difficult. Therefore, it is not recommended to choose chinchillas in the bird market from dubious sellers, from whom you are unlikely to be able to get detailed and reliable information about where the animal lived, what it was fed, what it was sick with, etc. In this case, you risk not only acquiring sick animal, but also endanger the health of existing pets.

It is best to buy a chinchilla from a pet store or from private owners, as well as from those who specifically breed chinchillas for sale.

In the pet store you can not only buy the animal you like, but also get the necessary information from specialists in keeping and caring for chinchillas, as well as purchase the necessary equipment, etc.

If the store does not have the animal you are interested in, you can contact private sellers, but there are some nuances here. Announcements about animals for sale can be found in pet magazines and newspapers. After calling everyone who sells chinchillas, get all the information you need about the animal (age, gender, color, etc.). But before making a purchase, it is advisable to arrange a meeting with the owner to look at the animal and find out the conditions for its maintenance.

Most often, sellers willingly agree to this, they are happy to give valuable advice on keeping pets, and also talk about their habits and characteristics: what they like to eat, what to play, etc. You can find out from such sellers whether the animal was sick before, get a specialist veterinarian number and much more.

When examining an animal be sure to pay attention to its appearance. A healthy chinchilla has smooth, shiny, and clean fur. If the fur is matted, sticks out in tatters or sticks together around the eyes, on the muzzle or under the tail, then this is a clear sign of some kind of disease. There should be no wounds on the skin.

In a healthy animal, the eyes are shiny, the nose is dry, the ears are clean, without scabs. Pay attention to how the animal moves: if the animal limps, falls on one paw, drags its tail, or rubs its face too often with its paws, this is also a bad sign.

According to the latest data, the cost of one chinchilla is approximately 60 - 100 dollars. These animals are very expensive, so if you are offered it for a lower price, there is something to think about. However, do not worry ahead of time: it is better to go and see the rodent.

When buying a chinchilla, be sure to ask the owner what kind of diet the animal had, and, if possible, purchase the necessary food from the former owner with a margin of about a month. It is necessary to do this, since a sharp transfer to other food adversely affects the health of the animal. The transition to a new diet should be smooth and carried out within 2-3 weeks.

Taming and training. There is an opinion that chinchillas cannot be trained, but nevertheless you can try to do it. The first thing to remember is that rodents really don’t like being picked up and even more so squeezed. Therefore, when the animal is convinced that this does not threaten him, he will quickly get used to the new owner. And if you lure him from time to time with a nut or a grain, then after some time he will be happy to get acquainted with the contents of your pockets, fiddle on his knees or in his sleeves.

If you purchased a couple of animals at the same time, get ready for the fact that at first they will not pay attention to you. A cheerful couple, busy with seemingly endless and stupid games and races, will practically not care about you. However, it is these games that chinchillas love the most that should be of interest to you. And if one day you can play along with them, you will thereby achieve not only their location, but also friendship.

Immediately after making a friendship, you can try to teach young chinchillas to follow some commands. Scientists have proven that rodents perfectly remember individual commands and respond to them. Therefore, using the initial principles of training (giving a voice command and encouraging the desired action), you can teach chinchillas to return to the cage when called and not gnaw on wires, rewarding each successful attempt with some kind of treat.

Despite the relatively friendly and gentle nature, chinchillas, if necessary, are perfectly able to stand up for themselves: they bite the offender or, in extreme cases, release a trickle of urine into him.

According to the observations of experts, chinchillas can be taught to perform commands such as "Home (Place)!", "Ladder!", "Barrier!" and some others. The most difficult thing for them is the command “Sit!” and "Lie down!". Animal training begins at about one month of age.

4
Chinchilla maintenance and care
room
Before buying chinchillas, you need to prepare everything you need to create favorable conditions for their existence and reproduction: choose the right room, purchase a cage and the necessary equipment for it.

Chinchillas can perfectly live in an ordinary city apartment, if we are talking about 1-2 individuals. In the event that you are going to arrange a whole chinchilla farm, you need a special enclosure.

room должно быть светлым, сухим, хорошо проветриваемым. The optimum temperature for growing rodents is 14–18°C, while the maximum should not exceed 25°C, and the minimum should be below 5°C. At higher or lower temperatures, animals begin to feel unwell.

Air humidity plays an equally important role: chinchillas do not like high humidity, so it should not exceed 75%. The most optimal relative humidity is 50-60%.

Animals do not tolerate drafts and direct sunlight, which can lead to various diseases. Therefore, it is undesirable to place the cage directly near the window, especially facing the sunny side.

An aviary can be arranged in any specially built room, which has the necessary equipment to maintain the desired temperature in both cold and warm seasons. It can be maintained in winter with the help of a heating system, and in summer (especially hot) - by airing (from the leeward side) on dry and clear days. Ventilation with ventilation units it is recommended to produce in winter.

Chinchillas do not tolerate winter frosts very well, so enclosures must be located in dry, heated rooms. In addition, special stone or wooden houses should be built for animals to protect them from heat and cold. It is recommended to upholster a wooden box from the inside with any insulation.

It should be said that chinchillas are practically not adapted to live in mid-latitude conditions with their severe frosts: they do not make reserves, do not insulate their nests, and become inactive. Therefore, they need to be helped to survive the cold season, especially young animals and newborn puppies.

In winter, chinchillas are fed next to animal houses, since during this period they are inactive.

Types of shelters for chinchillas:

a stone house

b - wooden house

It is very important to monitor the height of the snow cover in the enclosures: if it exceeds 10 cm, then the snow must be removed, since otherwise the chinchillas stop walking around the enclosure; besides, if the food turns out to be even a little sprinkled with snow, the rodents will remain hungry.

Cell
According to experts, the cage is the most versatile and best type of house for chinchillas. Since the animals spend most of their lives in it, it must meet a number of hygienic and practical requirements so that staying in the cage does not harm the health of the rodent.

The first and most important condition: the cage should be as spacious and hygienic as possible, there must be a convenient approach to it. In no case should a house for chinchillas be located in a remote room or in a passageway: here they will not be able to fully relax, and this, in turn, will negatively affect their mental health.

It is undesirable to put the cage next to a window on the sunny side, heaters and near the wall. It is better to move it away from the latter by about 5–8 cm. If this is not possible for some reason, then it is advisable to beat the surface of the wall with any durable material, such as iron.

It is not recommended to put a cage in the bedroom for the reason that chinchillas are nocturnal. And as mentioned above, it is at this time of day that they begin their active period. Therefore, their running around and noisy games are unlikely to please the owner.

Cells are divided into several species depending on the size and material used. According to the parameters, the cages are selected depending on how many animals are supposed to be kept in them.

In care, cages with a pull-out tray and floor are the most convenient. They are best made from galvanized metal sheet, plastic or metal mesh with cells of at least 0.7 cm.

Cages for 1-2 chinchillas. The minimum cage parameters for keeping one chinchilla are 50 x 70 x 50 cm (width, length and height). Naturally, in each case, the cage is selected for the animal individually, depending on its size. The height of the cage is especially important for chinchillas.

Cell для одной шиншиллы

After the cage is purchased, it must be prepared before populating the chinchillas: make wooden shelves on which the chinchillas will run, install a drinking bowl (preferably automatic), a bowl for food, a manger for hay (so that the animals do not trample it).

Some owners install a chinchilla house in the cage. In principle, it will not hurt,