How many chinchillas live?

Chinchillas are the sweetest fluffy rodents with big beautiful eyes and a soft thick coat. The hunt for their valuable fur led to the almost complete extermination of these animals and their inclusion in the Red Book.

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

The life cycle of chinchillas living in captivity is no different from the cycle of wild relatives.

• Any individual becomes fully mature from the age of 8 months, and the female can become pregnant (early pregnancy from the seventh month of life is very bad for health).
• On the occurrence of pregnancy in females shows cork output (thick film, which can be found during harvesting in the cage).
• The female begins to quickly gain weight (up to 20 grams per week) and bears puppies 3.5-4 months.
• During the year, up to 3 litters can be brought in, each of which can have up to 5 babies (in natural conditions, they breed once a year).
• The number of individuals in a litter during the first few years may be 1–2 puppies, with age this figure can reach 5.
• Chinchillas are born with short hairs, fully formed teeth and open eyes. Births often take place without human help, lasting about 3 hours. It is necessary to wait for the end of the birth of the entire litter, give the mother time to lick all the puppies and let them dry out, only after that they can be taken with clean hands and carefully examined (it is better to invite the vet a day after the birth).
• If puppies are large, childbirth can go with complications and become protracted - it is necessary to urgently call the veterinarian.
• The first two months, babies need mother's milk and her presence. From 2 weeks of age, you can gradually begin to enter into the diet of dry food.
• If a female has little milk, lactation can be increased by feeding her with dried strawberries and alfalfa.
• Chinchilla growth continues up to 2 years of age.
• The maximum weight of an adult can be 600 grams.
• The ability to reproduce at home is maintained up to 15 years.

Chinchillas - costly for breeding in captivity on farms - with the wrong care and maintenance quickly die. At least one fur coat requires at least 100 pelts of 2-year-old animals, therefore breeding them on a private farm for renting fur is impractical and can result in the loss of a large sum of money.

It is 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 to use high windows with 2 or 3-storey houses for maintenance. With improper maintenance and care, chinchillas may not breed at all, or the female may refuse to feed the puppies (they need milk every 2 hours).

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

Longevity is different individuals acquired from a bona fide breeder, which excludes the possibility of offspring from close relatives and sick individuals. It is better to purchase in a proven nursery with positive reviews or recommendations. “Non-conforming” animals cost less and are sent for sale to pet stores and bird markets.

If a chinchilla does not meet the standard - its lifespan can be only a few years.

The life span of these animals directly depends on the housing conditions: with proper care at home, they can live 15 and even 20 years, while in nature the average lifespan is no more than 12 (mobility decreases with age, chinchilla becomes easy prey for predators and poachers).

The apartment is best to keep a couple of chinchillas (they do not like loneliness), but at the same time they can begin to actively multiply. These cute rodents are highly susceptible to stress: harsh sounds (construction noise, drill, shout and even the noise of a working TV) are extremely detrimental to chinchillas. Under stress or health problems, they immediately lose their hair in scraps.

The age of the animal can be determined by the following indicators:

• feet at the feet - the more of them, the older the animal;
• teeth - the whiter they are, the younger they are;
• face shape - up to 6 months it is almost flat, with age it is noticeably drawn out;
• 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 4-month-old chinchillas and gradually get used to it. Girls are less playful and love to hide, during pregnancy they need peace, they go to contact with only one owner. Boys are more sociable and playful. Chinchillas love to sit on the head of the owner and do not like being stroked for a long time.

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

To let the chinchilla walk around the apartment every day at 6:00 pm, so that the animal has time to run in and by 23:00 it becomes calmer (you must first hide all the wires and small items). But at night the rodent will still make a little noise: gnaw sticks, drink water, jump around the house.

Chinchillas need to properly care and follow all recommendations.

• 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).
• Best of all, a showcase is suitable for keeping - there is no danger of an animal getting stuck between the rods, no debris flies to the floor of the apartment; facilitate the maintenance of cleanliness.
• To maintain good physical shape (easily susceptible to obesity), a cage must have shelves or a house with several floors and transitions; if there is no house, the shelves should be made of wood in order to avoid injuries to the paws of the animal and firmly fixed with bolts.
• The drinking bowl should be glass, chinchilla plastic quickly gnaw. Only boiled water with a mandatory replacement of 1 time per day is permissible.
• Feeding trough must be with a reliable fastening, so that the chinchilla could not carry it around the cage.
• Sennik should be mounted on a strong chain, filled with hay of meadow grasses (replaced 1 time in 7 days).
• Shelter for rest (rather roomy wooden glue-free house, without paintwork). Some individuals like to sometimes lie in a hammock, but most prefer closed houses.
• The bathing must be closed (you can replace: put a small deep plate in a basin with high sides - when the animal is washed, the sand flies in different directions). Under no circumstances should water be used for swimming. Chinchillas wash their thick coat only in special sand or volcanic dust (bathing must be placed in a cage for 30-40 minutes, then clean or bathe the animal in the cup no more than 2 times a week). Additional care for the coat is not required.
• The teeth of chinchillas grow throughout life, so it is necessary to provide materials for grinding: chalk, sticks, strong dried sprigs of currant. It is possible to give a mineral stone for several hours (during a walk, once a week), but it cannot be kept in a cage all the time. It is strictly forbidden to give pumice - her teeth badly deteriorate.
• The bottom of the cage should be covered with shavings of lime or other fruit trees (chips of coniferous trees are strictly contraindicated, it releases resin that is toxic for rodents).
• It is recommended to clean the waste of these cute animals daily, but it is better to do general cleaning 1 time in 10 days in order not to disturb chinchillas too often.
• It is recommended (but not necessary) to treat a clean cell with ultraviolet light before laying the food and chips.
• Chinchilla food can only be given dry: 1 tablespoon per day. You can buy a combined mixture in the pet store, give extra dried apples, pears and berries.
• It is forbidden to feed seeds, nuts, raw vegetables and fruits, boiled eggs and meat.

Walking chinchillas on the street is absolutely contraindicated:

• afraid of harsh sounds and seek to hide;
• if they cannot hide, instant cardiac arrest may occur;
• Chinchilla is a delicacy for ravens and cats;
• can pick up something from the ground, eat and get poisoned.

You can not buy a wheel: under the weight of the animal, it can break down and the animal will be injured. It is advisable to conduct an examination at the veterinarian 1 time in 6 months for timely detection of health disorders and assistance. When buying, always look at the conditions in which the chinchilla was kept, ask the breeder how to care for the animal, ask what the chinchillas are fed. A good breeder will advise exceptionally dry food and dried berries, and the presence in the cages of the breeder of rotting or fresh vegetables, as well as seeds, should help to refrain from buying from him, because with such feeding the gastrointestinal tract is hopelessly deteriorated, and the chinchilla will be sick, the lifespan will decrease significantly.

Difficulties and noticeable waste 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 a chinchilla, the animal will become a true friend for many years and will bring only joy.

On how to properly care for a chinchilla, see the following video.