How tame can a chinchilla get?
Sent from a payphone in 1986
I can talk about chinchillas forever, so sorry for the incoming spam. For anyone interested:
Depends on each chinchilla's unique personality and also what you consider "tame", but overall they are very skittish creatures, even the so-called tame ones. They derive majority of their pleasure in life from running around and evading you (for fun, not because they don't like you) and launching off of objects. One of mine loves being held, but bear in mind that's for
maybe two minutes at a time, and for a chinchilla, that's a LOT! Let's just say I checked that trait off my list of must-haves when I finally committed to getting one again. I consider myself
beyond lucky to have one that enjoys being held, and another who just loves his chin scratches/tummy rubs. This also has everything to do with the fact that mine were handled a lot when they were kits (babies), but their personalities can still vary greatly regardless where you get them from. Your chances of having a better socialized and friendly chinchilla are much higher if you get them from a reputable breeder, and you also know their genetic background.
They need at least an hour of time out of their cage each day, need an extremely specific diet (certain wood types are toxic to them, so you have to be very aware of what you're purchasing at all times) and many popular brands of chinchilla products are coincidentally highly unsafe, if not downright poisonous for chinchillas. They're prone to intestinal blockage from impacted fur and plastic in particular is very bad for them. They can also get infected gums and teeth if not provided ample safe toys to chew on (granted they don't contain anything bad for them; you will see this all the time but seriously guys NO RAISINS). And lastly, one most people don't realize is that they can live anywhere from 10-20 years if properly taken care of. They're a pretty big commitment!!!
