Some of the cutest little bundles of fluff (but still with very sharp teeth), chinchillas have the loveliest thick, soft coats – which they paid dearly for in the days of real fur coats – and make very good pets. Here are a few more interesting facts about chinchillas
General facts about chinchillas
1 – Chinchillas are large nocturnal rodents that are crepuscular (most active around dawn and dusk). They are typically around 25 to 35 cm long with a 5 to 15 cm tail and weigh around 0.9 to 1.3 kg.
2 – Chinchillas are native to South AmericaAndes, now only in Peru and Chile but historically also in Bolivia. They are very sociable creatures who do not like to live alone. Their colonies consist of 100 or more animals and are found in the wild only at high altitudes, up to 4,270 m.
3 – Because chinchillas are adapted to living this way, their blood has thickened with extra red blood cells, allowing them to carry more oxygen. They have also evolved their signature high-density and soft coats to deal with the cold and thick, fleshy pads on their paws to help them climb the rocks.
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5 – There are only two species of chinchilla, Chinchilla Chinchilla (nearly extinct) which has a shorter tail and ears and thicker neck and shoulders, and Chinchilla Lanigera (still found in the wild but very rare) which is believed to have becomes that it occurs today in domestication.
6 – Because chinchilla fur is so dense, it resists attacks from parasites like fleas and also has very little loose dander, making them hypoallergenic.
Behavioral data on chinchillas
7 – Chinchillas are prey animals and because of this they have evolved a “fur slip”, a defense mechanism that allows them to lose a large part of their coat if grabbed by a predator. The attacker is then left with a lump of fur while the chinchilla hopefully escapes. They will also spray urine as a defense.
8 – Chinchillas are extremely agile and can jump up to 6 feet in one go! That could mean from floor to shoulder or from the top of the fridge…
9 – These rodents are extremely active and when kept as pets they will need plenty of toys and space to run around and play and preferably a chinchilla companion as they are very social. When kept as the only pet, they become very attached to their human and require a lot of attention that many humans would find difficult to care for.
10 – To keep their dense coats in good condition, chinchillas take a dust bath by rolling around in specially designed pumice baths (ground volcanic rock found in the wild). They need these baths several times a week to soak up the oils in their fur and remove dirt.
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11 – The density of their coats also means they should *never* be bathed in water – the fur doesn’t dry on its own as air can’t get in, so moisture simply sits on the skin and can lead to coat rot or fungal infections. If a chinchilla does get wet, it should be towel dried immediately and given a cool blow dryer to ensure it is dry to the skin without overheating.
12 – Another thing chinchillas must have is lots of things to chew on – like rabbits, their teeth are constantly growing and if allowed to overgrow they can become painful and prevent them from eating. Chew toys, pumice stones, and pieces of wood are ideal—but avoid citrus and softwoods, as they contain too much resin, oils, and phenols that are toxic to chinchillas. The best woods for this purpose are willow, apple, manzanita, birch or kiln dried pine.
13 – Adapting to their cool mountain homes, chinchillas, unable to sweat at all and wearing a heavy fur coat at all times, can overheat very easily. At temperatures above 25 ° C, they can suffer from heat stroke. Therefore, as pets, they must be kept in a cool place indoors. Their only method of getting rid of excess heat is to pump blood around their large ears. If their ears turn bright red, that’s a bad sign!
14 – Chinchillas converse with a wide variety of vocal sounds, such as grunts, barks, squeaks, and chirps. Their hearing range is similar to ours, so they won’t hear dog whistles or anything else we can’t, although their relatively large ears mean their hearing is more sensitive than ours.
15 – Because they’re adept at sleeping in tiny holes and crevices on cliffs and rocky mountainsides, chinchillas can literally sleep in any position – upside down, upright, on their sides – you name it!
16 – Chinchillas eat sitting on their hips, so they can hold food in their front paws like hamsters and mice. They don’t eat much and can’t cope with a rich diet as it just isn’t available in their mountaintops. As pets, all they need is a supply of loose timothy hay and a few hay-based pellets – anything else will simply upset their stomachs and make them sick or even kill them.
Family Chinchilla Facts
17 – Chinchillas can breed at any time and have a long gestation period for their size – 111 days. Because of this, the babies, usually twins, are born with their eyes open and already with a full coat of fur, ready to face the cold on the mountain tops.
18 – These animals are quite long-lived for rodents, they live on average about 16 years and it is by no means unknown that they are in their early twenties.
Chinchillas and us
19 – Not surprisingly, chinchillas were heavy hunters for their spectacular fur, but it could take up to 150 pelts to make a single long coat, and the anti-fur-wearing reaction came just in time for the pair’s extinction prevent living species. Unfortunately, it was too late for a third species, and while it is currently against the law to hunt wild chinchillas, illegal hunting continues and the remaining two species are also likely to become extinct in the wild in the near future. This is despite the fact that there are farms that raise domesticated chinchillas for their fur and it is therefore totally unnecessary!
20 – Because the chinchilla can almost hear them These little animals have the same range as humans and their cochlea (and are fairly easy to reach). They are often kept as models for research purposes related to the auditory system.