Chinchillas

[Karla]

So, RabbitPam told me to get my own thread to ask questions about chinchillas ( ). We looked into chinchillas before deciding to get a rabbit, as all I could get of information on the www was that they sleep at day and are awake at night, that they are not cuddly animals et.c. So all in all, they didn’t sound like that much fun.

Well, we are not getting a chinchilla (not at this point though), but I am still curious to actually hear what chinchilla owners have to say about this pet? Oh, and you are more than welcome to flash pictures!

 

[MarkBun]

I never owned one, but when I was stopped at a traffic light around 3pm in Berkeley, CA, this guy walked across the road and a chinchilla was hopping from one shoulder to the other on him, checking out the world around him. I nearly ‘squeed’.

[Elrohwen]

A friend of mine really wanted a pet, so he got a chin from a co-worker whose daughter didn’t want it anymore. His chin was cute, but she was not friendly (not even as friendly as Otto, and he’s not a cuddle-bun). He tried hard, but said she just wasn’t the best pet and wasn’t very interactive.

He recently moved from PA to MA and wasn’t allowed to take her to his new apartment. Luckily he found a chin lover (already had 5 of them) to take her. I gave him a hard time for getting a pet and giving it up, but at least he found her a fantastic home with someone who will really understand her and love her.

I knew a girl in elementary school whose family had 5+ chins and they were extremely friendly and cute! I believe they socialized them all from babies (and even bred them) and their chins were very very sweet. So I guess it all depends.

Their care does seem trickier than a bun’s! More temperature restrictions, etc and since they’re generall more nervous you couldn’t just pack them up and take them to on a trip the way you can with most buns.

Hopefully someone with more first hand experience will answer. I think they’re beautiful little animals and would love to hear some more stories.

[Barbie]

I don’t know anything about chinchillas,but in high school I had a friend who got two chins from the pet store. He built them a big cage for the living room and everything but I don’t think he played with them very much. They were never out when I was over and I never got to hold them. Anyway…. turns out the pet store sexed them wrong and he ended up with a litter of babies! They were very cute but after that, the boys and the girls were all kept separately!

[Lintini]

I used to have a trio of Chinchillas. You kind of have the basics about them. I used to sit and watch TV/play on the computer with my chinchillas sitting on my head. They LOVE being up high. I enjoyed watching them and caring for them. They needed a huge cage and poop was always flung around my room because they jump and boing everywhere…but being a rabbit owner that is nothing new :p I loved giving them dustbathes. They are pretty sensitive to heat, so if it gets hot in the summer and you don’t have air conditioning …not a good idea. I got mine young so I was able to handle them with ease, but the one from Petco got a bit snotty with me and would stand on her hind legs and actually pee at me. The other two were sweethearts. I would say they are okay pets for adults but rabbits are cooler!

[MimzMum]

I love the idea of keeping a chin, but I am certain the dustbaths would stop me cold since I can’t handle even everyday dust with my sinuses. ~_~
I had a friend in high school who had one, but I only saw it in it’s cage. He would hand feed it and pet it once in awhile, but I kind of felt sorry for it that it was not allowed out of it’s pen.

[Dextervonbon]

They are very cute and anime like. I don’t know much about them except for their dust baths. I love how they roll around in them but I think they only need it once a month? I could be wrong.

[Lintini]

Oh no, they need to be given their dust bath 1-2, sometimes 3 times a week. It cleans their fur and is relaxing to them. You leave it in their cage for about 10-15min and that is good. After handling them our human oils make their fur oily and you can offer it then to them as well. If they start getting dry, flakey skin, then you know you are giving them a dust bath too often and you decrease it. If you give them access to their dust bath all the time, they will also turn it into a potty box! Naughty chins!

[Karla]

I know bunnies aren’t considered cuddly either, so I am just so excited that Jack likes to jump up on the couch and snuggle up against me. The two others don’t. But would a chin ever do that? They look so darn cute Lintini, if you have pictures, then you need to post them here!

[Elrohwen]

My understanding of chin personality is that it’s more like a gerbil or something – they’re much more into running around and exploring and not so much into petting. Lintini, is this your experience? I’m sure some are much more cuddley than others, but it seems to me like bunnies are a cuddlier species in general (which is saying something, since many buns aren’t cuddley at all)

[Lintini]

Unless you have a raisin then you might not be of much interest to them hehe. That was with my 3 anyways. My male was the sweetest and I could handle him the most but I left them alone for the most part. I wish I could dig up that photo of Chin sitting on my head. I’m going to go look on the upstairs computer.

[Lintini]

I found some photos – but not with Chin on my head – darn!

This is Rosie on top, and Chin and Cloud on the bottom. Rosie is a beige, Chin is a grey and Cloud is white. This was a pretty cool 4 story cage but it was a pain to clean omg… only 2 of the stories have doors…

Hahaha…This looks like Rosie on my Dad. I always put animals on him when he tries to sleep. Now the dogs take up his lap – I wouldn’t try the rabbits,,,he might kill me.

One of the babies I had – dipstick tail!! so cute!

Another beeebeee

And another beebee…pretty sure this is the same one with the dipstick tail!

Ahh I miss having Chinchillas. I used to turn them loose a lot in my upstairs bathroom but cleaning up their poop took awhile …I mean these guys would bounce off the walls, their poo was everywhere!! I was constantly getting in trouble for it lol. When I first brought Chin home, my dad asked what was in the box. I told him it was just a squirrel and that I would let it go soon…rofl. I don’t know if he actually believed me…I hope not. Ahhh to be 16 again.

[Elrohwen]

Lintini, I love your stories of bringing home animals and sneaking them past your dad. At least you didn’t tell him Blossom was a squirrel 😛

[corpathina]

i used to be absolutely obsessed with chinchillas in middle school. i wanted one so badly. i ended up doing a 12 page research paper on them in 8th grade. i got into high school and moved a few times and never was in the position to actually own one, went on to college, blah blah blah. in hindsight, i’m kinda glad. they don’t seem nearly as sociable as rabbits. i know they like to climb and hang out near humans, but don’t seem to interact in the same way as buns do.

i could be wrong though. like i said, i’ve never owned one. but if you wanna know anything about their genetic make-up and origins, i totally remember all that from my research paper. haha!

[Karla]

Great with the pictures! And thanks for all input. I don’t think I’ll be getting a chinchilla at any time, although they look so cute.

[Lintini]

Hahahaha Elrohwen …my dad doesn’t know Blossom exists still!!

[Barbie]

Those pictures are so cute! And Lintini, I’ve been meaning to ask you if he found out about her yet…

[Elrohwen]

She’s still so little – maybe if you told him she was a hamster he’d believe you. Hamster seems so much less bad than bunny.

[Kiley Rose]

I really really wanted a chinchilla before I got Marlee. I did tons of research and my mom said no way. She puts them in the same category as mice and ferrets…but she’s okay with hampsters…I’ll never get it. But I’m so glad I got my buns instead. Can you potty train a chinchilla?

[Author]

Messages