The Chinchilla is a sweet pet and falls under the mammal family and, also, rodents. The family of chinchillas is known as Chinchillidae. They are similar to rabbits in size and measure about 12 inches or 30 cm in height and weigh about 1.3 to 4 pounds. The female chinchilla are generally bigger in size than the males. If they are kept as pets they will live from 10 to 20 years and in wild environment they will just live up to 15 years of age, at the most.

Temperament of Chinchillas:

As the chinchillas are nocturnal animals they spend most of their days napping and sleeping. In case there is an interesting thing taking place, then these pets can be really active even during the day. As they sleep in the day you must protect them from disturbances and noise. The excellent time to be playful with them is during the evening. It might be possible that they may be in a mood to play with you in the late afternoon. They are, surely, mischievous and intelligent in nature.

These pets have social behavior requiring the owner to give them utmost attention and affection. When you initially purchase your chin, your pet will, probably, be timid and shy. Thus, you will have to spend high quality time with your pet. You can not interpret their behavior. Once you have been successful in getting their trust, the chinchillas will definitely hop up on your shoulders, and hands. Always give them something to chew on in order to keep their teeth filed down. The only aim is to keep them busy. Therefore, you can place new, and clean cardboard in the cages. Make use of your both hands to hold them by giving support from the back of their legs with one hand and support from other hand to the back of front legs.

Chinchillas love consistency in their life, thus, they will not appreciate being moved or altering their place of residence. They are intelligent and have long memories. This means that if they have been frightened by someone, they will remember the person forever. While training them you can reward them with a treat and they will tend to behave in the same manner. Moreover, they may bite you if you threaten them. As these pets do not like to be cuddled too much, they may not prove to be good pets for children.

Health Issues:

The chinchilla is highly prone to overgrown and uneven teeth, seizures, heat stroke, constipation, diarrhea, fungal infections, spurs and fur biting. Thus, it is on your part to take them to veterinarians for regular check ups.

Cleaning of the chinchilla cages:

You must clean the cage tray at least once a week. If you have two or more chins in one cage then you will have to clean the tray more often. You can make use of newspaper and wood shavings in place of pull out trays. Keep the chins in another place while you are cleaning their cage. In order to absorb the odor of their urine, you can sprinkle baking soda, lightly, through the cage.