Chinchilla : Questions from a Maybe Owner!?

Question

i am considering getting a chinchilla for a pet. i have added up the prices and i have enough money for the chinchilla, cage, food etc...

i am just wondering....

1. life span?

2. tame-able?

3. food?

4. bedding?

5. bathing?

6. sleeping habits {nocturnal, etc..}?

7. tendency to bite {more than other animals/rodents}?

8. i have heard that they are shy at first but then become used to you, is this true ?{it is important to me to be able to interact with her/him}

9.if you can tame chinchilla's, are there any good ways to do so?

10. ANY OTHER CHINCHILLA INFO THAT I SHOULD KNOW???

please answer as many of these questions as you can! also, put it your answer if you experience with chinchillas.....

THANKS!

9.

Answer 1

1. life span - As much as 20 years

2. tame-able - if you have the time and the patience to spend with your chinchilla then yes, very tame!

3. food - chinchilla mix easily available from pet shops and quite cheap, they also eat alot of hay.

4. bedding - just a plain wooden or hay nest box, empty, they do not like to be warm, so are not like hamsters in that they sleep in special bedding. Alot of the time they just sleep on top of their nest box!!

5. bathing - sand bath once a day, make sure the bath is not left in the cage.

6. sleeping habits {nocturnal, etc..} - tend to sleep during the day and come out early evening, just as its getting dull outside

7. tendency to bite {more than other animals/rodents}? - We have kept chinchillas for about a year now and none of ours have ever bitten us or even tried to bite. They are quite timid

8. i have heard that they are shy at first but then become used to you, is this true ?{it is important to me to be able to interact with her/him} - As with all animals, they will be wary of you at first. Just play with them and spend lots of time with them and they will love you!!!!

9.if you can tame chinchilla's, are there any good ways to do so? - Just spend alot of time with them and feed them treats (find out what it is they like to eat). Dont over handle them either!

10. ANY OTHER CHINCHILLA INFO THAT I SHOULD KNOW???  - One thing I would say is that in the summer their fur malts quite alot so be prepared to hoover up if they are out on the floor. Also they like to have perches in their cages and enjoy jumping around alot!!! Cuttle fish is needed for their teeth, and they do actually use it. Finally invest in a marble slab or something similar, chinchillas sit on these to keep cool, especially in the warm summer months, because chinchillas are very suceptible to heat stroke!

Answer 2

1. Twenty years.

2. Yes, but they don't like to learn tricks or be hugged or really held.

3. Chinchilla food.

4. Wooden pellets or sawdust.

5. Sand baths- NEVER get them wet.

6. They like to sleep a lot, more or less nocturnal.

7. They can bite, spit, and bark at you- they can be quite aggressive! They bite more than hamsters.

8. Yes, but it takes a LONG TIME and it may never fully like you; it'll never like to be cuddled or handled.

9. Using treats, but make sure they hae NOTHING containing sugar as they can get diabetes.

10. They're not a good pet if you're under twenty as you haven't even lived twenty years yet and don't know where you'll be in two years, let alone twenty.

Answer 3

1) Chinchillas average a lifespan of 10-15 years but have been known to live as much as 20

2)Yes they are mostly tame but they are very squirmy animals and very prone to stress if handled too much or inproperly.

3)Usually a commercial chinchilla diet. One of the most popular being mazuri pellets. They also should have fresh hay/alfalfa everyday both cubed and fresh.

4)A commercial bedding like wood chips or the like. I owuld avoid those with artificial colors and or scents just to be on the safe side.

5) Bathing is not needed. Chinchillas bathe using a special dust bath which keeps theres oft hair in tip top condition. No matter what you should never get your chinchilla wet it cna be very damgaing to their fur. The dust as well as a bath house can be found at mostly any petco petsmart usually.

6)I believe chinchillas are most active at night and you will see the most activity from them at night but then again we work with a pair at school and they are often awake during the day playing on their wheel and bathing as well as hopping around.

7)Yes, females especially can be a bit moody and aggressive especially when pregnant or mature. Females are alos larger than males. So if u do get one, get a male. The female at school hates us and will often spit and try to bite at us if we get too close.

8)Yes, after some time of short seesions of handling they will eventually get used to you and will often sit in ur lap contentedly. We were taught to secure ours by getting a hold of the tail first and then supporting the rest of the animal. This wil be the quikest way to catch your animal and secure it comfortable and safely with out escapees.

9)Yes, we have chinchillas that will take food from our hands and if given enough time and patience some will learn to jump and like somersault on command but this takes along time to do.

10) For the cage you want one that is large in height than width. Check this site. They offer the best chinchillas cages i know of

http://www.martinscages.com

Also for the diet, the fresh hay should be put out everyday. along with pelleted diet. A treat of 1-2 raisins can be given every once in a while but not all the time as chinchillas have a very delicate stomach.

You should also invest in a gnaw block that they can use to wear their teeth down as well as a secure hide house. Here are a couple of links oyu might wnat to look at b4 going further. if you need any more help..please fell free to contact me :)

http://www.chinworld.com/

http://www.chin-chillas.com/chinchilla_c...

http://www.sunseed.com/artccat315FPCNL.h...

http://www.chinchillas.com/index.cfm

good luck!