Know The 10 Important Interesting Facts About Chinchillas

I went to see the chinchilla that my friend Geeta had adopted and grew curious whether she knew enough about them. She told me 10 important and interesting facts about chinchillas that she knew.

The 10 important interesting facts about chinchillas:

1) Chinchillas are nocturnal creatures; they sleep during the day and are awake and active at night. So it is best to place a chinchilla’s cage in a quiet place away from the sunlight.

2) The next interesting fact is that these rodents are very sensitive to heat and humidity and live best in cool and dry places.  So it is best to ensure that their cage is kept in a place where the temperature is between 15 degrees C and 25 degrees C.

3) Another interesting fact is that chinchillas have the softest of furs;  the reason why they are hunted by the native tribes of the Andes Mountains. Also their fur is dense because about 50-80 hairs grow from a single follicle.

4) Interestingly a chinchillas teeth grows all the time, with its teeth  growing up to 12 inches in a year. So it is very necessary to give them safe things to gnaw on or they could hurt themselves and even kill themselves by gnawing on unsafe objects like electric cords and furniture.  

5) Chinchillas have big eyes and long whiskers, but surprisingly they see and feel things around with their whiskers as their eyes are under developed and they cannot see with them.  

6) Chinchillas are natural acrobats; they are high jumpers and prolific climbers that use their tail for balance. Since they originate from rocky and mountainous area they can jump from high areas and use their tails to balance as they move and climb from one area to another in their mountainous home.

7) It is a very interesting fact to know that chinchillas take dust baths and not water or wet baths; this is mainly due to their thick fur that does not dry out very easily. The dust baths help them get rid of oils and dirt; these cute and adorable animals roll playfully in the sand while bathing.

8) Chinchillas shed their fur in large clumps when they are threatened or under attack; known as ‘fur slip’ you would find the pet shedding large amounts of fur when it is stressed, frightened or manhandled. Though the pet chinchilla may look weird, with its coat having an unhealthy look, the fur will grow back in about 6 months.

9) Chinchillas are sexually mature at 8 weeks, almost the stage when they are ready to wean. So it is important to wean early and not let male kit near their sisters or mothers as they could interbreed. Also female chinchillas if mated early could have problems in pregnancy as their body is not fully mature to bear chinchillas kits.

10) Lastly chinchillas are very compassionate animals; if one female is unable to produce milk another female adopts the babies. Also male chinchillas do not harm the babies and looks after them while the mother is out feeding.

Don’t you find these 10 important facts about chinchillas interesting?  

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