Chinchilla Review

Overall 4.14 of 5 view all 7 reviews

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phoenixtears
Columbus, GA

These guys will take a nibble out of your heart

married, Dedicated Internet User, Open-minded, concerned w/safety & comfort of my pets, a lover of all living things, a pet owner, a woman, used to working with animals

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Pros

Great personalities, Not smelly, Soft, CUTE!!, Fun to watch and play with

Cons

Expensive, Qualified chinchilla vet hard to find

DEC

2007

Looking for a pet that is better than a fish, but less responsibility than a dog? Look no further, a chinchilla is here to save the day! Well, maybe not save the day, but certainly make your day. When I first found out one of my close friends was getting rid of a chinchilla I was skeptical, I'd heard that they were quite the hassle, but my worries were put away when we met little Oliver Twist.
Chinchillas are nocturnal, but they won't keep you up like ferrets or other nocturnal creatures because they're too mild, even when they're playful they're very quiet. Our chinchilla began to get active by about 2pm and was asleep, or nearly so by 1am. Chinchillas also happen to be very gentle, like rabbits, they might nibble because they're looking for food, but I've personally never been bitten.
The one big problem with chinchillas is that it's hard to find a vet for them, although they rarely get sick and don't require many shots because they're indoor only animals. You can take them outside, but I wouldn't recommend leaving their cage out there because chinchillas are spoiled creatures and used to the warmth. Now, when I say warmth I'm not saying they need a heating lamp, in fact we used to keep our apartment at a lovely 65 degrees, and he'd be fine, but they don't want to be out in the freezing cold. In fact, most chinchillas prefer the temperature to remain under 85 degrees or they begin to shed rapidly.
Chinchillas, like rabbits need stuff to chew on to keep their teeth from growing too long (they're teeth are ALWAYS growing, and if they aren't given something to bite one they may resort to chewing up the cage which can damage their teeth or break them.) With Oliver we'd give him a chunk off a 2x4 and he'd have at it, just about any type of wood is alright for them. Pet stores also often offer little cement like blocks for real chewers, we've never tried them but I hear it helps. Keep in mind that if your chinchilla is chewing or biting even, he probably needs something more to grind those teeth on. Long teeth can become very painful.
Chinchillas are extremely soft, which is the reason why so often their pelts are used for coats. But since there is so little fur on them it can take thousands of chinchillas to make ONE coat. It can be very taxing on the species when chinchilla fur is in fashion. Likewise it's very expensive to purchase a chinchilla from a pet store, some chinchillas can run into the $200, but I'd recommend asking around before you go to a store. In the past year I've met 3 people who are looking for a new home for their chinchilla.
Chinchillas need a lot more room than most small rodents because they're not so small! Chinchillas need room to run around and move, if you ask a pet store professional they can point you to a cage that's right for you, most average around a 3 foot cube, but some can be much larger, but not a whole lot smaller. Chinchillas also like to be taken out of the cage once in a while to run around, I'd recommend closing them in a small room like a bathroom for 10 or 15 minutes about twice a week. You may want to stay in there with them, this is when the most bonding happens.
Now, I've heard that chinchillas will sometimes spray urine, but in all my experience with a chinchilla I've never met one that will actually pee anywhere but in their cage. Our chinchilla would only sometimes poop out of the cage when he was afraid, but since they're sooo like rabbits their poop is very easy to clean up because it's pellet like and hard.
Chinchillas eat mostly processed food from the store, small animal feed, rabbit feed, hamster feed, and chinchilla feed all will work, but they can also eat fresh veggies in small quantities and really, really like raisins or dried fruit. but their stomaches are fairly sensitive so I recommend keeping treats like this to a minimum.
Chinchillas have a few other quirks and cute habits that are best found out in your own research, go to a pet store a few times and ask to handle a chinchilla if you're thinking about buying/ adopting one. We made sure to let my nearly 6 year old get accustomed to the idea of a small creature before we adopted ours, and the two of them got along very well, Oliver was even unafraid of our baby when she was born, like I said most chinchillas are very, very mild creatures and very accepting of changes. Just don't stress about them and they won't stress you out either.
Chinchillas get along very well with other chinchillas, but not so well with other animals, if you have dogs or cats be sure that the chinchillas cage is out of reach. Because they're so docile, chinchillas don't fight back but instead hide in the corner, which is what they'll usually do if they get out of the cage. If you have ferrets do NOT put them in the same cage, ferrets are VERY rowdy and will kill the chinchilla (by accident or not) trying to play with them. Talk to your local pet store professional before introducing any animal to your chinchilla, you want what's best for both animals, I'm sure.
Anyway, Chinchillas aren't for everyone, but I'd recommend them to any of my friends who are looking for that 'medium' pet. Good luck ye chinchilla lovers!