if you buy two or three and rotate them in and out for cleaning pretty regularly you'll never need to worry about buying bedding again.

4.) Food! Chins have sensitive digestive systems, so you'll need to buy the same food that they are used to eating. Switching them to a new food too quickly can lead to digestive illnesses and, in some cases, death. A high quality rabbit pellet is the best for them. They actually have poor capabilities for digesting sugars and fats, so treats are usually not recommended. Safe treats to use are Cheerios, whole rose hips, and unsweetened banana chips. Chins also need hay to eat. They need a blend of alfalfa and timothy hays. You'll need to make sure it's still green. If it's yellowed or browned it has lost a lot of its nutrients. The hay also helps them keep their teeth filed!

5.) Chewing sticks, blocks and stones. Since they need to keep their teeth filed down they are always chewing on things. Buying them toys they will be attracted to will help keep them from chewing on parts of the cage.

6.) A hiding house. They do love their privacy sometimes, so something to hide in is always nice. You can use a wooden house, or buy one formed out of hay. Either way, they will eventually chew it to pieces, but the houses usually are less than $15 and last a month or two.

7.) A wheel! They do love to run, so this gives them that capability safely. Chins that are six months or younger should not be allowed to run on the wheel. It can lead to an enlarged heart, which can cause health complications further down the road of life. Never buy one of the rolling balls, even if the packaging says it's for chinchillas. They usually lack adequate ventilation and the chin could easily overheat, leading to heat stroke or death.

I think that about covers it. Besides, I'm running out of room to type! You may notice a lot of rules in there. We joke that they're like Gremlins. It's also why we have a Gizmo, Stripe, Mogwai, and Daffy.

reply to post by chiefsmom


Sorry to hear about your little guy. We had that happen once too early on.

Even when they're fully grown they can really squeeze themselves into and through some very tight spaces. In the wild they will climb into nooks and crevices in the rocks to hide from predators. Lots of times cages, especially the type that come collapsed in boxes at pet stores, have small latches along the sides to keep them together. Sometimes after a few good jumps along the sides of the cage those latches will just shake loose. That's usually how we've had older ones escape.

You really need a cage that has half inch spacing on the bars or smaller, especially for when they're younger. Chins that are less than a year old can easily squeeze through a quarter inch spacing.

We have a couple that still manage to get out, even with the locks and clamps on the doors. We're on a hot streak right now! We haven't had one get out in almost a month! *knock on wood*

reply to post by Maxatoria


We have a crazy cat lady next door too!

They are definitely social animals! In the wild they routinely live in colonies with 100 or more members. You can easily house three or four in a large enough cage without any issue. The males are also very good with the kits, unlike many other rodents. They will typically help the mother raise the young ones.

reply to post by cmdrkeenkid


What a cool and wonderful Chinchilla lesson.....I wrote in the pet forum thread we had taken care of one from my Daughter's school for a summer....Thank God we didn't kill him.....lot's of info we did not have....my daughter was the main caretaker....and we all really fell in Love with the little guy........that's amazing they can live so long....my niece lost her beloved Guinea Pig awhile back.....I think I will suggest a chinchilla, they have a perfect cage, big, like 4' by 4' .....my nephew just left for college, UCLA....and my sis is looking for ways to cheer her up, she is lonely without her big brother at home.......

reply to post by cmdrkeenkid


i'm glad your a good sport!
yes they are cute,but i'm more of a reptile guy (lizards),
and i'm afraid they would make a good meal for many a scaly critter!

reply to post by Hefficide


I did forget something!

8.) You'll need dust! To clean their fur they take dust baths. The dust available simulates the fine pumice that is naturally found in their environment. The dust keeps oils and dirt from clumping together in the fur. Dust baths should be given twice a week, though up to four times a week is recommended for for humid climates.

Chinchillas shouldn't get wet. Ever. (Read back to my Gremlins reference! ) Their fur is so thick and dense that they do not air dry properly. This can lead to them becoming hypothermic, which could be fatal. If your chin gets wet, towel dry him or her lightly, then use a blow dryer on the low or no heat setting and dry them off.

reply to post by MountainLaurel


Chins are actually pretty hardy, so they can go through a lot. I'm sure you and your daughter did great. Just make sure that your niece's cage isn't a C&C (cubes and cloroplast) cage. While perfect for guineas, a chin could very easily escape from that!

reply to post by reficul


It's hard to take anything too seriously on the internet. I take almost everything in jest.

We've thought of getting a snake a couple times, but we've feared what would happen if it escaped. Like you said, they would make quite the snack!

Click here for more information.