Can a rabbit and Chinchilla be friends?

[Mandi]

Hi all,
So my sister is getting a Chinchilla today (super excited ^_^). The chinchilla is a female from Petsmart and 6 months old. My bunny is 8 months old and NOT neutered (though I am planning on getting him neutered asap). Also side question, any chance of them mating? I’m really hoping they can be friends ^_^

[sarahthegemini]

I don’t think they should be put together. They communicate differently and won’t understand each other for a start. Bunny back legs are also incredibly strong and a poorly timed binky could really injure a chinchilla.

[Pinkbun]

Hi
I would think the simplest answer is no.as there two different species. As chinchillas need a very different cage to rabbits. Chinchillas like to jump and climb and there also nocturnal. Rabbits do not like height on ledges like chinchillas do. Also chinchilla need a tall cage full of shelves, dust bath, hide etc. They rarely ever go to the floor. But what would concern me would be falling objects on the rabbit. Rabbits however are crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and would require more room from the bottom of the chinchilla cage. You could however try a diy cage and try building one from C&C grids? I’ve known pleople to do that.
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But your best bet is to bond them outside of the cage though your chinchilla will most likely be asleep most of the time! there fur is soooo fluffy and soft ! I used to keep one as part of my animal management course he was so cool! Be careful handling chinchillas they jump can be easily dropped

Edit: I forgot to add this when I first posted! No your rabbit and chinchilla will not breed as they belong to two separate taxonomy groups rabbits are in the order of Lagomorpha and chinchillas are rodentia. Fun Fact! Only species in the same order can interbreed with each other. Isn’t zoology great?

Hope I helped

[LittlePuffyTail]

Ditto the others.

Chinchillas are so cute!!!

[Mandi]

Sorry, I worded my question wrong. I won’t HOUSE them together (my sister will have the Chinchilla in her room and I’m keeping Captain in mine) , I was just wondering whether it would be ok to have playdates

[sarahthegemini]

No they can’t really have play dates for the same reasons discussed above – they won’t understand each other because they communicate differently and could injure eachother intentionally or unintentionally.

[dnelle]

Rabbits can carry pasteurella, a bacteria that is deadly to chinchillas. You should never let a chinchilla and a rabbit interact. Around 70% of rabbits carry pasteurella so I really wouldn’t risk it if I were you. The fatality rate for chinchillas that contridict pasteurella is incredibly high.

[dnelle]

I have a house rabbit and I keep a pair of chinchillas, they live in separate rooms and I am sure to never touch my bun before doing anything for my chins. Pasteurella lives for like 12 minutes on dry sufaces (I forget the length of time before the bacteria dies in a moist environment)

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