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22 Oct 2014

How Much Do You Know About Chinchillas?

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Chinchillas

Chinchillas are friendly animals that are well-known for their timid nature and soft, luxurious fur. They can make a great pet for older children and adults – but how many of these facts did you know about them?

1. The word chinchilla literally translates to ‘little Chincha’. The beloved pet was originally named after the Chincha people who once lived in the Andes Mountains in Peru.

2. Chinchillas are native creatures to South America, in particular within northern Chile and Peru. The rodents are extremely sociable and often live in groups of the hundreds in the Andes mountain range. On average they live on high grounds, often settling at 15,000 feet in the mountains. Although they are now usually a silver colour, in the wild Chinchillas are originally thought to have been a yellow-grey colour.

3. Their famous fur is so thick as a result of adapting to their mountainous habitat. Chinchilla fur is very dense to deal with cold temperatures. A Chinchilla should not be washed in water as their skin cannot dry naturally; meaning they will remain damp which can damage their fur. Chinchillas prefer cool weather and can tolerate freezing temperatures due to the thickness of their fur. However, the animals cannot survive hot temperatures or humidity because they have no ability to sweat.

4. In the wild Chinchillas sleep in small holes and crevices in mountains. As they have adapted to this setting, they are exceptionally flexible animals that can sleep in any position – even upside down!

5. Chinchillas communicate with each other using vocal noises such as grunts, barks and squeals. They have a hearing range that is very close to that of a humans. Despite their large eyes, Chinchillas cannot see very well and rely on their whiskers to ‘feel’ their surroundings.

6. The entire Chinchilla population in the USA is domestic. All of these are believed to be descendants of only 13 Chinchillas that were brought from South America in the 1920s.

7. Baby Chinchillas are called kits. When a Chinchilla is pregnant, she carries her litter for about 111 days. This is quite a long period of time for an animal of this size, however a Chinchilla often carries 2-6 kits in one pregnancy which are born with their eyes open and hair.

8. A Chinchilla can jump 6 foot in one go! They are active animals that love to run around; if you have brought a Chinchilla into your family, make sure that you give them plenty of space to play in.

9. Like most rodents, Chinchillas’ teeth grow throughout their entire life. This can be up 12 inches per year! To ensure your Chinchilla has great dental health, it is important to provide hay and wooden toys to gnaw on.

10. Those fluffy tails we love about Chinchillas can grow up to 6 inches long! A Chinchilla tail is usually about a third of the size of the animal’s body.