Chinchilla

Chinchillas have soft beautiful fur, very cute, friendly and pretty smart. Bad points are noisey, Not ideal first time/child pets, can have health problems with teeth.

Environment:

Chinchillas ideally need to be purchased in pairs as they are naturally social animals and can get very lonely on there own. However, if you have a lot of spare time in the evening to spend with your chin, one should cope just fine.

They are very active animals at night and require as big of a cage as you can afford. The cage needs to be kitted out with lots of ledges for them to jump around on as well as toys, hiding places and things for them to chew.

They are pretty smart animals so you need to make sure they don't get board and develop behaviour issues. This can be helped by letting them out for a run each night - but just be sure all cables are hidden away! You'll be amazed at where they can get to.

Characteristics:

Chinchillas can be rather shy at first and can take time to tame. They tend not to like to be picked up, but do love a good scratch behind the ears. They can be pretty affectionate, but don't often sit still for long!

They are rather smart and will quickly learn how to beg for treats! They also don't tend to bite, but they are prey animals so can become fearful if chased or if they fill trapped.

Cost:

It terms of cost, I think chins can be rather expensive to keep. I bought mine for £80 each, plus a huge cage for £120. On top of that you will need to buy bedding, food, treats, bed, toys etc. I think when I first got them I spent around £450 and now I spend around £50 a month in keeping them.

They are also seen as an exotic pet which means that you may have a hard time finding a vet to see them, and the bills can be fairly expensive, so try to make sure you're local vet would be happy tending to a chin if required, before you get one!

Care:

Chinchillas are fairly new as pets so not much is known about them; this means you need to do as much research as possible before buying one in terms of food and general care. You will find a lot of conflicting advice, so it's best to read it all and then take your own sensible approach.

Their cage needs to be kept out of direct sunlight as its very easy for a chin to over heat and this can make them fit. You need to make sure they'll be kept in a cool spot of the house but out of drafts.

Although they rarely bite, they don't enjoy being held or cuddled and also have very sensitive stomachs. A child could very easily accidentally injure a chin which is why I don't think they would make a very good childs pet in general.

In general daily care however, they are easy to keep. I feed mine twice a day with pellets, give them a treat each morning and night, change their water and keep their hay topped up! I also let them out for a run every evening followed by a dust bath. This is special sand that the chins roll in to clean their fur. They use this rather than water as their fur is so thick, water can encourage fungal infections.

They are also very clean animals with very little smell (if any) so I wipe down their shelves every day and give the whole cage a good clean once a week.

Other points:

Chinchillas do live a long time, between 10 and 15 years, so you need to think about the future before getting one.

Chinchillas can't catch fleas as their fur is too thick.

They can be considered hypoallergenic pets, so a good choice for people with fur allergies.

Although chins are pretty hardy animals, they can catch colds from humans or left in a draft, which needs to be watched. The biggest problem they encounter however is with their teeth, much like rabbits. This can be hereditary or as a result of an inappropriate diet and insufficient chewing materials.