We've got the opportunity to get a pair of chinchillas and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these things. We've had hamsters, hedgehogs, and guinea pigs, but nothing like this. I don't know whether to get them or not.... It's a male and female, about 1 year old. All I know is that holding them is like holding a puff of air and that they like to take dust baths.
Anything that you can tell me about them would be MOST appreciated. Would they be okay with a 4-year-old?

Thanks a bunch!!!

I don't have any but I have heard they can be difficult to take care of. I know they need cool temps (if you don't have AC they will die from the heat in the summer) and need dust baths (how fun to watch!). I'm not sure how friendly they are though.

I'm sure others will respond... just wanted to add the thing about them being sensitive to temps :)

All I know is my dd4's experience. Don't stick your finger in their cage; they'll think it's a carrot!

After a few tears and a bandaid, she now knows not to stick her finger into cages! :o

Are they STINKY? When we had the guinea pigs, we had to change the cage AT LEAST every other day. That got really old really fast. The hedgehog was absolutely fastidious and we only changed the cage once or twice a week and only because we knew it was the right thing to go. Those guinea pigs -- P.U.!!!!

Can you hold them? Are they friendly?

Hmmmm..... even though this little couple is completely adorable (one is white and the other is grey), here's what I found on a google search:

They are very timid and are easily frightened by noise and rough handling. They have the special trait which skunks have: emitting a pungent odor when frightened. A chinchilla may also bite or shed its fur in fear. Even owners need to be gentle and quiet when handling their chinchillas.

You will enjoy watching your pet keeping busy with activities more in the night than day for chinchillas are nocturnal rodents.

Doesn't sound like much of a "family" pet.....

Arn't chinchillas a human food? :confused:

I don't think so. They're almost like minks or something, they're so soft. But the article I read said that they're most like squirrels. And they can live 20 YEARS! So it's not like hamsters or guinea pigs that live about 5 years -- it's a long commitment.

awww, they sound so cute! I think you should get 5:heart:

my mom used to have a pair.. she called them cheech and chong :p Anyway.. they are very cool! I was able to hold them and pet them, you can get a large ball like a hamster and let them run around. You have to be careful not to let them get loose. lol they are fast.. and will chew up everything! :eek:

We were going to get them from my mom.. but she lives in oklahoma. I saw a set in the paper today and thought about getting them myself...but we don't have enough room for a big enough cage.

I am sure the more you play with them, the tamer they will be.

They make funny noises at night, and i think they may screech if you scare them. They need a big cage, and don't set them too close to anything.. because they will eat it.

My mom used to feed hers special lettuce, and I can't remember what else. They knew when they were supposed to eat. lol

Here is a couple pictures of them.

I think they are so cute.. and I would bath them everyday if I could. You get a little thing that looks like a house and you pour ash into it.. these two used to fight about which one would get in first.. lol and they even got in together and they flip around. A child would LOVE them!!

Wanted to add.. you need to make sure you tell your daughter not to squeeze them.. they are very fragile.. but Bailey held one and he was just over 3 but I was right next to him. I would hold them and let the boys pet them mostly. :) I think they would make a wonderful pet.. they can make a mess though.

awww, I want one! I am going to save up and buy one....wait no, 6!


P.S. I thik they are adorable. I changed my mind. Get 8 of them.:heart:

Aww they are soo cute. i think you should get them. I never had them. I've only had like mice, hamsters and gerbils for rodents. I cant stand guinea pigs. No offense to all you other guinea pig lovers but those things stink bad even after changing the cage a hundred times a week and they love to make noise at 3am. lol Plus they always run from you. i've never seen a guinea pig that was calm lol. I say get the chinchillas. They look soooo fluffy and cuddly soft. i wanna get a pair of Sugar Gliders. I prefer joeys so i can train them young. :)

They are very much nocturnal animals. The one we had was a rehab from a frat house and had been abused. We used to let it out of the cage in a confined room and he would run all over and the dust baths are great fun to watch. About 8 weeks ago we got a pair of degus and now have 4 total! The babies are soo cute. They like dust baths too but do better with warm temps. I just changed their cage for the first time after 8 weeks! Should probably be done a little more frequently. I would find out how much they've been handled. The more the better! Hope that helps. Any more questions, I'll try to answer! Tina

Kimmyboo, your cat is soooo cute. Can I have him???:joker: :heart:

What are joeys? Baby sugargliders?

Now everyone's gotten me excited and I'm hoping we're approved to get this little couple. :jump: But I guess if we're not, it'll just be one less cage to clean. Right? I don't want to get my hopes up too much!!!

and they are freindly...don't bite...my 2yrold can carry them around. you can train them. They come in pretty colors and they only live for 1-3 yrs ...longer if your lucky. They SEEK your companionship..pretty cool!!

I agree w/ Shelly. Chinchillas are ok pets, they sure are cute but a saml cild would have to be CLOSELY supervised with one cause they are so fragile and the yare pretty shy. A RAT on the other hand is just like a dog...i really mean jsut like a dog in temprement. they love you and kiss you, they come in tons of diffferent colors, curly hair, no hair, dwarf, big round cartoon ears (dumbo), and even tailess!

Kids and rats can play prett ywell together cause rats are fairly sturdy, they can't be intentionally squeeezed but they could handle a smaller child without beign emotionally traumatized.

of course i am biased Rats are Awsome!

RATS?!?! :eek: Okay, I gotta admit that my first reaction is something very close to .... revulsion. I mean, I'm a member of the original "Willard" generation. But I'll be open-minded. How does a rat compare with a guinea pig? I know that the guinea pigs are sturdy enough for DD to carry around like a baby, etc. etc., but they STINK!!! What does a rat live in and how often does it have to be cleaned?

super large tank. They like to climb an are active.

If you have more than one rat then...cleaning the cage is done about every 2 days..if one then you can go way longer. Just depends on how tolerant you are. They are NOT as stinky as those little pigs!! I haven't ever met a really social G.pig. Rats are truely a perfect little pet for any age kiddo. THey REALLY like to hang out and be with you. You get them when they are about 8weeks old.

We have three right now and I have found myself attached to them. Truely..you have to look beyond there tail. You can even give them a bath.

Usually you get them in pairs..as in two males or two females. They are really social animals and smart to boot!!

rats sould be kept in same sex pairs because they are very social and really suffer if they are lone most of the time...if you get them a large wire cage you own't have to change the cage as much, since he will have more room and it'll take longer for the pee to build up. If it is jsut the tail that scares you there are tailess rats..that look alot more like...well not like rats..sort of degu like. ..very cute anyway.

oh and if you do decide to get rats..dont' use pine or cedar s their bedding. it is very harmful to their lungs. alpine, yesterdays news, the other newspaper based bedding, and ccorncobb are all superior beddings..aoem people even use rabbit food..but it gets soggy and your rats might eat to mich of it which could kill them..so i don't suggest it.

OMG! We got the chinchillas the other day and they very nearly KILLED us. Cute as they could be and we got them home and after I had been playing with them for a little while, I started to feel really .... warm. Looked in the mirror and my face was bright fluorescent pink and my ears were on fire. Gradually, my nose and throat started swelling up. Finally, DH got home and took them back, but *WOW* -- what a scare. I've never had an allergic reaction like that to an animal. Chinchillas are in the rat family, so I wonder if I'd have the same kind of reaction. It's a moot point for now, though, because we just found out that we'll have 6 more feral kittens and their mama to care for within the next few days. :D The chinchillas sure were cute, though! Take a look......

http://members.sparedollar.com/poobadilly/Bonnie-and-Clyde-small-pic-6x4.JPG

The white one is Bonnie and the male is Clyde. They didn't have the same effect on our daughter, thank goodness. And fortunately, she didn't get upset about having to take them back, because the neon mommy look was pretty frightening to her as well.

http://members.sparedollar.com/poobadilly/8-30-4-Clyde.JPG