subject: Things to Know About Chinchillas [print this page] Things to Know About Chinchillas Things to Know About Chinchillas
Chinchillas are the cutest creatures and the cuddliest types of rodents. They are very playful animals and they appear to more interactive with other rodents.
These animals have unique furs which make them more popular to pet lovers. They have extremely dense hair with about fifty five hairs for each hair follicle which prevent them from fleas.
Normally, chinchillas are grey in color but they have tuned up with fur that is white, violet, brown velvet, black violet and a mix of black and white. This makes them look like Pandas.
Since these pets have no "guard hairs," they are highly susceptible to being wet. Because of this moist condition, fungus and ringworm can grow well.
Chinchillas do "bathing" in the ash from volcanoes. There are chinchilla owners who gave these pets a periodic "dust" bath because "dust" is their native habitat. This is the most important thing to consider in caring chinchillas.
These pets live in colonies. This is the reason why they are keeping in captivity with a "roommate" in the cage. But it is better to have them in the same gender or you can add females with a single male. But it is a bad combination to have more than one male in cage since there is a tendency for them to fight. The cage must be big enough because these pets become territorial if cramped.
Chinchillas have a sensitive digestive system. Hay is the usual diet for them. But special foods can be bought in the pet stores. Do not give them treats with sugar because they can easily become fat or diabetic. Give them clean water. Place the water in the bottle instead of the water bowls since the latter can easily get dirty.
