Post by molpie on Aug 29, 2015 17:06:27 GMT -5
Lol. Got your attention? This post is mostly for those folks who are thinking about chinchillas and seeking information. IF this describes you, I'm glad you're here, and I hope you'll find this thread helpful.
Let me say, first, that I ADORE my chinchillas, but after living with chinchillas for over 15 years, I know they are NOT for everyone. I also know there are plenty of sources of information on chinchillas (a lot of them well-intentioned) that don’t provide a full or accurate picture. This is clear when you look at places like craigslist, where there are always ads for re-homing chinchillas. I'd guess that a lot of these are posted by people who had good intentions but didn’t get enough, or the right, information before bringing home their pets. If you’re thinking about chinchillas, I hope this post might offer you a realistic look at some things that someone who has never lived with chinchillas might not be able to tell you.
Reasons why chinchillas might not be the right pet for you:
1. If you want a companion animal who will hang out with you, enjoy riding on your shoulder, be happy being carried, held, petted, or snuggled, chinchillas are NOT for you. Most won’t sit still long enough for any of the above, let alone like this sort of attention. A few might. Most won’t. Ever.
2. If, when you see a chinchilla, you start thinking about how they might be when… and you look forward to the day when they will be calmer, tamer, or respond to you in any way that’s different than what you see in front of you, think twice. Building a relationship with a chinchilla takes time, patience, and acceptance of them exactly as they are. If the thought of spending hours, days, weeks, months, or years of time with an animal behaving exactly as you see them behaving now does not excite or inspire you, you’re probably not going to find satisfaction in living with chinchillas. Meaningful interactions with chinchillas don’t happen because the CHINCHILLA adjusts or changes, they happen because the HUMAN does.
3. Some say chinchillas are hypo-allergenic. They are not (as in, yes, it’s possible to be allergic to a chinchilla, their fur, their dander, or whatever else). It’s also possible (and more common) to be allergic to their hay, dust or bedding.
4. Chinchillas are nocturnal. Period. Nothing will change that. They'll want to play with you at night, and they'll also make the most noise at night.
5. If you live where it EVER gets above 75 degrees F, you MUST have a/c to have chinchillas. Fans won’t work. Cooling plates, frozen bottles, etc. are not enough. Either you have A/C or you might very well have dead chinchillas.
6. Chinchillas will add mess to your life and household. They require loose hay as their primary diet (no substituting hay cubes), which is messy to begin with, and which many chinchillas may throw around, adding to the mess. They require dust baths in very fine, ash-like dust (NOT sand) which will get everywhere, no matter how much cleaning you might do. (My upright piano, for example, which the chinchillas did NOT live near, had a layer of chinchilla dust INSIDE of it when the piano tuner took off the bottom cover.) Chinchillas poop everywhere, all the time. These are dry poops that are easy to clean up. But they still poop everywhere, all the time.
7. Chinchillas are expensive, and I’m not talking about the cost to buy or adopt one (or better yet, two). Expenses will include:
a. A good habitat.
You will need a cage (ones with sufficient space and materials will run you several hundred dollars, new), a solid surface wheel, extra shelves, hides, hammocks, and a constant and steady stream of toys and chews. Add the cost of quality hay/food, and a water filtration system capable of filtering out giardia and other nasties that are typically present in human water systems at levels we can tolerate, but they can’t. Add a carrier and/or travel cage. Add the cost of creating and maintaining a chinchilla-proofed space in which they will exercise their minds and bodies every night for an hour or more. Add the cost of having and maintaining air conditioning. NONE of these things is optional. And this is just a start.
b. Vet services.
Exotics specialists with chinchilla knowledge are not always easy to find, nor are they cheap. 24-hour emergency exotics vets are even less common and cheap. You’ll need both, as well as the ability to handle the time, effort, and expense of getting to one of these vets – which may be in the next town, for example - whenever necessary.
c. Damages
Repair and replacement of damaged items costs money. Despite whatever measures you take to protect all that needs to be protected, chinchillas WILL, at some point, damage or destroy something in their efforts to work their minds and their teeth. It might be a pair of headphones, your wallet, a book, or a piece of furniture. I’ve seen photos of one chinchilla who managed to destroy a fiberglass bathtub. It’s only a matter of time. Be prepared.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. Chinchillas are not cheap or "easy" pets to keep.
8. As prey animals, chinchillas may not do well with children or other animals in the house. Chinchillas can be very prone to stress, and their behavior and health depends on their feeling safe and secure. This is difficult to ensure if, say, they are being stalked through the cage bars by the family cat, or if young children are too excited or eager to be able to recognize or accept a chinchilla’s needs.
9. Chinchillas may live up to 20 years. Are you committed to caring for, loving, and playing with this chinchilla for however long they may live? Do you see yourself going through any major life changes (i.e., going to college, major move, starting a family, etc.) that may affect your desire or ability to care for your chinchilla? If so, chinchillas may not be for you.
10. Are you willing to put the chinchilla’s psychological and physical well-being above your own desires in owning a pet? Are you willing to face challenges and situations that are not easy and convenient for you if it’s important for the well-being of your chinchilla? (Not that it’s a bad thing to value ease and convenience, but if that’s what you want in a pet, chinchillas are definitely not going to be a good fit!) One of the toughest of these challenges is considering chinchillas' social needs and whether or not to introduce a single chinchilla to another. Chinchillas are, by nature, very social creatures. This is just a fact. Another fact is that no matter how much love and attention we might give a chinchilla, we cannot take the place of another chinchilla.
A few other facts: 1. Not every chinchilla wants to live with other chinchillas – there are some chins who, like people, prefer to live alone. 2. Until we give a chinchilla an opportunity to choose what they want, we cannot know what they prefer, or what might best meet their social needs. 3. Introductions can be stressful, difficult, and ultimately, unsuccessful. So… how do we deal with all these facts in a way that makes sense? I can’t tell anyone else what to believe or do. All I can say is that when I take on an animal, my commitment to them is that I will do whatever I can to meet their basic needs which, for me, includes their social needs. It’s not easy doing introductions, but I commit to my animals who are social by nature that I will give them an opportunity to bond with another of their kind. If THEY let me know this is not what they want, I will accept that and love them wholeheartedly as a single. If they let me know that this IS what they want, I will accept that and love them and their buddy wholeheartedly as a pair. Either way, I will respect THEIR needs over my own desires for ease or convenience. That, for me, is an essential part of living well with chinchillas.
This is my opinion, only. Others, I know, will disagree with certain things, and I respect others' rights to form their own opinions, and to express them. My hope is simply to inspire some thought that leads to better, closer, and more rewarding relationships between humans and chinchillas - for BOTH species.
Peace.
Mo
Let me say, first, that I ADORE my chinchillas, but after living with chinchillas for over 15 years, I know they are NOT for everyone. I also know there are plenty of sources of information on chinchillas (a lot of them well-intentioned) that don’t provide a full or accurate picture. This is clear when you look at places like craigslist, where there are always ads for re-homing chinchillas. I'd guess that a lot of these are posted by people who had good intentions but didn’t get enough, or the right, information before bringing home their pets. If you’re thinking about chinchillas, I hope this post might offer you a realistic look at some things that someone who has never lived with chinchillas might not be able to tell you.
Reasons why chinchillas might not be the right pet for you:
1. If you want a companion animal who will hang out with you, enjoy riding on your shoulder, be happy being carried, held, petted, or snuggled, chinchillas are NOT for you. Most won’t sit still long enough for any of the above, let alone like this sort of attention. A few might. Most won’t. Ever.
2. If, when you see a chinchilla, you start thinking about how they might be when… and you look forward to the day when they will be calmer, tamer, or respond to you in any way that’s different than what you see in front of you, think twice. Building a relationship with a chinchilla takes time, patience, and acceptance of them exactly as they are. If the thought of spending hours, days, weeks, months, or years of time with an animal behaving exactly as you see them behaving now does not excite or inspire you, you’re probably not going to find satisfaction in living with chinchillas. Meaningful interactions with chinchillas don’t happen because the CHINCHILLA adjusts or changes, they happen because the HUMAN does.
3. Some say chinchillas are hypo-allergenic. They are not (as in, yes, it’s possible to be allergic to a chinchilla, their fur, their dander, or whatever else). It’s also possible (and more common) to be allergic to their hay, dust or bedding.
4. Chinchillas are nocturnal. Period. Nothing will change that. They'll want to play with you at night, and they'll also make the most noise at night.
5. If you live where it EVER gets above 75 degrees F, you MUST have a/c to have chinchillas. Fans won’t work. Cooling plates, frozen bottles, etc. are not enough. Either you have A/C or you might very well have dead chinchillas.
6. Chinchillas will add mess to your life and household. They require loose hay as their primary diet (no substituting hay cubes), which is messy to begin with, and which many chinchillas may throw around, adding to the mess. They require dust baths in very fine, ash-like dust (NOT sand) which will get everywhere, no matter how much cleaning you might do. (My upright piano, for example, which the chinchillas did NOT live near, had a layer of chinchilla dust INSIDE of it when the piano tuner took off the bottom cover.) Chinchillas poop everywhere, all the time. These are dry poops that are easy to clean up. But they still poop everywhere, all the time.
7. Chinchillas are expensive, and I’m not talking about the cost to buy or adopt one (or better yet, two). Expenses will include:
a. A good habitat.
You will need a cage (ones with sufficient space and materials will run you several hundred dollars, new), a solid surface wheel, extra shelves, hides, hammocks, and a constant and steady stream of toys and chews. Add the cost of quality hay/food, and a water filtration system capable of filtering out giardia and other nasties that are typically present in human water systems at levels we can tolerate, but they can’t. Add a carrier and/or travel cage. Add the cost of creating and maintaining a chinchilla-proofed space in which they will exercise their minds and bodies every night for an hour or more. Add the cost of having and maintaining air conditioning. NONE of these things is optional. And this is just a start.
b. Vet services.
Exotics specialists with chinchilla knowledge are not always easy to find, nor are they cheap. 24-hour emergency exotics vets are even less common and cheap. You’ll need both, as well as the ability to handle the time, effort, and expense of getting to one of these vets – which may be in the next town, for example - whenever necessary.
c. Damages
Repair and replacement of damaged items costs money. Despite whatever measures you take to protect all that needs to be protected, chinchillas WILL, at some point, damage or destroy something in their efforts to work their minds and their teeth. It might be a pair of headphones, your wallet, a book, or a piece of furniture. I’ve seen photos of one chinchilla who managed to destroy a fiberglass bathtub. It’s only a matter of time. Be prepared.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. Chinchillas are not cheap or "easy" pets to keep.
8. As prey animals, chinchillas may not do well with children or other animals in the house. Chinchillas can be very prone to stress, and their behavior and health depends on their feeling safe and secure. This is difficult to ensure if, say, they are being stalked through the cage bars by the family cat, or if young children are too excited or eager to be able to recognize or accept a chinchilla’s needs.
9. Chinchillas may live up to 20 years. Are you committed to caring for, loving, and playing with this chinchilla for however long they may live? Do you see yourself going through any major life changes (i.e., going to college, major move, starting a family, etc.) that may affect your desire or ability to care for your chinchilla? If so, chinchillas may not be for you.
10. Are you willing to put the chinchilla’s psychological and physical well-being above your own desires in owning a pet? Are you willing to face challenges and situations that are not easy and convenient for you if it’s important for the well-being of your chinchilla? (Not that it’s a bad thing to value ease and convenience, but if that’s what you want in a pet, chinchillas are definitely not going to be a good fit!) One of the toughest of these challenges is considering chinchillas' social needs and whether or not to introduce a single chinchilla to another. Chinchillas are, by nature, very social creatures. This is just a fact. Another fact is that no matter how much love and attention we might give a chinchilla, we cannot take the place of another chinchilla.
A few other facts: 1. Not every chinchilla wants to live with other chinchillas – there are some chins who, like people, prefer to live alone. 2. Until we give a chinchilla an opportunity to choose what they want, we cannot know what they prefer, or what might best meet their social needs. 3. Introductions can be stressful, difficult, and ultimately, unsuccessful. So… how do we deal with all these facts in a way that makes sense? I can’t tell anyone else what to believe or do. All I can say is that when I take on an animal, my commitment to them is that I will do whatever I can to meet their basic needs which, for me, includes their social needs. It’s not easy doing introductions, but I commit to my animals who are social by nature that I will give them an opportunity to bond with another of their kind. If THEY let me know this is not what they want, I will accept that and love them wholeheartedly as a single. If they let me know that this IS what they want, I will accept that and love them and their buddy wholeheartedly as a pair. Either way, I will respect THEIR needs over my own desires for ease or convenience. That, for me, is an essential part of living well with chinchillas.
This is my opinion, only. Others, I know, will disagree with certain things, and I respect others' rights to form their own opinions, and to express them. My hope is simply to inspire some thought that leads to better, closer, and more rewarding relationships between humans and chinchillas - for BOTH species.
Peace.
Mo
