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Chinchillas

Family: Chinchillidae Black Velvet ChinchillaChinchilla lanigeraPhoto © Animal-World

   Chinchillas have great appeal, like cuddly little "balls of fur". Their exceedingly soft, dense coat has more fur per square inch than any other known mammal!

They make good pets and are very lively. Keeko loves to go outside in the long grass (on a leash) to jump and play. Pippin is actually Keeko's father! Pippin likes to be left alone more than Keeko, probably because he was in a breeding situation for several years.

   The average lifespan of a Chinchilla is 8 - 10 years, though in captivity they have been known to live up to 20 years.

For information about Small Animals and their care visit:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Small Animal

   See other Chinchilla color varieties below:

Geographic Distribution Chinchilla lanigera Data provided by GBIF.org Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Chinchillidae

Scientific name: Chinchilla lanigera, Chinchilla brevicaudata

Background:    The Chinchilla was named after the South American Chinca Indians .by the Spaniards in the 1500's. There are about 6 species in the Chinchillidae family and all are found only in South America. Originally they came from the Andes mountains in Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Presently, they can only be found in the mountains of Bolivia.
   The Chinchillas seen today are the descendents of 11 little critters brought into California by Mathius F. Chapman in 1923 to be bred for their fur. All species have dense beautiful fur. The importance of the Chinchillas in the fur trade led to intense harvesting and today they are a relatively endangered as a wild species, though there are over 3,000 Chinchilla ranches in the United States raising the domestic species.
   There are two types of domestic Chinchilla, the Chinchilla lanigera and the Chinchilla brevicaudata.

Description:   Chinchillas are adorable animals with long ears, large eyes and bushy tails; they are also rodents.Their tail looks like a squirrels' tail and accounts for about one third of their length. The chinchillas' body is 22.5 - 38 cm (8 3/4 - 15 in) long. The tail is 7.5 - 15 cm (3 - 6 in) long. They can weigh anywhere from 18 to 35 ounces.
   The Chinchilla Lanigera is distinguished by a more pointy face, a longer tail, and a more slender body, while the Chinchilla brevicaudata is thicker in the neck and shoulders and has a shorter tail. Visually the C. lanigeria looks larger, but the stockier C. brevicaudata is actually a bigger Chinchilla. It is mostly thought that the pets are of the C. lanigera species.
   The hind limbs of the Chinchillidae are longer than their forelimbs, and the animals are good at running and leaping; they are also good climbers.
   Today there are different colored domestic chinchillas including blue-grey, white, beige, black, violet, and mosaic. Keeko and Pippin are called grey chinchillas.

Environment:    An indoor enclosure makes a perfect chinchilla home. In the wild where the ground is suitable, they dig burrows, but otherwise they shelter under rocks. The cage needs to be large enough for your pet to stand up on it's hind legs without bumping it's head, as well as being large enough to put in a little sleeping hut for the animals privacy (a cardboard box works great for this), a place for food and water dishes, and also have space for running around. Use absorbent bedding material on the bottom.
   Provide a good soft bedding that is clean, non-toxic, absorbent, relatively dust free and easily acquired. Use a natural bedding since the chinchilla will probably eat some of it, and make sure it doesn't contain paint, lacquer, or varnish resins! A good bedding is a pelleted litter which is is non-toxic, digestible, and draws the moisture inside leaving the area dry. Other litters include wood shavings and corncob. Avoid cedar or chlorophyll impregnated shavings as they have been associated with respiratory and liver disease.
   Chinchillas are a colder climate animal and cannot tolerate high heat. Keep the cage in a draft free place with a constant temperature between 60 to 80 degrees. Remove the animal waste everyday. Once a week change the bedding and disinfect the cage with bleach, rinsing it well.

Care and feeding:    Provide a water bottle with fresh water daily.
   Chinchillas feed on available vegetation in the wild, including roots and tubers. They sit up to eat, holding their food in their front paws. Their cheek teeth grow throughout life.They should be fed a Chinchilla pellet which provides most of their nutritional needs. Use a crock for its food as they are difficult to knock over and spill and they are hard to chew. They can be fed occasional greens, and they love dried bananna pellets for a treat.
   Chinchillas must be given access to a dust bath (available at pet stores) at least once every few days. Chinchilla teeth grow continuously so to keep them trim you must provide a block of wood for the chinchilla to chew on.

Regular Gray Chinchilla - "Keeko"

Social Behaviors:    Social animals, they live in small family groups which are part of larger colonies of 100 or more. It is better to keep pairs or families in captivity.
   Chinchillas are very sensitive and highly suseptible to stress when introduced to a new environment or new companions. Introduce anything new slowly, giving them time to examine it before making a permanent change. When frightened they will shed hair as a defense.

Breeding/Reproduction:    Female Chinchillas are larger than males and are agressive toward one another. They breed in winter, usually producing two litters of 1 - 6 young. the gestation period is 111 days, and the young are suckled for 6 - 8 weeks.

Common health problems:    Here is what most breeders recommend for common health problems:
      Diarrhea: give the chinchilla shredded wheat. Those little cubed 1" square ones work great.
      Constipation: Feed the chinchilla raisins.
      Runny eyes: Use a boric acid rinse. This may be a sign of other problems or infections, so if it persists for more than a day or two take your pet Chinchilla to a veterinarian.

Availability:   Although kind of a specialty pet, you should be able to find a breeder or a pet shop that can order a Chinchilla for you if they don't keep them at all times.

Common Chinchilla Color Varieties
Black Velvet	Violet
Mosaic 3 Photos © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough	White Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Shana Giron

Lastest Comments on Chinchilla View all 116 comments on Chinchilla Add Your Comment

Linda Clark - 2011-08-31 I raise and show chinchillas and, with attention, they do get along with other animals. I have one who sits on the back of my Seal-Point Himalayan cat and they watch TV. A cat and a rodent. Who would guess. I have one chinchilla, "Buddy" featured on YouTube "Buddy the Chinchilla Playing Dead" who is a certified therapy animal and goes to nursing homes, hospices, schools, etc. They can be wonderful pets with enough attention. Toby Jungle - 2011-08-31 Awesome Rhonda Elliott - 2011-09-07 Hi Linda Clark, It's me, Rhonda Elliott, the owner of the Peace Corps chinchilla, Zoey, that you are caring for. I tried emailing you at your cascadechins email address but it didn't go through. So hopefully, I can connect with you this way. It's been about a year since I was last in the Seattle area, I really miss Zoey. I'm sorry I haven't been able to email you until now. I hope she is doing fine and treating you and your other chinchillas well. If you have taken any recent photos of her I would love to see them. I really want to see how she is doing. I miss her soooo much! I hope you are also doing well and staying healthy there. I have a little over another year here in the Philippines. I keep myself pretty busy here with work. Anyways, look forward to hearing from you. Take care! Linda Clark - 2012-04-05 Rhonda, I don't even know how I found this. I've only been on this website once. I have looked high and low for your e-mail and could not find it. I don't know how to soften this, but Zoey passed away a few months ago. I'll look at my calendar and let you know the date. Okay, I can now almost see the tears in your eyes. She was everyone's favorite the way she would lay unside down on her wheel. I don't know what happened. She was always very healthy and loved in my care. She was fine one day and the next I noticed she didn't come for her treat. I picked her up and held her in my arms. She was lethargic. I think she may have had a stroke (not uncommon in chins). She did not die alone, she was in my arms and I told her that her Mom (you) loved her so much. She went quickly and peacefully. I am so sorry. She was a great chin. Please e-mail me at cascadechinchillas@msn.com. My heart hurts sending you this e-mail. I will find any pictures I have of her and keep them for you or attempt to send them to you. Let me know what your e-mail is. I am so sorry!!!!! She definitely loved you. Linda nicci king - 2012-05-18 i love chinchillas Reply

Betty - 2011-09-11 Hello I wanted to get a chinchilla for pet since a year ago. I'm living in a apartment with carpet floor. I'm not sure if the environment is suitable for having chinchillas. Also, is there any nice breeders in Vancouver Canada? Thank you:) Susan - 2012-05-17 Hi, I don't live in B.C., but I am sure if you searched on the internet or asked a Petstore you would find a breeder. I am answering you about their environment as we have two chinchillas 5 years old.. they are sisters...as you see they love company and get along famously. They are for my younger daughter and oldest now 17 and 25...(oldest not at home) my youngest has them in her large room..they are housed in a very large cage that is off the ground...and with a high large pen/gate that goes around the cage...the cage sits on a bare floor...Chinchillas are wonderful, but chewers. So they are kept safe..have wooden landings inside the wired cage to comfort their feet as well as allow them to chew, as this allows their teeth to be kept sharp but not grow too long...(teeth are not white, but yellow- sign of health) they have lots of room to run up and down cage and a metal flying saucer to exercise on at night, although do use it in the day light... and for hiding I have tubular forms to sleep in...also have cold marble to allow them to chill...they cannot be in a draft or bright light by window also cannot be too hot..I feed them Oxbow hay, two kinds and Oxbow food, and they get one or two small raisins a week..sometimes a slivered almond, but they love their daily hay...they get hours outside the cage to exercise which is important and have plenty of object, fruitwood.....to chew and go and hide under. also have their dust bath which they enjoy daily....when younger have watch they don't have too many in a week in fear of their fur drying out, but depends on where you live and the climate... they can be picked up....ours are kept in my daughters room, housed with 4 budgies as well which came to our home this year. Primarily they like lots of company, that is why I say two and lots of room on a bare floor...maybe you could put something down for them over the carpet, as they will go to the bathroom on floor, and get the dust bath all over..they are so cute, and are friendly, takes time to gain their trust...well worth the effort..their water should be in a glass bottle and changed every day, same with food. I use a metal dish that is attached to cage...life span can be 20 years if they are healthy and happy.... I hope this helps....sincerely, Susan... Cj Carolyn Hitt - 2012-04-25 i dont know a breeder but chinchillas can wear dipers... they love the dippy Reply

Rosie - 2012-04-14 Hey, I've 2 chinchillas which I've had for about 5months now. I have not got them out the cage as of yet as one of the chins is very scared still while the other one is not and loves being stroked and nibbling on my hand, is there anything you can suggest to make the smaller one more relaxed? They have a large cage which is about 6ft by 3ft and loads of boredom breakers but he would rather hide in his house 90% of the time. thankyou xD Charlie Roche - 2012-04-14 Take them both out and place on neutral area such as bed or kitchen any area not so big you can't catch them. Bribe them with cracker and honey. I would think the nervous one would learn from the cuddly one. Charlie Roche - 2012-04-14 Take them both out and place on neutral area such as bed or kitchen any area not so big you can't catch them. Bribe them with cracker and honey. I would think the nervous one would learn from the cuddly one. Anonymous - 2012-04-15 Okay thank you so much will try it. Reply

Nadia - 2011-07-30 So I have been looking at different information the last couple of days... and one website stated that chinchillas are illegal in the US can someone please give me some correct information? Charlie Roche - 2011-07-30 Chinchillas are legal inthe United States Per USDA (united States department of Agriculture)a Chinchilla is an "agricultural animal raised for the purpose of fur production" and not considered an exotic. I have no idea what site said they were illegal Nadia - 2011-07-30 thanks... I forget the website but i just wanna be 100% sure before I buy one. Reply

mmtakn - 2011-04-11 I bought a Chinchilla two days ago. The first night at about 11 PM, I move him out for a walk inside my room. After a while he suddenly started shaking. It seemed like he couldn't breath. Then I saw some water coming from his mouth. It was like a gel. He puked little bit. Closed his eyes slowly. Then frozen for 2-3 min. long. I thought he died. After 3 min he started jumping like nothing happened. Next day, on the same hour he repeated it again. Same events one by one. Is there anyone knows the reason, or had the same situation? Charlie Roche - 2011-04-12 Weird. Is there possibly something in your room that he quickly injests and then throws up? Animals can be allergic (very toxic) to some things us humans don't pay any attention to. Scented candles, Febreeze, aerosoles, perfumes etc. Big list and a chinchilla isn't a big fella. Deidra Lashan Gunn-Knight - 2011-07-07 I know this is pretty old, but sounds like your chin had a seizure. Some have them pretty often, but any chin can have them if they hit their heads or something. If he still does that, take him to a vet--if that's not possible, let him chill out in his cage, with only hay for a few days. No play time. Reply

Anonymous - 2011-08-02 What is a good size cage, if i want to adopt 2 to 3 chinchillas? Charlie Roche - 2011-08-04 You need a huge cage. Sorry it took me so long to write you back but had to do some homework and some thinking. Recommended size for 2 chinchillas, that I could find was 3 feet by 3 feet by 6 feet. They move around quite a bit. Obviously for three, you should go larger. Then I got to think about double decker bird cages without the divider used as they are usualy 3 feet by 4 feet by 6 feet. Then I thought about making one. Probably making one is your best solution for this large a size. You can buy wire and clips (Morton Jones has both) and just make one. You can use the legs that Morton Jones provides as well as a base pan. I think that would be the most economical way to go and get as large as you need. Where did you want to put it? Reply

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