Chinchilla is a tiny beautiful rodent known for its fluffy fur. His appearance is somewhat similar to a mountain rabbit.
Chinchilla at home?
At home, chinchilla lives for about 15 years. And one of its advantages is the absence of a characteristic odor for rodents due to the fact that they do not have sweat glands. She quickly adapts to the environment and to her master. Almost does not bite and quickly goes through the stages of training.
But there are no only positive qualities. Little animals love to play at night, gnaw everything in its path. Trying to wean him from the habit of gnawing everything is useless, because he is driven by nature. There is only one way out - to hide everything that might fall into his arm.
Chinchillas have a character that they will not hide. Suppose, if they do not want to play, then they will certainly run away from their hands. There are times that even during the escape they can leave a piece of their fur. The animal itself then grows for a long time what it has lost.
Since the animal is from nature and likes to move fairly well, the enclosure is also needed in sufficiently large sizes. It should be made of metal rods. At the bottom of the cage you need to make a bed of hay and sawdust. There, he needed a bath with sand for swimming. Specialized sand is not so cheap, but you can replace it with the usual one. Place the enclosure in a room where there are no changes in temperature and humidity. So that direct sunlight does not fall on the pet and there are no nearby heating elements. Also, it is not recommended to supercool them.
Cell cleaning should be carried out regularly with disinfectants (non-chemical).For example, an infusion of chamomile or a solution of soda. You can put animals in the house a couple, but you need to temporarily relocate them from each other, when a fight is started or before giving birth to new babies.
Chinchilla Food
The diet must be thought out, otherwise the animal may suffer. When the animal has just been brought into the house, it is only necessary to feed it with what was treated to it in the store. Then you can gradually transfer the pet to a new meal. It is also necessary to give him hay and oats, and in winter, carrots are also used as top dressing. In addition to granular feed, you need to provide it with greens and beans, mineral components.
It is enough to feed once a day. And it is imperative to put in a cage a specialized stone for grinding a tooth, with another it will damage them. You need to monitor the cleanliness of the feeders, throw out the leftover food, wash the dishes with hot water and provide a small animal with the constant presence of cool purified water every day.
Pay special attention to nutrition, because in all rodents, the gastrointestinal tract is a weak point and they are often poisoned by poor-quality feed. Such an oversight threatens to kill a pet. Therefore, you need to be shy to seek help or advice from specialists and veterinarians. They will give complete answers and recommend food that is good for your pet.
It is necessary to monitor the hair, comb out as necessary. But if more than one chinchilla lives in a cage, then they can do it themselves. This should be done with caution, without pulling out the fur.Try to unravel the lumps gently with your fingers or with a soft brush.
The life expectancy of chinchillas is 12-15 years. The female carries 110 days for 5-6 babies. They are born already sighted and with claws. During this period, it is important to put them away from adults. It is possible to understand that the female became pregnant by her weight: during this period she begins to gain him sharply.
Although the chinchilla is an animal adapted to life in the wild, it nevertheless gets used to the family circle. With proper education, she will obey. This animal will not cause much trouble and will give only happiness.
