How many chinchillas live?

Chinchillas are cute fluffy rodents with large beautiful eyes and delicate thick fur. The hunt for their valuable fur led to the almost complete extermination of these animals and their inclusion in the Red Book.

To date, chinchillas are domesticated. It is worth noting that it is the only odorless rodent. There are many special nurseries for breeding these animals, you can also buy chinchillas at any pet store.

The life cycle of captive chinchillas is no different from the cycle of wild relatives.

• Any individual becomes fully mature from 8 months, and the female can become pregnant (early pregnancy from the seventh month of life is very harmful to health).
• The exit of the cork (a dense film that can be found during cleaning in the cage) indicates the onset of pregnancy in the female.
• The female begins to quickly gain weight (up to 20 grams per week) and bears puppies 3.5-4 months.
• Up to 3 offspring can be brought in a year, each of which can have up to 5 babies (in natural conditions they breed 1 time per year).
• The number of individuals in the litter for the first few years can be 1-2 puppies, with age this figure can go up to 5.
• Chinchillates are born with a short hairline, fully formed teeth and open eyes. Delivery often takes place without the help of a person, lasts about 3 hours. It is necessary to wait until the end of the birth of the entire litter, give the mother time to lick all the puppies and let them dry, only after that they can be taken with clean hands and carefully examined (it is better to invite the veterinarian one day after delivery).
• If the puppies are large, childbirth can go with complications and become protracted - it is urgent to call a veterinarian.
• The first two months, babies need mom’s milk and her presence. From 2 weeks of age, you can gradually begin to introduce dry food into the diet.
• If the female does not have enough milk, lactation can be increased by feeding her dried strawberries and alfalfa.
• Chinchilla growth continues until the age of 2.
• The maximum weight of an adult can be 600 grams.
• The ability to reproduce at home persists for up to 15 years.

Chinchillas - costly for captive breeding on farms - quickly die if they are not properly maintained and maintained. At least 100 skins of 2-year-old animals are required per fur coat, therefore it is impractical to breed them on a private farm for the delivery of fur and can result in a loss of a large sum of money.

It’s much more profitable to maintain a nursery for the sale of live animals, but it is necessary to strictly observe the rules of care and use tall windows with 2 or 3-story houses inside for maintenance. With improper maintenance and care, chinchillas may not reproduce at all, or the female may refuse to feed puppies (and they need milk every 2 hours).

Breeding chinchillas in captivity is a very troublesome affair. The life cycle does not depend on where the animal lives: in natural conditions, in an apartment or on a farm, but the life span of domestic animals, with proper care and maintenance, is almost 2 times higher.

Longevity is distinguished by individuals purchased from a conscientious breeder who excludes the possibility of offspring from close relatives and sick individuals. It is better to purchase in a trusted nursery with positive reviews or on the recommendation. "Substandard" animals are cheaper and sent for sale to pet stores and bird markets.

If the chinchilla does not meet the standard, its life span can be only a few years.

The lifespan of these animals directly depends on the conditions of detention: with proper care at home, they can live 15 and even 20 years, while in nature the average life is not more than 12 (mobility decreases with age, chinchilla becomes easy prey for predators and poachers).

In the apartment it is best to keep a couple of chinchillas (they do not like loneliness), but at the same time they can begin to multiply actively. These cute rodents are very stressed: sharp sounds (construction noise, drill, screaming and even the noise of a working TV) are extremely detrimental to chinchillas. With stress or health problems, they immediately lose their hair in shreds.

You can determine the age of the animal by the following indicators:

• corns on the feet - the more of them, the more the animal is older;
• teeth - the whiter they are, the younger the individual;
• face shape - up to 6 months it is almost flattened, noticeably extended with age;
• body type - the larger the individual, the older it is.

If you buy a small animal for keeping in an apartment, it is better to choose a 4-month-old chinchilla and gradually accustom it to your hands. Girls are less playful and like to hide, during pregnancy they need peace, they make contact with only one owner. Boys are more sociable and playful. Chinchillas love to sit on the owner’s head and do not like to be stroked for a long time.

The main thing in caring for the chinchilla at home is the temperature in the room: 18–22 degrees Celsius (puppies up to 1 month old must be kept at a constant temperature of +24 degrees), drafts and direct sunlight are contraindicated. The climate control system will do a good job of adjusting the temperature in the room.

It is necessary to let out for a walk around the apartment a chinchilla daily at 18:00, so that the animal has time to run in and by 23:00 it becomes calmer (you must first hide all wires and small objects). But at night the rodent will still make a little noise: nibble sticks, drink water, jump around the house.

Chinchillas must be properly looked after and all recommendations are followed.

• The cage should be spacious (at least 1 meter wide), but have frequent strong rods (the distance between them is no more than 2 cm).
• The showcase is best suited for keeping - there is no danger of the animal getting stuck between the rods, trash does not fly to the floor of the apartment, the showcase can be made to order: height - 1.5 meters, depth - 60 cm, width - 60-80 cm, with a retractable tray facilitate cleanliness.
• To maintain good physical shape (easily prone to obesity), the cell should have shelves or a house with several floors and passages; if there is no house, the shelves should be wooden in order to avoid injuries to the animal’s paws and be firmly fixed with bolts.
• The drinker should be glass, plastic chinchillas quickly gnaw. Only boiled water with a mandatory replacement 1 time per day is permissible.
• The feeder must necessarily be with a reliable mount so that the chinchilla could not drag it around the cage.
• The sennik should be mounted on a strong chain, filled with hay of meadow herbs (replacement 1 time in 7 days).
• Shelter for relaxation (a fairly spacious wooden glueless house, without paintwork). Some individuals sometimes like to lie in a hammock, but most prefer closed houses.
• The bathing should be closed (you can replace it: put a small deep plate in a basin with high sides - when the animal is washing, the sand flies in different directions). In no case should you use water for swimming. Chinchillas are washed their thick fur only in special sand or volcanic dust (the bathing should be put in a cage for 30-40 minutes, then remove or bathe the animal in the cup no more than 2 times a week). Additional hair care is not required.
• The teeth of chinchillas grow throughout life, so it is necessary to provide materials for grinding: chalk, sticks, strong dried branches of currant. You can give a mineral stone for several hours (during a walk, 1 time per week), but it cannot be kept in a cage constantly. It is strictly forbidden to give pumice - from it teeth are badly damaged.
• The bottom of the cage should be covered with shavings of linden or other fruit trees (shavings of conifers are categorically contraindicated, it releases a resin toxic to rodents).
• It is recommended to clean up the waste products of these cute animals every day, but it is better to carry out general cleaning once every 10 days so as not to disturb the chinchillas too often.
• It is recommended (but not necessary) to process the clean cell with ultraviolet light before laying the feed and chips.
• Chinchilla food can only be given dry: 1 tablespoon per day. You can buy a combined mixture at a pet store, give additional dried apples, pears and berries.
• It is forbidden to feed with seeds, nuts, raw vegetables and fruits, boiled eggs and meat.

Walking chinchillas on the street is strictly contraindicated:

• they are afraid of harsh sounds and tend to hide;
• if they cannot hide, an instant cardiac arrest may occur;
• chinchilla is a treat for crows and cats;
• can pick up something from the ground, eat and poison.

You can’t buy a wheel: under the weight of the animal it can break and the animal will be injured. It is advisable to conduct a checkup with the veterinarian once every 6 months to timely detect health problems and provide assistance.When buying, always look under the conditions of the chinchilla, ask the breeder how to care for the animal, and take an interest in what the chinchillas are fed. Good breeder will advise exceptionally dry food and dried berries, and the presence in the breeder’s cells of rotting or fresh vegetables, as well as seeds, should help to refrain from buying from him, because with this feeding the gastrointestinal tract is hopelessly spoiled, and the chinchilla will hurt, and the life span will be significantly reduced.

Difficulties and significant expenditures of money in the maintenance of chinchillas are found only at the initial stage of arranging their life, daily care and feeding take only a few minutes a day.

If you properly care for the chinchilla - the animal will become a true friend for many years and will bring only joy.

See how to properly care for your chinchilla in the next video.