Varieties and cultivation of white chinchillas

In the wild, chinchilla is an inhabitant of the mountainous regions of South America with a cold and changeable climate. In order that this furry rodent could protect itself from low temperatures, nature rewarded it with a warm and thick fur coat. The color of the wild chinchilla is gray with a white abdomen, but among pets you can find cream, black and even sapphire color of wool. The reason for this was the breeders of these cute rodents.

By crossing it was possible to obtain new amazing colors. Among them, white color deserves special attention, which is divided into many shades and reflections, each of them has a name and characteristic.

This color is the founder of all other colors with the participation of white. In 1955, the American breeder Blythe Wilson, by crossing, bred the first white chinchilla. Fully snow-white varieties are rarely found among carriers of this color fur coats; this form of coloration is called “predominant”. Crossing between themselves two snow-white individuals can lead to a decrease in the number of puppies in the litter and reduce their viability. More often you can find combined types of coloring, among which the most popular are:

• silvery - the tips of the hairs of a white fur coat are painted silver, which creates an unusual smoky tint;
• platinum - they look like silvery, however, their main feature is the white tip of the tail;
• mosaic - on the skin there are gray spots of different sizes and localizations, the sharper the contours of these spots, the higher this color is valued;
• tricolor - one of the rare colors, on the skin there are spots of black, white and gray in different proportions.

This color is obtained by crossing chinchillas with Wilson white and hetero-beige. It, in turn, is also divided into 2 types: heterozygous and homozygous. Chinchilla of white-pink heterozygous coloring has a white fur coat with beige spots of different sizes and localizations. Sometimes only the ends of the hairs are colored in beige, which creates the effect of a pinkish veil. The ears and nose are pink, but sometimes there are small beige spots on the ears.

A homozygous type of white-pink chinchilla is quite rare, due to which it is highly valued. Animals differ from the heterozygous form in that they predominate in white, their ears are pure pink without spots, and also red eyes. Clearly limited beige and golden spots with this color are considered a rarity.

This is one of the most unusual and beautiful colors, obtained by crossing Wilson and violet. The pure purple color, in turn, is the result of a recessive mutation. It was bred in 1960 in North Africa. Like Wilson, the color white violet can take on a silver or mosaic form. However, a light purple hue took the place of gray or black in this color.

More often it looks like a purple haze in the ears and tail, but sometimes we can meet chinchilla with spots of such an unusual color.

The animals of this color have a white fur coat, gray ears and a gray “mask” on the face, sometimes they have a gray tail and gray “gloves” on the front legs. This coloring was obtained by crossing Wilson and black velvet.

This color got its name due to the surprisingly thick and soft texture of the fur - this genetic feature was obtained from the black velvet color. This variety of chinchilla coloring also has variations, among which velvet white-pink heterozygous and homozygous, as well as white velvet violet are known. Such coloring combinations are a great gift for any breeder and are highly valued.

This unusual color appeared due to a mutation at the same time on several farms in California. Immediately at several breeders in the litter gray puppies began to be born, which became increasingly white with age. A clear gray edging was traced in the area of ​​the ears and the base of the tail. The remaining areas could be smoky or mosaic-like, but the main feature of this species is the snow-white tail. For this feature, the color received a second name.

This color is among the rarest. She is distinguished by a white skin with a thick undercoat and a creamy veil, closest to the shade of champagne. The eyes of these chinchillas are bright red. With age, babies brighten, reaching maturity, get back their unusual creamy tint. For the first time such a coloring was discovered on his farm by the Canadian breeder Robert Lowe in 2002, and a variety was named after him.

The carriers of such a fur coat are similar to Wilsons with a mosaic type of coloring. Two varieties of white Ebony are distinguished: they can have a white fur coat with black spots or, conversely, black is predominantly black with bright snow-white marks. Their main difference is the clearly defined boundaries of the spots. Localization of spots can be on the head, ears, paws and sometimes on the sides. The eyes are dark, the ears are light gray. Sometimes white spots can have a cream or beige tint. It is known that carriers of the ebony gene have a better and brighter coat.

The presence of the albino gene is manifested by the absence of hair and skin pigment; therefore, these chinchillas, like all albinos, are born with red eyes, have snow-white wool and soft pink skin. Often, albino animals have health problems, namely visual impairment or complete blindness. To obtain healthy offspring of carriers of this mutation, it is recommended to cross only with bright representatives of the breed. The offspring of such a union will also carry this gene, which can be transmitted through one or several generations.

This species appeared due to the crossing of the royal Angora with the standard and white Wilson. The skin can be absolutely snow-white, have gray spots or a smoky “veil”, the main difference here will be a thick undercoat and a surprisingly soft fur coat. The eyes of such a chinchilla are dark, and the ears and nose can be gray.

Caring for a white chinchilla is no different from keeping animals of other colors. For the comfortable existence of a home chinchilla, you need a spacious cage with a small house inside, so that the animal can always hide and feel safe. Also, it is better to equip the cage with a wheel, various tunnels and ladders - so the rodent will be able to realize its need for movement.

As a litter, you can use special filler or simple filings. Among other things, in the cage you need to place a mineral stone, about which the chinchilla will grind its teeth.

The nutrition for the chinchilla must be balanced. Since this animal is a herbivore, it is easiest to purchase a special feed, which will become the basis of your pet's nutrition. In addition, young sprouts of wheat or oats, as well as dandelion, sorrel and plantain, can be added to the chinchilla menu from time to time. For comfortable digestion, chinchilla needs hay - it can be placed in a special wire feeder. In summer, the diet of a domestic rodent needs to be enriched with fresh products, for this ideal:

• carrot;
• eggplant;
• potatoes;
• nuts
• sunflower seeds;
• figs;
• apples
• pears
• grapes.

One of the important points in caring for a chinchilla is swimming. Since this animal has no sweat glands, swimming in water is contraindicated for him. Chinchillas perform this hygiene procedure in the sand. To do this, you can purchase a special container and fill it with sand with antibacterial additives.

Despite sociability and friendly attitude towards people, white chinchilla sometimes bites. This incident can have many causes, some of which are listed below.

• Acquaintance. As a rule, this is an easy biting, which helps the animal to better remember your smell and get to know each other better. Such bites are almost painless and do not cause bleeding. When the chinchilla examines you, this will not be necessary.
• An accident. This can happen without malicious intent, for example, you fed the chinchilla from your hands, and it missed a bit.
• Protest. This "bite" means "Don't do this!" So, you are trying to take the animal against his will or too rudely. For example, the chinchilla was asleep, and you suddenly decided to demonstrate it in all its glory to a recently arrived guest.
• Fear. In this case, the pet bites for protection - which means that he feels the danger. Perhaps the animal does not trust you.
• Disease. Nobody likes to be touched during an illness. Pay attention to the general condition of the pet - if he is inactive and apathetic, most likely he is sick.
• Another child. Kids do not quite understand what is good and what is bad. Trying the world by heart, they can try you too.
• The effect of "communal". If more than one individual lives in a cage, not everyone may like it. In the chinchilla neighborhood can cause stress, but in a state of stress everyone can bite.
• Just hurt. It happens that this is a character trait. If all other possible causes are excluded, it remains to reconcile and accept the harm as it is. Naturally, you should be very careful with such a beast, and if you succeed, try to wean it from biting.

To avoid this behavior, try to communicate more often with the pet, feed it treats with your hands, treat the chinchilla with care and respect. Do not encourage bad behavior - immediately after a bite, do not give the beast food, but wait until the time passes.

To learn how to grow white chinchillas, see the next video.