… and things to remember if you have a Chinchilla pet
Chinchillas can live up to 20 years.
1.) Chinchillas can be found in a variety of colors but the only color found in nature is standard gray.
2.) The most common other colors are white, black velvet, beige, ebony, violet, sapphire and hybrids of these.
3.) There are only 2 known species of Chinchilla – the Long-tailed Chinchilla and the Short-tailed Chinchilla.
4.) If you plan to have a Chinchilla, you should remember that they require extensive exercise.
5.) Chinchilla teeth need to be worn down as their teeth grow continuously and can prevent the chinchilla from eating if they become overgrown.
6.) Wooden sticks, pumice stone and chew toys are good options for Chinchillas.
7.) Conifer and citrus woods like cedar or orange should be avoided because of the high content of resins, oils and phenols that are toxic for Chinchillas.
8.) Safe woods for Chinchillas to chew include birch, willow, apple tree and manzanita or kiln-dried pine.
9.) If temperatures get above 25°C or 80°F, Chinchillas could get overheated and may suffer from heat stroke because they lack the ability to sweat.
10.) Chinchillas dissipate heat by routing blood to their large ears, so red ears signal overheating.
11.) Chinchillas are great leapers. They can jump up to five feet above their head..
12.) Chinchilla fur is considered the softest in the world and is thirty times softer than human hair.
13.) Chinchillas have more than 50 hairs from a single follicle. Humans have a single hair in a follicle.
14.) For every cm² of the Chinchilla’s skin, there are more than 20,000 hairs making it the highest fur density of any land animal.
15.) It takes about 250 chinchillas to make one fur coat. It is the very reason why Chinchillas were exploited causing their numbers to decline rapidly.
The 2 species of Chinchilla...
Long-tailed Chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera)
The Long-tailed Chinchilla is one of two species of rodents called Chinchilla. It is endemic to Chile and can be found in Peru also. It is also known for a variety of common names like Chilean, Coastal, Common Chinchilla, or Lesser Chinchilla.
Short-tailed Chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla)
The Short-tailed Chinchilla is an endangered rodent species. It can be found in the Andes Mountains of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The rodents were exploited for their luxurious fur, causing their numbers to dwindle greatly. It is also called the Bolivian, Peruvian, and Royal Chinchilla.
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Nice article. Your article is very informative for chinchilla lovers. If you are thinking of buying a chinchilla as a pet make sure you care for them properly and feed them the right diet and to entertain your chinchilla you must buy best chinchilla toys.
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