The specialist keepers association

Chinchillas are running and jumping animals that move with lightening fast agility. This must be taken into account when choosing a cage, and this will be covered in a later section. They are incredibly curious animals and will gnaw on just about anything to investigate it in much the same way that a human child will put things in their mouth. The chinchillas that you see now living in captivity in this country would not be able to survive in the wild, they have become used to their owners providing food and warmth and all their other comforts (RAISINS!) They are accustomed to living in our environment and would not be able to cope with the wild either in this country or in the Andes, though there have been sightings of chins living in the wild in the north of England and Scotland.

Domestication has changed them considerably from the chins in the wild (those few that are left). It is up to us as the pet owner to ensure that all their needs are met, and that they are kept in the best of conditions. It is recommended to get the chin used to a routine of feeding time, dust bath, hay, lights on and off, and STICK TO IT! Chins like a routine, any change to which can cause extreme stress and agitation to these animals.

On average your pet chinchilla, if kept properly can live for up to 20 years. In the wild they can live for up to 10 years.

Never make a sudden grab for your chinchilla, you are more than likely going to end up with just a handful of fur for your trouble. Remember that chinchillas are nervous animals and as such are not as a rule suitable pets for young children. The best method for new, or inexperienced owners is to slide your hand gently underneath it, and lift it up. Be prepared for it to make a sudden bid for freedom. Hold it firmly to your body, or better, hold it by the tail where it joins the body (only recommended for experienced owners for reasons that will become clear). Do not hold it by the tip under any circumstances. Be warned though, the skin of the tail in emergencies can be shed allowing the animal, though now disfigured, to escape. This is not a safety mechanism, it is due to the skin being very thin in this area. Chinchillas do not like to be squeezed even slightly. While holding them allow them the freedom to move on and around your body. They do not like to be heavily stroked like a cat, however they do like to be scratched or rubbed around their ears, chin and face. To get an idea how they like to be fussed, watch how they do it to each other, but remember, if you want to pet them do it very lightly.

These are both questions you will need to answer. Chinchillas are sociable animals, and one chinchilla will look to you for entertainment to avoid boredom, and as such will be easier to tame, but will lack for company when you are not around. Two chins will keep each other company, but may hardly notice you when you want to play. Male and female chins are equally suitable as pets, though female chins will spray urine when agitated, but this will stop occurring after a couple of weeks when they settle down. Females are often more territorial about their cage space though this is not always the case (I have four females in a community cage that have lived happily together without any fighting for several years now). Males are usually more docile and tolerant of handling, again this is not always the case.

One male and one female will ultimately result in young chinchillas, so be prepared to have to find homes for these little fur balls ( your friends and family will soon get fed up with birthday and Christmas presents coming with a large bill for a cage and other accessories !!!!). If you keep male and female pairing be prepared to have to buy extra cages to house the male when the female delivers to avoid further pregnancies and to house young chinchillas after weaning. These extra cages can be expensive unless you are good at DIY and make them yourself. Personally I would not recommend having the male neutered. Chinchillas are allergic to anaesthetic, and quite often will not come round after the procedure, though with the new generation of anaesthetics and as vets become more experienced in dealing with these delicate exotics this risk is decreasing.

Be warned that two males will need enough space to avoid each other should they decide to mark out a territory, also expect fights if there is a female in season in a cage nearby !!! Related males tend to be easier to pair up than unrelated males i.e. father and son or two brothers.

If you do want to keep male and female chins together then please consider having the male neutered, there are far too many chinchillas out there in rescue centres where people have bought them on a whim and realised that they can not look after them.

Chinchillas are weaned at two months old though most breeders, myself included will not sell them before they are three months old as this allows the breeder the opportunity to check that they are feeding by themselves without any difficulty and are not showing any signs of stress from the separation from their mother.

I personally would not recommend buying a kit under three months old as they will require a lot of care and attention as they are still 'learning'. At three to four months old they are fearless and easily excitable, four to eight months old they are the equivalent of a human teenager, and after eight months old they have reached sexual maturity and will most probably now be fully grown. At this stage they can be included in a breeding line or paired up to breed.

A three month old kit is easier to tame and get used to being handled, though quite often you will come across older animals that are now too old to be used to breed that are being sold off to make room for younger breeding stock. These chins may not have been handled that often, but they are usually calmer and slower than a young highly strung kit. As such they will probably make a better pet for a new chin owner.

Do not buy a chinchilla from a pet shop. They will not know the history of the animal, and will offer very little or no back up or after sales service should you need any help or advice. Quite often these chins will be the cast offs from a breeder who does not regard them as suitable for their own breeding needs or from a pet owner who bought two chins from a pet shop and has allowed them to breed not even knowing if they are brother and sister!

Find a chinchilla breeder who has more than a pair of chinchillas in a cage their front room. Look for someone who knows what they are talking about, will give you advice and offer suggestions on how to look after your pet properly. Visit their set up to see how they keep their chinchillas. Do not expect to see a pristine clean room, chins do shed fur and this will hang around in the room especially round the base of the cage. Chinchilla dust will also accumulate on the floor and cages (it sticks to just about everything !!!). Beware breeders whose cages look overly dirty where the animals look neglected or dirty. Very often they will ask for a deposit on a particular animal if there will be a while before you are ready to collect it ( just in case you change your mind without informing them ). I usually will not sell an animal without first meeting the prospective buyer, and always reserve the right to refuse a sale. I usually ask for a 50% deposit on each chin unless I know the person I am dealing with.

Ask the breeder about the kits parents. Try to see them if you can, they will give you a fair indication of how the chin you are about to buy will turn out when it is fully grown. The temperament of the kit is often similar to that of the parents, remember you are looking for a friendly, intelligent, calm animal that will allow you to handle it without barking or spraying urine.

Pet shop chins often come with a whole range of problems that can be very costly to put right. A competent breeder knows their stock. They have taken the time and the money to acquire healthy strong animals with no health problems. They have selected out animals that malocclude, have poor breeding history, are aggressive, or have a history of fur biting. The animal you buy from a breeder should be a strong, healthy animal with plenty to recommend it. It will hardly resemble the chins that you see in pet shops.

This will vary depending on what you want the chinchilla for, either for a family pet or a show animal or if you breed chinchillas is it to be used as a herd improvement animal.

Basically which ever group you fall into, there are similarities in the requirement of each. You want a healthy chinchilla with no sign of runny nose, weepy eyes, no signs of fur loss, some chins have floppy ears which will never stand erect (this can be regarded as either a weakness or something that adds to the cuteness of the animal), the body should be well rounded with no ridge to the back i.e. the animal will quite literally look round when it sits still. The eyes should be shiny and bright. The chin should be curious and lively, not dull and lethargic, do not believe a breeder or pet shop owner who tell you the chin is just tired as it is daytime and they are nocturnal animals.

Very importantly check it's teeth and droppings. The teeth should be yellow/orange surprisingly enough not white. They will be white in a baby, but darken with age. The droppings should be dry and solid, not soft or runny, and should be oval in shape.

Having bought your new fur ball, do not use a cardboard box to bring them home. Chinchillas are notorious chewers, and will find little problem in chewing a hole through the box. I know of at least one incident where someone has looked in there rear view mirror to see a chinchilla sat on the parcel shelf at the back of the car, and one story of some unfortunate soul who slammed the boot shut having opened it to find their new chin roaming around the boot of the car, the end result being one decapitated family pet. A proper pet carrier may seem unnecessary at the time, especially with all the expense involved up to this point, but imaging how you would feel having got to the point where you have finally bought your chinchilla only to lose it. I recently heard a story from a breeder friend of mine about a customer who upon opening their boot found that their new purchase had escaped from his carriage box. Their immediate reaction was to slam the boot closed, unfortunately at the same time as the chin made a bid for freedom, resulting in the death of the chinchilla. Always try to remember to get a small bag or container of the food pellets that the breeder has been feeding the chinchilla. You will need these to gradually wean the chinchilla onto the pellets that you have bought. This will take at least a week to do properly.

Having brought your new furball home, give it time to settle down and get used to it's new home before you try handling it. It has probably just been separated from it's litter mates and will feel very lonely without the noise and all the accustomed smells of it's old home. Leave it in it's new cage alone overnight without any disturbances. Check in on it occasionally to make sure nothing untoward has happened and that it has plenty of food and water. Make sure that it has somewhere to hide should it need it.

If you keep other chinchillas, keep your new arrival in quarantine to avoid spreading any infections such as fur fungus. Keep them separate from your other animals for at least a week in a separate room. Do not share equipment such as dust baths with your older stock. If you intend keeping this new arrival with your other chinchilla, do not introduce the newby to the cage with the other chinchilla. It will regard this as it's territory and attack the intruder. Place the two cages side by side, about an inch apart to let them get used to each other's smell without the risk of loss of toes. After several days allow them out of their cages together in neutral territory to play. If this seems to be going well, try them in the main cage for a while. Add a bit of talc to their dust baths to cover any individual smell, and hopefully fingers crossed they should live a happy life together for many years to come.