Chinchilla Facts

The Andes mountains of South America are the native home of chinchillas. Their draping thick fur coats help them in wild. Generally, a chinchilla's life span is between 10-15 years. In captivity, they may live for more than 20 years.

It takes 80-100 chinchillas to make a single fur coat. More than 100 years ago, chinchillas were almost extinct. People were chasing and killing them for their beautiful fur. Finally, they were able to catch 11 chinchillas and brought them back to the United States.

During the trip one died, fortunately one more was born and 11 chinchillas landed in United States. Today, the pets we have in US are descendants of these 11.

Chinchillas are nocturnal. Their big eyes help them to navigate. It is advisable to enclose chinchillas in a soundproofed room to avoid being kept up by their frolicking.

They sleep during the days, so keep them were they are not subject to being kept awake by light and your daily activities. You should always approach them quietly. They are sensitive to stress and noise levels.

Chinchilla's behavior and habits are hard to change. If they are shy, they tend to remain shy. Therefore, if you want an active chinchilla chose one that seems active.

Initially, you might be confused when you buy a chinchilla. You might have lot of expectations about his arrival. Chinchillas are shy and may run from you at first. As time goes on, they become your good friends.

You should set aside an hour or so to play with your chinchilla. It will not be long before he will be begging you to scratch his ears.

Chinchillas do not like to snuggle and therefore are not the best pet for kids who want to hug there new friend. When you pick them up you should use both hands. Supporting their back legs in one hand, and front legs a bit higher than the back with other hand. Move them close to your body. Then your Chinchilla will feel open and love to be with you.

Chinchillas like to chew everything on earth to keep their teeth filed down. Never let them chew electric wires. Their cage must not be of plastic. Plastics are harmful to chinchillas. Give them something like cardboards to chew instead.

Chinchillas squeak, bark, and rumble. They make allot of sounds. These signal different things. Some correspond to jubilation, some to danger, and some to crying. You may hear some other sounds in nights, because of their munching and playing on wheels. So, never house them near your bedroom.

Chinchillas are little flirty pets. They flirt with other females. Never cage a female chinchilla with many male chinchillas. They are adorable, social and delightful. Care for them and spend time to bond.