If you were to ask a pet chinchilla owner if chinchillas make good pets, you'll probably get an earful of all the care and maintenance they require. Only after getting through a laundry list of items will the owner respond with, "Yes, we think chinchillas are great!" Admittedly, we're the same way.
Responsible pet owners want to make sure that you're truly ready for the responsibility of caring for a chinchilla. Not because we don't want you to have one, but because we care so much about them that we want all chinchillas to live in perfect homes. We've already presented our list of reasons why not to have a chinchilla, so now we're going to get in to the more positive aspects.
- First off, they're really cute combining the features of a rabbit (body), mouse (ears), and squirrel (tail).
- Their fur is the softest thing you'll probably ever touch.
- They're fun to watch when let loose from their cage as they'll run, hop, and bounce off of the walls.
- Once your chinchillas trust you, they will be happy to run over to you and crawl on your legs, arms, and even in to your shirt.
- They don't need to be taken outside like a dog.
- They don't need a huge area to live in like a cat and dog.
- They don't bark when you leave the house, chirp early in the morning, or scratch at your bedroom door at night.
- They don't smell (although the cage can if you don't clean it often).
- Chinchillas are generally healthy animals that usually don't need vet visits.
Can you think of any other items we missed? Feel free to mention them below.
Entries (RSS)
July 25th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
A few months ago a friend called me to ask if I wanted to adopt an elementary school's 1st grade classroom pet chinchilla. He (at least I think it's a dude) was generically named "ChiChi" so I changed his name to "Virgil" or "Verg" for short. I knew a little about chins before I adopted Verg, but in the 4 days from my "yes" to me actually getting custody I studied everything I could to prepare myself. I schooled my children (9, 7, and 6) and my boyfriend on all the info I found. Virgil is the perfect pet because he's so cool! He doesn't require a lot of daytime attention, so I don't feel bad for going to working and leaving him alone all day. In fact, I think he appreciates it! He does recognize our voices and he loves it when we sing to him. (Especially our 'Like a Virgil'- spin off of Madonna's Like a Virgin…) He loves me and my boyfriend very much, but he isn't too thrilled with the kids. (I hoped that he would be cool with the kids since he was a 1st grade classroom pet, but I guess that REALLY made him hate kids….) When Brian talks to him, he comes up to the cage and stands on his hind legs and just tries so hard to get close to him. Verg isn't quite as happy to see me as he is Brian, but when I open the cage door, he almost always runs straight to it like some kamaze morphed rabbit-squirrel-mouse. He doesn't like to be held as in restrained to a certain spot… even to my chest or lap. He leaves his "raisins" (as my kids call it) everywhere. But if I let him loose in the room, he LOVES to dart over us and eventually climb in our lap on his own terms. I'm the only person in the house that he's bitten. But he's never bit me hard enough to draw blood. He doesn't like change. I found that out last week when I purchased his new cage. He had a 3 story home, but I got a steal at the pet store and purchased a larger 3 story. I eased Virgil into his new home with all of his old toys and his dust bath -his main comfort spot- and sat back to see how he'd react. (I even added some of his 'used' bedding to the new bedding so he'd have the same scent.) He ended up biting me about 30 times that night. I ended up opening the top of his new cage and connecting his old cage with his new cage. Now he's ballin' in a 6 story mansion!
Virgil K. Stinkmeyer has brought more happiness and laughs to my household than the entire Kevin Smith movie collection! I felt the need to share that with the world… now I feel better!
June 13th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I never thought about having a chinchilla until one that my sister rescued appeared on my dryer on night. Even being dead set against another pet (I already had two dogs), I fell in love with her. They are quite intelligent and develop their own personalities.
Due to their skittish natures (especially mine, who was mistreated as a baby), I have also found chinchillas to be fabulous for relaxation. I let her out every night and then try to attract and interact with her. They force you to calm down (or they hide).
I must also thank the authors of this site, others like it, and the many chinchilla books out there. I really had no idea what I was getting into at first, but chinchillas are fantastic and because of all the others willing to share information on them I was able to learn quickly.
September 16th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Stitch,
We're try to stay out of family discussions about who will take care of pets in the home. Sorry and good luck!
September 16th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
I've always wanted a chinchilla. But sadly my dad thinks 'there a pain' and I can't take care of it. Any ideas on how to convince my dad that they are not "a pain"?
September 14th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Tim,
It depends on your definition of play time. You don't necessarily need to "play" with them for any length of time. However, it's good to let them out of their cage every night to run around in a larger space.