Chinchillas - A few quick facts

For those of you out there who've never been exposed to the incredible cuteness that is the chinchilla, here are some quick factoids you might want read up on. If you don't have a chin, maybe then you'll decide you'd like to get (i.e. ADOPT) one!

* Chinchillas are originally from the Andes in South America. They're used to a dry environment where they've got to hop around on rocks and cliffs. So, keep your chin dry and give her room to jump around!

* Chins were once hunted for their fur because they have more hairs per follicle than any other creature. It's sad that people still raise them for their fur, but it's good for chin owners because we're so soft! Pet me, please!

* Chinchillas can live together with another chin of the same sex as long as they get along. I live alone in my pad, but that's okay because Janna plays with me enough so I don't get lonely.

* We chins aren't entirely domesticated, so we're not real fond of being held and snuggled like a guinea pig or rabbit would be. You can get us to like snuggling sometimes, depending on our personalities, but most chins prefer a nice scratch behind the ears to a hug. At least, that's what I like!

* When frightened, we have two forms of defense: hair loss and peeing. If you grab a chinchilla and they become frightened, their hair will come out so you lose your grip. Another way of defending against an enemy is to spray urine. This doesn't often happen to humans but be careful!

* Chinchillas are sensitive. We need the temperature of our rooms to be a maximum 75 degrees, preferably less, with low humidity otherwise we don't feel good.

* Chinchillas LOVE raisins, but limit raisins to only one a day. Otherwise it's too much sugar. Imagine the size of that raisin compared to me! It's like a football!!

* When you let your chinchilla run around the room, you've got to chin-proof everything.