Do Chinchillas make good pets?

The little experience that I have had with them leads me to suspect that they are rather remote and emotionally distant pets.

Chinchillas do not like to cuddle or be held. If you’re looking for a cuddly pet, look elsewhere.

chinchillas are somewhat high-strung, and they have relatively short attention spans. They also do not tolerate hot weather or high humidity well.

They make pretty good coats.

I would love something that soft and cute, however, they hate being handled they like to be left alone and their urine smells worse than five cats. If you do get one, don’t have a wooden cage, it’s probably the most disgusting thing I’ve seen for a pet. Soaks up urine, smells, etc.

I wish I could recommend them, but unless you’re very, very good at keeping it perfectly clean – it might be a nightmare.

Actually, by ‘might be’ I mean ‘will’.

In addition to all that is said here keep in mind that
$150.00 is base cost. Cage, feed, toys, veterinarian, grooming etc can run easily into hundreds or even a thousand dollars over the lifetime of the pet.

If you’re looking for a pet who will actually interact with you, a chinchilla is an awful choice. They are usually considered a pet for the experienced only. And they are not the easiest pet to take care of. They are NOT like hamsters/gerbils/guinea pigs.

Ooh, get a guinea pig! If you get sick of them, they can be rather tasty.

Don’t you want a rabbit, instead?

I don’t think that I would recommend one. I had a friend who had one, and his parents loved it, but it would escape from the cage, so one day his mom was putting dishes in the dishwasher, and didn’t realize the chinchilla wasn’t in his cage, and well, I’m sure you can figure out where I am going with this one, but it didn’t end so well. But I would recommend a rabbit, I’ve had one for many years.

Why not go and ask here at the Chinchilla Club.

Lurve for RESEARCHING before buying a pet.

@syz: How do you define “a relatively short attention span”? Compared to what (or whom)? Someone I am very enamoured of has an attention span of about 2 minutes (or slightly longer if either cheese or mice are envolved. He’s no fun to do the crossword or play bridge with. I don’t suppose a hamster is either.)

Didn’t even think about a guinea pig, any feedback about ferrets?

I think perhaps the difference is that the chinchilla is incapable of paying attention to anything for very long, whereas Milo chooses to not pay attention when items are not worth his attention.

Ferrets (not sure if it is just male or if females have it as well) have a scent glad that makes them musky smelling. The smell can rub off onto furniture.

That being said Ferrets are a lot of fun. They are little clowns and are fast and can hide in tiny spaces. They are mischeivious. Keep in mind that Ferrets are illegal in some states.

Rabbits are mellow- not as active. Depending on the one you get they make lovely pets. I have a pair that live in my art studio with me.

@CaseyWVU10: Ferrets are wonderful, the males do have stronger scent glands than the females, but the males are bigger. I prefer the floppy cuddles of boy ferrets sometimes over the tiny balls of fur of the girls. You can have the scent glands removed I believe, but so long as you keep them clean, empty their litter regularly and don’t have more than two you won’t notice it. The idea of surgically removing a part of their body for your comfort repulses me, on the same level as declawing for cats.

Plus! They’re the most playful little guys ever. Give them water, snow, sand, leaves, or a hard floor to slide them down and they’re the most happy little fuzz balls in the world.

does anyone know why the City of New York forbids ferrets?

@pdworkin: Stupidity.

@pdworkin: It’s really the same reason pit bulls are illegal in some places, a few bad apples. But as long as you handle your ferret as a baby, and continue to play and handle them throughout their life the chance they’ll be a biter is slim, and even then, you have to be downright negligent to allow a testy ferret to be handled by anyone but yourself. I have never had a ferret that was a problem. I had one who wasn’t handled for a few weeks, and she developed some cranky issues, but in the same amount of time being back with me she was back to normal.

As for diseases, again, as long as your responsible this should not be an issue. Just don’t let them out without a harness on. Even if it’s around your house. One of mine got out when I was eight, Emily the Ferret made it all the way down the street before a neighbor caught her under a cooking pot, called the authorities and had her put down within an hour. She knew it was mine, keep a tag and a collar on your pets.

My girlfriend just lost a sweet animal companion, Simon the Cockatiel. They really loved one another. I was thinking about getting her a ferret, but she lives in Manhattan.

I had two , Huge bloody cage loads o noise and mess . Great beasties tho i trained the female to come to my hand and sit on my shoulder . Would i have them again , em TOO bloody right

Chinchillas are nasty.. they are basically just fat ass rats.. they climb all over.. crap all over.. and smell like a bag of smashed assholes. But yes.. they are cute.

Speaking of rats, they make great pets, they are friendly, not smelly at all and you can carry them in your pocket.

I love cockatiels, they are great pals to have. They are indigenous here and it is amazing to see huge flocks of them flying wild. Maybe you should contact (@pdworkin) an avian rescue and adopt an adult cockatoo, they live forever and are often available for adoption. They have a great sense of humor and if hand raised are very loving.

@rooeytoo:It is worth noting however that all birds, particularly long lived birds grow very attached to their owners and it can be extremely cruel to separate them. A bird is an investment and a commitment to the entire time they’re alive and that has to be taken into account.

@asmonet – that is why I suggested adopting one from an avian rescue. They would not place it unless it was adaptable. I wasn’t advising them to go out and separate or steal one from its owner. And did you see where @pdworkin said the lady’s cockatiel just died?
I assumed she liked and had a knowledge of birds based on that.

I think any pet “is an investment and a commitment to the entire time they’re alive and that has to be taken into account.”

@rooeytoo: I was simply adding to your post, not arguing with it. :)

@Foxman, was that you, or did you quote something?

Chinchilla dust is used for more than soft fur , Chins can’t sweat so the dust is used to remove the oil and whatnot .

@anonymis We are not in the habit of addressing one another as assholes and idiots unless we know for certain that someone is an asshole or an idiot. Get my drift?