CHINCHILLAS
You may wish to consider a chinchilla. They are in
the rodent family, (but it doesn't seem that way).
Chins have incredible velvety fir, and they resemble
a chubby squirrel with micky mouse type ears. They
are nocturnal, although they do get up and play a
lot during the day. Chins are very smart and playful,
and I'm told can be trained. They are also very clean,
so their cage area doesn't tend to stink as many do.
I got my first pair of chinchillas, as adults, a
proven breeding pair. They were nice enough but
they never really did bond with us. We ended up
having 3 litters total. They ususally have 1-3
babies, and their pregnancy is 111 days
(about 4 months), which is VERY long for an
animal that size. The babies come out fully
formed, "ready to go" you might say. Fully
furred, eyes opened, running around. They can
even eat adult food almost from day 1, although
they prefer to nurse.
Chinchillas eat prepared chin food that comes
in a pellet form. They also need 1 raisin a day
(which they LOVE!). Every few days it's a good
idea to give them a dust bath, you can purchase
"chinchilla dust" at a pet store. You put it in
a bowl and they dive in, roll and kick up a fuss,
a pure delight to watch. Company always love to
watch "Ittle bittle" take her bath.
The real joy for us came as we kept one of the
babies, we later sold mom and dad. She bonded
really well with us, she was handed a lot from
birth on. She has been one of the BEST pets I've
ever had (of any kind of animal). She is playful,
friendly, never bites, she "barks" its a quiet,
cute kind of bark. A whole lot of personality
and character she is.
Chins are more playful type pets, than a sit down
and lap type animal. I would recommend getting a
baby if you decide to get a chinchilla. They
usually run about $100. in the US for a pet, but
that price can vary a lot.
Another very nice quality about chins as pets,
is they have no claws or fingernails. They have
these little soft pads on the bottom of their feet,
so you don't get scratched. I wouldn't recommend
them with small children however, as young children
could easily hurt a chinchilla.
They have a life span of about 25-30 years.
They do need to live indoors, or climate type
controlled setting. Chins come in a variety of
colors but the standard grey color is the most
common, and the other, more rare colors will cost
more usually.
I found when I was trying to sell the babies, that
most people had no idea of what a chinchilla was,
or had even seen them. That made it a bit difficult
to find homes at times, although with such few babies,
it wasn't a problem. The people who did come to
purchase the babies had this 1 thing in common:
all of them had either owned a chinchilla previously,
or had a close friend who did and had been around them.
That really says something about this type of animal for
a pet. You can check out your local pet store for chins
possibly, or the internet.
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