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Do chinchillas make good pets?

M

MrsBugi

Platinum Member
Does anyone have a chinchilla or know anyone who does? If so, what has your experience been like with it?

Do they get along well with small dogs?
 
Yes, they make nice pets. Yes, they get along just fine with small dogs. 🙁 Unfortunately, our big dog didn't like the chinchilla.
Very cute critters 🙂 1000 times better than a hamster or guinea pig or something. A few differences in their care though (dust box, etc.)
 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Yes, they make nice pets. Yes, they get along just fine with small dogs. 🙁 Unfortunately, our big dog didn't like the chinchilla.
Very cute critters 🙂 1000 times better than a hamster or guinea pig or something. A few differences in their care though (dust box, etc.)
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Thank you for the information, right now we are looking into adopting one. 🙂 Why didn't your big dog like the chinchilla? 🙁

They seem very cute, and I didn't know this about them:

Chinchillas must regularly bathe in dust or volcanic ash to remove oil and moisture that gathers in their thick fur. In fact, they have the highest fur density of any land animal with more than 20,000 hairs per square cm (see sea Otter). Their fur is so dense that skin parasites (such as fleas) cannot live on one lest they suffocate. Where humans grow one hair from each follicle, a chinchilla has more than fifty hairs from a single follicle.
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Thanks for the wiki link, AMDZen!
 
well, perhaps I can put it another way... Our big dog had an incredible interest in the chinchilla... unfortunately for the chinchilla, this wasn't a good thing. After a month, the kids accidentally left their bedroom door unlatched. That was the end of the chinchilla. We felt really bad about it. I still have all the special stuff, i.e. the dust bath for one. I've considered raising them instead of the rabbits. One of my students at school raises chinchillas.
 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
well, perhaps I can put it another way... Our big dog had an incredible interest in the chinchilla... unfortunately for the chinchilla, this wasn't a good thing. After a month, the kids accidentally left their bedroom door unlatched. That was the end of the chinchilla. We felt really bad about it. I still have all the special stuff, i.e. the dust bath for one. I've considered raising them instead of the rabbits. One of my students at school raises chinchillas.
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Oh dear... that must've been traumatic for the kids (not to mention the poor chinchilla!!). Are you considering breeding them? Are they trainable?
 
Originally posted by: EatSpam
Get a kitten instead.
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I'd like to, but I'm allergic to cats. My eyes fills with tears, my throat swells up so I can barely breathe, and I cough/itch like crazy. 🙁
 
Meh, one of my friends has a pair. He puts them in a large mini fridge size cage. They look kinda cute due to their resemblance to big fur balls, but they do smell really bad. Not a very good idea to have them roam free in a house w/ larger pets like dogs or cats.
 
So CUTE, i didn't know you could have them as a pet. I would definately get one if I could but I'd rather prefer an Alaskan Husky.
 
Originally posted by: Baked
Meh, one of my friends has a pair. He puts them in a large mini fridge size cage. They look kinda cute due to their resemblance to big fur balls, but they do smell really bad. Not a very good idea to have them roam free in a house w/ larger pets like dogs or cats.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, thank you for the info about your personal experience with them. According to this website, chinchillas do not smell. 😕

Do they have an odor?

Chins do not smell. They have no noticeable odor like that of a hamster or guinea pig or ferret. They are odor free. I just recommend cleaning the cage at least once a week. The only smell I have ever had was the hay in the cage. 🙂
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Originally posted by: MrsBugi
Originally posted by: Baked
Meh, one of my friends has a pair. He puts them in a large mini fridge size cage. They look kinda cute due to their resemblance to big fur balls, but they do smell really bad. Not a very good idea to have them roam free in a house w/ larger pets like dogs or cats.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, thank you for the info about your personal experience with them. According to this website, chinchillas do not smell. 😕

Do they have an odor?

Chins do not smell. They have no noticeable odor like that of a hamster or guinea pig or ferret. They are odor free. I just recommend cleaning the cage at least once a week. The only smell I have ever had was the hay in the cage. 🙂
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

maybe the chinchillas themselves don't smell, but when they accumulate poop and other random particles, they may begin to smell.
 
Originally posted by: guoziming
Originally posted by: MrsBugi
Originally posted by: Baked
Meh, one of my friends has a pair. He puts them in a large mini fridge size cage. They look kinda cute due to their resemblance to big fur balls, but they do smell really bad. Not a very good idea to have them roam free in a house w/ larger pets like dogs or cats.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, thank you for the info about your personal experience with them. According to this website, chinchillas do not smell. 😕

Do they have an odor?

Chins do not smell. They have no noticeable odor like that of a hamster or guinea pig or ferret. They are odor free. I just recommend cleaning the cage at least once a week. The only smell I have ever had was the hay in the cage. 🙂
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

maybe the chinchillas themselves don't smell, but when they accumulate poop and other random particles, they may begin to smell.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. They're pretty small so I'd imagine they're pretty easy to (dust?) bathe.
 
Originally posted by: MrsBugi
Originally posted by: guoziming
Originally posted by: MrsBugi
Originally posted by: Baked
Meh, one of my friends has a pair. He puts them in a large mini fridge size cage. They look kinda cute due to their resemblance to big fur balls, but they do smell really bad. Not a very good idea to have them roam free in a house w/ larger pets like dogs or cats.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, thank you for the info about your personal experience with them. According to this website, chinchillas do not smell. 😕

Do they have an odor?

Chins do not smell. They have no noticeable odor like that of a hamster or guinea pig or ferret. They are odor free. I just recommend cleaning the cage at least once a week. The only smell I have ever had was the hay in the cage. 🙂
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

maybe the chinchillas themselves don't smell, but when they accumulate poop and other random particles, they may begin to smell.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. They're pretty small so I'd imagine they're pretty easy to (dust?) bathe.
Click to expand...

For a dust bath, you just put it in there and they do it themselves. You don't have to do anything.

Chinchillas are just like any other rodent for a pet as far as I can tell. They feel really cool. If you get one, make sure to socialize it real well as it is growing up. If not, it will use its self defense mechanism because it won't like to be held. This is standing up on its hind legs and squirting pee at you.
 
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