Chinchilla Care Information

Chinchillas are medium sized rodents that are loved by pet owners for a variety of reasons including their playful ad lovable personalities and their extremely soft fur. Chinchilla fur is arguable the softest fur in the world. While humans have one hair from each follicle, chinchillas have between 50 and sixty hairs per follicle. Their hair is so thick that flees can not live in it because they would suffocate. They have the highest hair density of any other land animal. Humans have sought after their fur as a resource to the point that in the 1900’s chinchillas were almost extinct due to the fur trade. It takes between 80 and 100 chinchillas to make one coat.

In nature, chinchillas are grey but due to their popularity as pets, chinchillas have been bred to create a variety of colors. In captivity they come in white, mosaic which is white with gray or black patches, violet, black velvet, brown velvet, and Panda colors. In the wild chinchillas keep their fur clean by rolling in vocalic ash. Since they do not have any guard hairs, the under fur can get wet which creates a warm, moist environment for growth of fungus ringworm which is much like athlete’s foot. For this reason, chinchillas should never be allowed to get wet. Rolling in the volcanic ash removes any extra oils, moisture and dead skin that build up on the chinchilla’s skin. Chinchillas in captivity can be offered a dust bath several times a week. Over dust bathing can cause the chinchilla’s skin to dry out.

In the wild chinchillas live in colonies. In captivity with enough space, chinchillas of the same sex live peacefully together in one single cage. Males can also be kept with one or more females. But, male chinchillas have a tendency to fight each other over females so you should not have more then one male housed with females. Living in a space that is too small chinchillas may have the tendency to become territorial.

Chinchillas also have extremely delicate digestive systems do they should be fed a special diet. Chinchilla food can be purchased from most pet supply stores. Hay is an essential part of their diet and should be fed to them at all times. They can also be offered treats like cleaned dandelion leaves, a sugar-free cheerios or a rode hip. They have a tendency to be very sensitive to sugars and can develop diabetes from obesity so treats should only be offered once a day at most. Rather then a dish for water, chinchillas need to be offered a water bottle. A water dish will become soiled quickly and can develop algae. Plus, a water bowl could get the chinchillas fur wet.

Chinchillas are cute, amazing creatures that have a ton of personality. In addition to the comfort that comes from petting their soft fur, they can entertain us with their tricks and enthusiasm for jumping and climbing about. Plus, aside from the dust that sometimes can cover more things that you would like, they are an easy animal to care for.