Chinchillas

[Easlethistle]

So far i've had pet rats, mice, birds, cats, possums, tadpoles, lizards, frogs, fish and hermit crabs. But i've always always wanted a chinchilla. Can anyone tell me what they're like to own, Are they really active, how much attention do they require, should i get them desexed and should i get two or more? All the fussy questions and anything else someone knows about them :)

thanks!

[~Ruby~Eyes~]

Chinchilla's make fine pets, but not for travalers. They are sensitive to extreme temperature and do not handle travle well. So not suggested if you like or have to travle. Chinchillas require lots of attention (1-2 hours a day) and are quite active. Chinchillas are also very loving and some (most) will jump onto their owners when they open the cage. But Chinchilla females may spray you with urin if innoyed (spelling?) and chinchilla's poop constantly and they do in fact shed. If you spay/neuter them their is a high risk of death because Chinchillas don't handle anesthia well.

[Easlethistle]

I don't have to travel...do Chinchillas poo when you are holding them? (it doesn't bother me, its just rats generally don't) Is it better to get a boy, or do they smell, like other small rodent/pets i've owned. i've always had mostly girls, but i don't know the recommended sex for chincillas...

[~Ruby~Eyes~]

Chinchilla poo's are small pellets and are oderless. Chinchillas hardly smell at all. Chins will poo on you, but the poo as I said above are small, hard, and oderless. Males and Females make great pets, oh and Chinchillas do not handle noise well, so if you do inted on getting one make sure they have a quite room to stay in :)

[Jerica]

Chinchillas are great pets! I have four right now and they don't have much of a smell. All they require is chinchilla food, (make sure it is chinchilla food not guinea pig or rabbit food, although there is a certain type of show rabbit food you might be able to use, I recommend chinchilla food.) they need of course a water bottle, a good cage, timothy hay (maybe a raisin a day too if you want them to have one) and they require a dust bath about once or twice a week (depends on the climate). Chinchillas like to run around for an hour or more a day (actually forever if they were allowed lol) and they are pretty quiet animals. They don't really have a difference in smell of the sexes like mice or rats do, except as Ruby Eyes said sometimes females spray. None of my females spray though and I have three females (and a male). The problem with males is that sometimes they get hair rings (rings of hair on their little, well, you know what I mean) and you have to take them off which is a gross little task, but you get used to it. I can't necessarily say which is better, male or female, they pretty much have the same personality except that males to me seem more laid back. You can get two chinchillas (hopefully same sex pair so they don't breed) but they do okay on their own if you play with them. If you do get two please get a same sex pair because they will breed if they are a male and female and they are very difficult to neuter or spay like Ruby Eyes said. Make sure the cage you get is secure because chinchillas have little squirrel like hands and are easily able to get out of a loose door or big holes. Most any rabbit or guinea pig cage will work, but I do recommend one with a solid floor or one with very small bar spacing for the grate on the floor so they don't get feet caught or anything. Okay, that should be a good start. If you have more questions feel free to ask, I know tons of info about chinchillas.

[Easlethistle]

Great! Are they better to buy at breeders or petshops? (i know some breeders, but there's also a petshop or two, the trading post and the RSPCA)
and is a cage with mesh 2x2cm good? Its about a 1m high, 80x80m wide...
I'll probably get one to start off with. How big do they grow, as a general rule, and how long do they live?

[Jerica]

It is better to buy from a breeder (sometimes cheaper too) but since you aren't going to breed and there is a good petstore you can buy from them too. Best of all you could go to the RSPCA and rescue one since you aren't going to breed. That cage sounds like a very good one 1 m high and 80x80m that is huge!! They grow about as big as a dwarf bunny (if you can think about how small that is) but some can be as huge as a small dog (like a yorkie, but not generally though). Chinchillas can live to be 15 years old or so so you will have them for quite awhile (which is another thing to think about). Any more questions just ask. Hope this helps. :)

[Sayonara]

well, i am a breeder of chinchillas i have almost 30 of them at the moment.

as for what sex is best, i would say the males are the more social of the two.. (although there are good & bad eggs for each.)

i will HIGHLY recommend NOT getting it 'fixed' going under for surgery is REALLY not good on chinchillas & a lot of times they dont make it out of surgery!

i have plenty of advice to give lol. (its kinda my job) =]

please visit my web site & it may help you out on getting some info. =]
you can also IM me if you have yahoo or AOL instant messenger.. mine are...

yahoo
screamsayonara

aol
yig0sfl0wer

my site...

www.midwest-exotics.com

[Easlethistle]

Does anyone here know what keywords i should use to find a chinchilla breeder, it keeps bringing up cats and rabbits.

I'm in australia, victoria, just in case anyone knows of a good breeder here...