The Chinchilla is about the size of a small rabbit that have big round ears and round eyes they have thin feet that have four digits with stiff bristles around the weak claws, their tail is long hairs on the dorsal or back surface they stand about an inch from off the ground, when they are on there four feet they have about 60 or more hairs in each follicle. They come in many colour from standard grey, Homo and Hetro Beige, Black Velvet, Brown Velvet, Wilson White and more they can live for about 15- 20 yrs.

The Male chinchillas can weigh around 500g or more and the females are around 600/800  and are much larger, she can come into season every 28-35 days which can happen at 2-3 months of age and should be kept away from a male till they are old enough and not small. Breeders wait till there at least 8-9 months old to a year before introducing them to a mate as being pregnant at such a young age could kill or cause problems they can mate up to 3 times a year and can have an average of 1-6 kits (babies).

when they have mated u may find a mating plug at the bottom of the cage (if they haven't eaten it "yuk") this shows that mating has taken place and the female chin may become pregnant, the plug is not a full guarantee that she will become pregnant, this is mainly done at night as to avoid predators. They are pregnant for 111 days.

Chinchillas can be found in the Andes Mountains where it is rocky. They were taken from the Andes Mountains and were trapped till they were almost extinct, this was due to the capture for there fur (pelts) which is now illegal in the UK. they are not endangered and are protected.

They are becoming more popular as pets over the years.

Home

	What is a Chinchilla
	How I Came To Owning Chinchillas
	Chinchilla Care
	Chinchilla Health
	Male Or Female?
	My Chinchillas
	Other Pets
	Memorials
	Contact Us
	Links