Chinchilla - Cage Dynamics

Chinchillas are a social species. In the wild, they gather in groups called 'herds', where they groom each other, play, and mate. Being in such a colony is also safe for these cute critters because they watch out for one another, sending warning calls when a predator approaches. Forms of communication with one another include rubbing their noses, nibbling on each other, and making a variety of sounds.

Although chinchilla care gets tougher when you have more than one, it's really worth it! To begin with, they are very playful and curious by nature. Their personalities vary, as well. You can always expect the cage to be filled with noise and activity: chinchillas scurrying about, nibbling on something, climbing and leaping, mating, and sometimes even fighting.

As social as they are as a species, being in an enclosed space can leave room for them to fight. Most likely, it's either because one is defending a certain space in the cage which it may prefer or perhaps two males are vying for the attention of a female chinchilla. Resulting actions are biting with both animals standing on their hind legs. A set of aggressive squeaks may also be heard. If the female refuses the advances of a male, she will do a similar defensive stance and squeak violently. Most owners will agree that if you prefer to keep many chinchillas in one cage, it would be best to avoid having fewer females than males. More often than not, males will fight each other for a mate.

Most males are ready to mate if given the go signal by a female in her sexual peak. The mating ritual includes them both rubbing their chins on the floor of your cage, with the male wagging his tail. Some owners have observed the male to leap around his prospect mate as well. Since they are nocturnal, much of the activities occur either in the evening or at dusk. If the mating happens, be sure to find a lot of hair in the cage. Chinchillas have no specific mating season, so expect that having a male and female in one cage will result to pregnancy and a brood of baby chinchillas.

The most important in chinchilla care is feeding and bathing. It may be complicated with many chinchillas. The mess that you'll have to clean up after can be extra work. It would be ideal to have more than one feeding tray and water bottle with a couple of chinchilla pets. Make sure the food dish is big enough to accommodate the crowd that you have. In most cases, chinchillas may fight each other when there isn't enough room for them to feed. This goes the same with the bathing container. Aside from grooming themselves during dust baths, they have fun time rolling in the dust. With many chinchillas, bath time can get crowdy.

For owners who prefer having just one chinchilla pet, the furry creature is playful enough to amuse itself with various activities in the cage. It will leap, scurry about or climb; and if you have an exercise wheel, it will spend quite some time using it. If you have other accessories such as chew toys and a good amount of bedding, expect it to constantly nibble and burrow. In the wild, biologists have observed chinchillas to be always active, scampering, leaping, finding natural objects to play with and gnaw at. You will observe similar activity while it's in its cage. Don't be surprised though that there are some chinchillas that are timid, spending the day just sitting in a corner or sleeping in its house.

Chinchilla care is not very hard but is very rewarding. Watching a chinchilla or a few of them going about their day is so much fun and interesting. They have colorful personalities that provide so much for their owners to discover and remember, surprising you with activities that you won't get enough of.

The Breeding Formula For Chinchilla Colors

One of the many things that make chinchillas very interesting, is the variety of chinchilla colors. As a pet owner, you have the privilege to choose from more than a dozen of colors. If you have your own pair, you can even breed chinchillas, with full control of what color they will have. With adequate breeding knowledge and chinchilla care, you can have baby chinchillas of your own with its colors exactly as you want them.

The Standard Formula

Standard is the color referred to the original or natural color of chinchillas. Standard chinchillas are generally hard to find, as most types sold in stores have been crossbred in one way or another. Most standard types are already mutated and are therefore produced by mutated parents.

To produce a standard color, breeding is not the answer. There are still stores that sell standard chinchillas. This will require a fair amount of research in your part.

The Ebony Formula

Ebony chinchillas are characterized by grey hues ranging from light gray to solid black. There are two ways to produce them: heterozygous and homozygous. To have heterozygous ebony chinchilla, one parent must bear the ebony gene. The kits will possess a grey hue of coat with a lighter color of its belly.

A homozygous ebony chinchilla can be produced by breeding two ebony chinchillas that are not mutated. As compared to the heterozygous type, the kit's coat will bear the same shade of gray, including its belly.

The Charcoal Formula

Ebony chinchillas are usually mistaken for the charcoal hue. What spells the difference between the ebony and charcoal hues is that the former has matte texture, whereas the latter has a glossy sheen texture. Charcoal chinchillas have a somewhat jagged texture and uneven color tone about its coat.

To produce a charcoal chinchilla, both parents must possess the charcoal gene. Heterozygous chinchillas result from one or two heterozygous charcoal chinchillas, while homozygous chinchillas come from a pair of homozygous charcoal chinchillas.

Charcoal chinchillas can also be bred with other colors to produce chinchillas with black velvet and charbrown color. Black velvet chinchillas have a full coat of charcoal with a clear white belly and shades of blue. Charbrown chinchillas, on the other hand, are a combination of charcoal and brown parents.

The Beige Formula

Another chinchilla color that can be bred both in a heterozygous and homozygous way is the beige color. For a homozygous beige chinchilla, two beige parents that have not been mutated are required. It differs from a heterozygous beige in that it has bright eyes and pink ears. A heterozygous beige chinchilla likewise requires only one beige gene. This type has red eyes and freckled ears. Both beige types have a white belly with blue hues across.

If crossbred with a black velvet chinchilla, a brown velvet type will be produced. Crossbreeding with a violet chinchilla will result in a pearl variety.

There are many other unusual colors-sullivan, tan and pastel, gold bard, blue diamond, white to name a few. If you are just about to begin a hobby of breeding chinchillas, you best start with the basic chinchilla colors.