Chinchillas

[me me]

do chinchilla make good pet my mom had two when she was a girl and she said that they never got tame!!!

[KYS]

I never had a Chinchilla,
but If I was considering one,
I would check out the web for any information
from Chinchilla Clubs and rescues. They should
have tons of information. Even wildlife rescue
groups might have info.
They are beautiful animals.

[tikeyas_mom]

Chinchillas make great pets, IF you give them the proper care and time they need to socialize...

Chinchillas are natural prey animals, which means by nature they are very skiddish and jumpy.. if they feel threatened they will try to get away or defend them selves...

dont just get a chinchilla because of impulse... Chinchillas needs alot of specific care, and only research will make you 100% knowledgable...

Chinchillas are very social... if you only get one you will find that he/she is alot more attentive to you... if you get two then you will find they want to be together...

good luck..

[jesebellea]

i love my chinchillas, they have become my favourite animal,
a few words of warning, they are addictive,....april 2004 i got a male grey , we named him Kaz, well he was soo much fun, that in july 2004, we went out and got a female black velvet, we named her Lilo, then... in december 2004 we got another male, a silver mosaic(white) we named him Riddick, and now we are contemplating, if we should breed Lilo and Riddick, ......
they do need to be cared for properly for them to thrive,. and also, they need a stable climate, they must be kept in a cool enviroment or they will die from heat stroke, (15 celcius is comfortable for them) we actually had to go out and buy an air conditioner last summer, just for them, as we would just suffer the heat in the summer, but since we had them we had to do that,
male chins, are more affectionate then the females, and with time they do become friendly, but i have read that if you mishandle them they will be skittish for good, so i took my time and managed to get mine friendly and tame so i can handle them,
they so make me laugh, and are so much fun to play around with, they run on me, and jump on me, and use me as their little trampoline, but i do advise you to read up on them, if you are interested i know some great groups that could help you learn and give you advice on what to look for when purchasing one,

[jesse_3]

My friend had a chinchilla, and sadly he died, but, she absolutely LOVED him! Now she has a chin gunea pig mix, a Dugi??? I'm not sure what they are called...But I'm getting off track, I would only get one if I had enough time for it! If you don't spend enough time with them, they will not be affectionate or trusting! Only get one if you have the time for one!

[jesebellea]

your friend had a degu, i had three of them before, and they are friendly little things too,
chinchillas are the best pet for someone who is not home a lot during the day, but it home in the evening and at night, since they sleep most of the day anyway,
i give mine almost an hour of run around time each at night, and i have to let them out one at a time, so that is like 3 hours of play time starting around 7pm
maybe if you are hoping to get one in the future, you could start to get a home organized for them and study up on them before you do, they do need a big cage, and some of them are pretty costly, i managed to build mine a cage out of an old armoire, it was cheap to do it that way, as i am saving up to buy a few really big ones, as i do want to breed mine, and maybe keep one more,

[jesse_3]

your friend had a degu
Actually, she still has it! She got it a few days ago! He is so cute!

I have a question, how much do you know about them?? They need to bath in dust and they eat a variety of things. They also need a bigger cage (they can jump 4 feet into the air!:eek: ) I hope you can get one, and give it a loving home!:D

[jesebellea]

i think you were asking me about degus, not too sure though as what you mentioned sounded like chinchillas too,

degus cannot eat too many other foods, then the pellets they are fed, they can get diabetes very easy if you give them the wrong foods,
when i had mine, they only were fed pellets, and hay,
once a week i would take two walnuts(cause i had 3 of them) and slightly crack them a bit, and put them in the cage, the degus would chew away at the nut, (helps their teeth) to get to the treat inside, but this was the only foods they would get,
i have read on some sites, that they can have many different things, but with the risk of diabetes, they are healthier and can live longer, if they have a restricted diet,

most(not all) degus can be handled a lot, as they are affectionate and very social, i was told they will not jump if they dont think they can land safely, which i noticed if you hold them up they dont try to jump away, but still be careful when handling
i had 3 females, as they do like to live in colonies, but males will fight,
and with the dust bath, only leave the jar(i used a fish bowl) in the cage with them for about 15 minutes, then take it out, they love the dust bath, and it is so cute watching them take a dust bath, i personally like the finer dust more than the sand, as it seems softer to me, and does a better job of cleaning the degu, and chinchilla fur
there were a few occasions, where one of my degus used to escape their cage, i would use the dust bath to entice them and catch them again, it worked everytime
i gave my degus to a friend and she made a beautiful cage for them much nicer than the cage, and then aquarium i had for them
she bought a big square cage, and set it up with some branches that criss cross through the whole cage, and put shavings(only pine)on the bottom, with a few of those little log houses in there, they love it, and use up their energy bouncing around on the branches

[IRescue452]

My sister had one that died and got another. Both were pretty tame while being handled a lot. I'd equate them to rabbits, they need to be handled if you want them to be tame pets. My sister let hers have the run of the house occasionally when she was home, but only when the other pets were locked in a different room.

[sammy_3]

I am the friend that jesse_3 was talking about. I had 2 chinchillas. They are fun!! They live to about 12 years if you take care of them. They are soft and it is fun to watch them eat and run. If you buy them one of those hamster balls, put them in and let them run in your room they love it.

[sammy_3]

This is my chinchillla Chewy. May he rest in peace.

[jesse_3]

Chewey was so cute! I miss him:( He was a great chin though, and thanks for answering my question!

Sorry that I got off track there....Steph and Jes

[Suki Wingy]

Aw! I love Chins, I almost had my parents convinced that I could breed them in my new basement room, I thought it would be cooler, but it turns out they made it right next to the boiler room and it is steaming! My favorite color is the lilac color. I love them because I love the idea of living in caves on high altitude volcanic mountains! Also the way their fur is so specialised to be that dense that they take baths in volcanic dust. I also love the fact that they are cold desert animals, oneof my favorite climates. I fell in love with their fluffy bodies, much the same as how I fell in love with Netherland dwarfs. For me I am lucky in that I can love and deal with almost any personality and level of care that I get to pick my animals on unimportant things like looks. Chewy is adorable! I hope to own one or many some day, as I intend on having a kennel room when I grow up and I like it chilly, so it fits!