Chinchillas - origin story. Who is a chinchilla: what does this unusual animal look like and what is it like as a pet? What group does the chinchilla belong to?

The chinchilla is an active rodent with a beautiful fluffy tail, large beautiful eyes, beautiful thick fur. Warm fur protects the animal from sudden changes in temperature and cold, as they live in the highlands of the Andes. Chinchillas are wonderful pets for pets. They are smart, quick-witted, playful, funny, energetic. They are easily tamed and get used to people, and are also very clean. The chinchilla is listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and natural resources. They are bred for fur production on specialized farms.

About the breed:
If you take a first glance at a chinchilla, it may seem that you are looking at a mouse, only large sizes. But they have nothing to do with the mouse family. Their beauty has become a determining factor in the popularity of this species of animal. Chinchillas have beautiful fur, shiny and thick, shimmering with bluish silver. The animal has huge beautiful eyes. If we also remember their intelligence, friendliness and unpretentiousness, it turns out that you simply cannot find a more ideal pet for the home!
The peculiarities of the chinchilla's appearance are explained by natural necessity. Large ears - to hear the approach of the enemy, long mustaches - for orientation in space, thick fur - to protect from frost, a very sensitive nose - also for safety. But chinchillas have poor vision; other senses compensate for it. Therefore, the chinchilla is very nervous and timid. Mostly they live up to 10 years. Chinchillas have been little studied, so if a pet gets sick, not every veterinarian will be able to understand why it happened and how to deal with it. Therefore, it is better not to let your rodent get sick.

Titles in other languages:
Chinchilla - Chinchilla (Latin).
Chinchilla lanigera is a species of Coast Chinchilla (Latin).
Chinchilla Brevicaudata - species of Large short-tailed chinchilla (Latin).

Classification:
Species: Chinchilla lanigera, Chinchilla Brevicaudata
Genus: Chinchillas
Family: Chinchillas
Superfamily: Chinchillas
Suborder: Porcupines
Order: Rodents
Infraclass: Placental
Class: Mammals
Type: Chordata
Kingdom: Animals.

Chinchilla habitat:
Habitat is the Andes Mountains in South America. But you can also find it in other parts of the mainland, in northern Chile and western Argentina. They settle on rocks because there are rocky crevices there that chinchillas use as burrows. The mountains are for them familiar environment habitat, so they are remarkably adapted for mountain life. Chinchillas are nocturnal animals. They navigate well in the dark thanks to their senses. In case of danger, chinchillas hide in narrow crevices. Dates can fit into the narrowest ones, since their skeleton can shrink vertically. But not much is known about life in nature, about chinchillas. Basically, all knowledge about their behavior comes from observations of domestic animals.

Description of chinchilla:
The external indicators that nature has endowed the chinchilla with are for their own safety. Large locator ears warn of impending danger and catch sounds; Whiskers - replace vision, help recognize objects and determine the distance to them. Chinchillas have a well-developed cerebellum, which is why they calmly and deftly move through the mountains. Poor vision is compensated by quick reaction. Although chinchillas have poor eyesight, they are endowed with the ability to see well in the dark.
The body is 20-40 cm long, and big ears-6-7 cm, and the mustache can reach 10 cm or more. The hind legs can grow twice as long as the front legs, have four fingers, and the front legs have five grasping fingers. In the wild, chinchillas live in small colonies. Their funny feature is the way they wash themselves. They use sand and volcanic ash for washing. They have a special membrane in their ears that covers their ears when swimming.
Chinchillas' fur is soft, silky and thick. One bulb will grow up to 60-70 fluffy hairs. The hair length reaches 4 cm.

Chinchilla nutrition:
The places where chinchillas live in nature do not indulge in a variety of food. They feed on plants that grow in the mountains. They eat cacti, moss, lichens or small insects. Food can be the bark of trees or shrubs. At home, food can be varied. You can update it only once a day, that's enough. Chinchillas are fed grain or special granulated food, which are sold in stores. It is recommended to feed chinchillas coarse hay. From cereals you can feed buckwheat, rolled oats or stale bread. It is useful for pregnant females to give a hawthorn or rose hip berry a day. The water must be fresh and changed every day. Pregnant females become picky when it comes to food. If she gets tired of a certain type of food, she can simply throw it out of the cage. In this case, you need to update your diet. A boring type of food can be returned to the diet only after three weeks, not earlier. Their delicacy is a piece of apple, hibiscus, hawthorn berries, and carrots.

Chinchilla breeding:
A chinchilla begins to bear offspring at the age of six months, approximately 2-3 times a year; babies in a litter range from 2 to 5, usually 2-3. A chinchilla bears offspring for 3.5 months. After a week, newborn babies can already feed on their own, at 1.5 - 2 months. the cubs can be removed. Chinchillas are monogamous and form a stable married couple. During selection, chinchillas are sometimes kept in colonies in which there are 4 females per male. A pregnant female is very restless, so there is no need to disturb her. The offspring of chinchillas are born pubescent, sighted and with erupted teeth.

Chinchilla content:
It is better to choose a large cage for a chinchilla, about 0.5 m cubed. Chinchilla loves space. The cage should have toys, shelves, and climbing equipment. The tray with bedding can be changed once a week, because chinchillas do not have a bad odor. To prevent an active chinchilla from turning over the bowl and drinking bowl, it is better to screw them to the walls of the cage. You also need to buy a container with sand for bathing for the chinchilla. Just put her in the cage for half an hour no more than twice a week. The temperature to the cage also deserves special attention. In the heat, a chinchilla can die. She is very timid, so protect her from sudden movements, sharp sounds and other irritants. Only in good conditions and with caring owners a chinchilla can live for many years. A chinchilla takes much less time to care for than a dog. She is very unpretentious.

The chinchilla is a small herbivorous animal belonging to the class of mammals, the genus chinchilla. This genus includes 2 species - large and small chinchilla.

From the history of chinchillas

Many people wonder where animals get such a romantic name - chinchilla. Some think - from the sounds that chinchillas can make, others think - from the quiet rustling of the amazingly beautiful fur that appears under the hand of a person stroking the animal. Let’s immediately dispel these speculations, albeit romantic, but far from the truth.

Chinchillas were once very numerous. About a thousand years ago, the Chinchas Indians living on the South American continent wore clothes made of unusually beautiful silver fur. They sewed it from the skins of rodents, reminiscent of large squirrels with fluffy tails and rounded ears. A few hundred years later, the Chinchas Indians were conquered by the Incas, who also liked the fur of the cute rodents. In memory of the conquest of the tribe, the Incas began to call the animals “Chinas”. After some time, the Incas were conquered by the Spanish conquerors. Among the treasures stolen from the Incas, the conquistadors discovered clothes made from the silvery fur of Chinas animals. The conquerors, fascinated by the beauty of fur, brought it to Europe, changing the name of the animals in their own way. So South American rodents are the owners of drago valuable fur, were called "chinchillas". Since then, the rodents' prosperity has ended. Their fur was highly valued in Europe. Chinchillas were exterminated by thousands, which soon led to their almost complete destruction. People only realized it at the beginning of the 20th century: laws were passed to protect chinchillas. And in 1923, one American began to breed chinchillas on farms. As it turned out, chinchillas can be kept and bred in captivity. And today, receiving precious fur from them to please fashionistas all over the world, chinchillas are bred on numerous farms in Europe and America.

Chinchilla habitat

Animal habitat in wildlife– the Andes mountain range, which is located along the western part South America. The Andes are enormous (more than 8,000 km) and cover various countries, such as Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Chile. Chinchillas live in rocky areas at an altitude of 900-4500 meters above sea level. The humidity here is low, the climate is quite harsh - windy and cold, and the vegetation is sparse - only rare shrubs, herbs and cacti. Mountains are covered volcanic ash, in which chinchillas bathe. Chinchillas prefer to live in rock crevices, where they are relatively safe from mountain lions and birds of prey. But their homes do not protect them from snakes, which share the same territory with them.

Chinchilla: the appearance of a furry miracle

Small chinchillas (Chichila lanigera) are usually bred at home.

Externally, the animal resembles both a squirrel and a rabbit. The chinchilla's expressive muzzle is decorated with large black eyes with vertical pupils. Large (about 6 cm), movable, round-shaped ears are sharp to the ear and can warn of the approach of any predator. The ears are the only source of getting rid of excess body heat. Chinchillas perceive sound over a larger range than humans. The auricles have special membranes, with the help of which the animals close their ears when taking sand baths - this way sand does not get inside.

At the bottom of the cheeks there are whiskers 8-10 cm long. The head of the animal is quite large, the neck is short, the body is stocky, 20-35 cm long. The hind legs are almost twice as long as the front ones, which allows the animal to make fairly high jumps (90-120 cm up) . The claws on the fingers are powerful, sickle-shaped. Thanks to them, animals climb almost vertical, slightly rough surfaces with exceptional speed. Long (10-15 cm), slightly rounded tail, covered with hard guard hairs. The tail helps to maintain balance when moving and jumping, and by wagging the tail, the chinchilla attracts attention to itself.

Adult animals weigh from 400 to 700 grams.

The body of the animal is covered with amazing fur - airy and elastic. The hairs are thin and tightly adjacent to each other (about 20 thousand pieces per 1 square cm of skin). Standard color– bluish-gray (ashy), while the belly is white.

What does a chinchilla eat in the wild?

Chinchillas are essentially omnivores. But given the scarcity of vegetation in their habitats, the diet of animals in natural conditions mainly consists of grasses, roots, twigs of bushes, moss, bark, etc.

Although chinchillas are not picky eaters, you need to be careful when preparing your diet at home. You can read about the basics of feeding pet chinchillas.

Chinchilla lifestyle

In nature, chinchillas lead a secretive lifestyle. For this reason, their biology has not been studied enough. True, it has been established that in areas where the number of rodents is quite high, they live in entire colonies (100 or more individuals). One burrow is usually occupied by two to five animals. Chinchillas are active mainly at dusk and at night. It is at this time that they go out to look for food.

Chinchillas live up to 20 years. It's in nature. How long an animal will live in captivity depends on the owners. With good care at home, chinchillas live 15-18 years.

The chinchilla animal is a rodent that inhabits the territory of South America. Chinchillas are known for their valuable fur, because of which their numbers have rapidly decreased and these animals are listed in the Red Book. Today the chinchilla animal is a very popular pet. Below you will find a description of the chinchilla, and you can also learn about the features of caring for and keeping a chinchilla at home.

The chinchilla looks very cute and funny. The chinchilla animal has a large head, short neck and round body. She has large ears, a long mustache and a short tail. The chinchilla looks like a small rodent. Chinchillas range from 25 to 35 cm in length, with females being larger than males. The rodent weighs 500-700 grams.

The chinchilla looks fluffy, as if made of plush. She has soft, thick and beautiful fur. The chinchilla looks inconspicuous due to its gray-blue color and only on its belly its fur has a light gray tint. Modern colors of captive-bred chinchillas are varied and have many variations.

The description of the chinchilla includes a lot unusual facts about these rodents. For example, their ears have special membranes, with the help of which the animals close their ears during sand baths so that sand does not get inside. Chinchilla fur is very dense because up to 80 hairs grow from each hair follicle.

Thanks to the developed cerebellum, the chinchilla animal has good coordination and is adapted to nightlife. The animal's hind legs are longer than its front legs, which allows it to jump to a height of 2 meters. Chinchillas make many interesting sounds, they can quack, chirp, growl, squeak and click their teeth.

Where and how long do chinchillas live?

Chinchillas live for about 20 years. The homeland of these animals is South America. IN natural conditions The chinchilla lives in the Andes of southern Bolivia, northwestern Argentina and northern Chile. Chinchillas live in the mountains at an altitude of up to 5 km above sea level. IN natural environment The chinchilla animal lives in rock crevices, under stones or digs holes.

The chinchilla animal is perfectly adapted to life in the mountains. The structure of the skeleton allows the animal to crawl through even the narrowest spaces, and the developed cerebellum ensures confident movement along rocks. Chinchillas live in colonies and are active at night. In nature, chinchillas feed on various herbaceous plants (cereals, beans, mosses, lichens, shrubs, cacti, tree bark) and insects.

The chinchilla animal is mostly monogamous. Chinchillas become capable of reproduction at the age of 7-8 months. The duration of pregnancy is a little more than 3 months. Usually 2-3 babies are born. The female is capable of bearing offspring up to three times a year. Chinchilla babies are born with with open eyes, erupted teeth and covered with primary hair.

It's no secret that the chinchilla animal is a source of valuable fur. Chinchillas began to be hunted for their beautiful fur in the 19th century. To make one fur coat, it takes about a hundred skins, so chinchilla fur products are rare and expensive. In 1928, a coat made from the fur of these rodents cost half a million gold marks. In 1992, the price of a chinchilla fur coat was $22,000. Currently, the chinchilla animal is protected in South America. Now in many countries there are special farms where chinchillas are bred for their fur.

It is better to get a chinchilla when the animal is no more than 2-3 months old. At this age, the animal quickly adapts to a new environment than older individuals. If you decide to get a chinchilla, remember that this is a nocturnal animal that will be active in the evening and at night. The first time after the animal appears in the house, give it a few days of rest so that it gets used to its new home.

Taming a chinchilla is not that easy. For the most part, chinchillas do not need much attention and communication with their owner. Therefore, a chinchilla should be tamed gradually. Try giving your pet a treat, open the cage door and hand the chinchilla something tasty. The pet will definitely take the treat from your hands, if not immediately, then after a while. The main thing is not to try to forcibly pick up the animal.

To tame a chinchilla you will need patience, calmness and careful attitude. Soon the tamed animal will be safely in your arms or sitting on your shoulder. Remember that by nature the chinchilla is a gentle, timid creature and does not like loud noises. Be careful when handling your chinchilla and do not frighten it.

Chinchillas are vegetarians, so when choosing food, you should take this feature of the animal into account. The chinchilla needs to be fed with special food. Pet stores have a huge range of granulated food. This food contains essential vitamins and minerals.

In addition to food, you must feed your chinchilla hay. You can prepare it yourself; for this you need to collect clover, dandelions and herbs. But you can also buy hay at a pet store. When purchasing, pay attention to the quality of the hay; it should be dry, clean, without unpleasant odor and mold. A special hay feeder should be placed in the cage.

The chinchilla should be fed once a day. Food and water should always be fresh. Water should be given filtered or boiled. There should always be a special stone in the cage for grinding teeth, which can be purchased at any pet store.

Pelleted dry food and hay are the best diets for chinchillas. As a top dressing, you can give your chinchilla flax seeds, corn grains, dandelion leaves, birch, willow, raspberry, apple, currant and linden branches. But under no circumstances give branches of cherry, oak and coniferous trees. You should not feed your chinchilla many fresh vegetables and fruits, as this can lead to stomach problems.

Chinchillas especially love raisins, dried apricots, dried apples, pears, cherries and rose hips. But such treats should not be given often. Also be careful with nuts and seeds, they should be given very early. limited quantities and only in raw form, fried grains are contraindicated for the animal. You should not give your chinchilla food from your own table (bread, cookies, etc.).

Care and maintenance of chinchillas at home

Keeping a chinchilla at home is no less popular than keeping a guinea pig. First of all, to keep a chinchilla you will need a spacious cage. It is better if the cage is of a tower type. The optimal solution in this case, there will be a display case for a chinchilla, which will be an excellent home for the animal and will fit well into the home interior. A display case for a chinchilla will satisfy all the needs of a rodent; it has a house, stairs, floors, balconies, a running wheel and other toys. In addition, cleaning in such a display case is even easier than in a cage.

Keeping a chinchilla requires maintaining a certain temperature. The chinchilla animal does not tolerate heat well, so the cage should be placed in a cool place, without direct contact sun rays and drafts. The optimal temperature for keeping a chinchilla will be +20-22 °C. At temperatures of +25 °C and above, the rodent will overheat. Never place the cage near batteries.

The bottom of the cage must be lined with sawdust or special filler. The animal goes to the toilet anywhere and it is very difficult to train a chinchilla to do it in one place. The litter will have to be changed at least once a week. It is better to hang the feeder and drinker, otherwise the chinchilla may turn them into a toilet.

Caring for a chinchilla at home includes taking care of the rodent's coat. Chinchilla fur gets dirty very quickly, so the animal needs frequent hygiene procedures. But the chinchilla bathes not in water, but in special sand. Chinchillas take sand baths with diligence and sand will fly in all directions. That's why this procedure It is advisable to carry out it outside the cage so as not to collect sand later. The best option in this case, it will be a round aquarium or any other deep, stable, round-shaped container. Place it on the floor, lay newspaper under it, pour a 5-6 cm layer of sand on the bottom and put the animal there for 20-30 minutes.

Caring for a chinchilla at home includes bathing at least 2 times a week. If in your home high humidity and the temperature is close to +25 °C, bathing should be done 3 times a week. Bathing is a must for an animal if you want your chinchilla to have beautiful fur. Do not forget that swimming in water is harmful to a chinchilla and will cause health problems.

In general, caring for and maintaining a chinchilla at home does not require much effort. The main condition is to protect the animal from overheating and maintain the correct diet. Try not to leave the animal unattended outside the cage. Remember that rodents love to taste everything and you will be guaranteed damaged furniture. The main danger there are electrical wires hidden inside. Also, do not forget that any hard-to-reach space in the apartment will be immediately explored by a curious animal.

The chinchilla, the maintenance and care of which is quite simple, has a number of advantages and one disadvantage. The advantages include the small cost of the animal, beautiful appearance, lack of odor and shedding, peaceful character. But the disadvantage is night look life. If you decide to get such an animal, you will have to get used to rustling, squeaking and fussing at night.

Chinchilla diseases

If you have the slightest suspicion that your chinchilla has health problems, you should contact your veterinarian. It is extremely undesirable to delay visiting a doctor, because the sooner the problem is identified, the greater the chance of curing your pet.

Take care of your pets, take care of them and do not forget that we are responsible for those we have tamed. If you liked this article, subscribe to site updates to be the first to receive the most interesting and useful articles about animals.

Natural habitat

The homeland of chinchillas is South America. Short-tailed chinchillas live in the Andes of southern Bolivia, northwestern Argentina and northern Chile. The long-tailed chinchilla is currently found only in a limited area of ​​the Cordillera in northern Chile. Approximately half of the entire wild population is found in fenced reserves, with about 5,000 individuals living in private, unprotected areas.

The natural habitat of chinchillas is desert uplands, rocky areas at an altitude of 300 to 5000 meters above sea level. Chinchillas settle in niches between stones, rock crevices, small caves, preferring northern slopes; In the absence of natural shelters, they dig holes on their own.

Biology

The biology of chinchillas in natural habitats has been little studied; basic data on behavior, reproduction, and physiology are obtained in artificial conditions. Most of the data relates to long-tailed chinchillas due to their mass breeding in captivity.

The chinchilla's head is round in shape and its neck is short. The body length is 22-38 cm, the tail is 10-17 cm long and covered with hard guard hairs. Chinchillas are characterized by sexual dimorphism: Females are larger than males and can weigh up to 800 grams; The weight of males usually does not exceed 700 grams. Chinchillas are adapted to night life: large black eyes with vertical pupils, long (8-10 cm) vibrissae, large rounded ears (5-6 cm). The chinchilla's skeleton is able to compress in a vertical plane, which allows animals to penetrate narrow crevices in rocks. The forelimbs are five-fingered, with four grasping fingers and one little used. The hind limbs are four-toed, one toe is turned back. Strong hind limbs are twice as long as the front ones and allow high jumps, and a highly developed cerebellum provides good coordination of movements necessary for safe movement on rocks. Chinchilla Brevicaudata It is distinguished by its larger size, wide head, small bluish ears and short tail.

Chinchillas are omnivores. Their diet is based on various herbaceous plants, mainly cereals, legumes, also seeds, mosses, lichens, shrubs, tree bark, and small insects.

Fur

Chinchilla has very valuable fur.

Teeth

The general composition and structure of chinchilla teeth are characteristic of many rodents. Chinchillas have 20 permanent teeth. Each half of the jaw has one incisor ( Dens incisivus, I), all four incisors are covered with dark orange enamel. Fangs ( Canini) are not developed. Next in each half of the jaw there is one small molar tooth - a premolar ( Praemolar, P) and three molars ( Molar, M). The right and left half-jaws are mirror symmetrical, so usually only one side is depicted. All teeth are rootless and grow throughout life.

Reproduction

Chinchilla babies (one and a half months old)

Chinchillas are mostly monogamous. Mating season runs between November and May in the northern hemisphere and between May and November in southern hemisphere. The female usually bears two litters per year, 1-5 (usually 2-3) cubs in each. Pregnancy of a long-tailed chinchilla lasts from 110 to 118 days (short-tailed - 128 days). Chinchillas are born well developed, with open eyes. They are completely covered with fur and weigh up to 70 grams. The lactation period lasts 6-8 weeks; at about 2 weeks from birth, chinchillas begin to try adult food (first hay). Young individuals reach sexual maturity at approximately 8 months; chinchillas of some rare colors mature later than their peers of standard or beige color. Chinchillas bear offspring for 8 years, their life expectancy in natural conditions is about 10 years, and at home it can be more than 20 years.

Story

The name was given to chinchillas by the Spaniards, who first arrived in South America in 1524. Word " Chinchilla"Literally means "little Chincha" and comes from the name of the Indian tribe Chincha (can also sound like "Hinha"), whose representatives wore clothes made from chinchilla skins. This tribe was later conquered by the Incas, who also highly valued chinchilla fur. Clothes were made from their fur and wool, which were considered an attribute of the highest nobility; in addition, the meat of these animals was used as a remedy for tuberculosis. Under the Incas, chinchilla hunting was strictly limited. As a result, by the beginning of the European conquest of South America, chinchillas were widespread in the western part of the continent. With the arrival spanish conquerors the rate of animal capture increased sharply, and the extraction and export of skins was constantly growing.

Export of chinchilla skins from Chile:

Year	Quantity, thousand pcs.
1885	184.548
1896	321.375
1897	147.468
1898	332.328
1899	435.463
1900	370.800
1901	385.170
1902	126.940
1903	144.000
1904	314.100
1905	247.836
1910	152.863
1915	3.202
1917	4.380
1918	Export stopped

The high popularity of this fur at the turn of the 20th century led to the almost complete extermination of chinchillas in the wild. In 1929, a ban was imposed on the trapping of chinchillas. Today, wild chinchilla numbers are slowly recovering, although the species remains endangered.

Breeding in captivity

Artificial feeding of a baby chinchilla

Female and male Chinchilla in a cage.

The founder of captive breeding of chinchillas was the American engineer Mathias F. Chapman. In 1919, he began searching for wild chinchillas, which by that time were extremely rare. He and 23 hired hunters were able to catch 11 chinchillas over 3 years, of which only three were females. In 1923, Chapman managed to obtain permission from the Chilean government to export chinchillas. He managed to adapt the chinchillas to the lowland climate and transport them to San Pedro (California). These animals became the founders of a new species of artificially bred fur-bearing animals. At the end of the 20s, the number of chinchillas increased annually by 35%, in the early 30s - by 65%. In the 50s, chinchilla farms existed in most developed countries. Since the early 90s, there has been a trend towards keeping chinchillas as pets.