Chinchillas As Pets
So you are considering buying either hamsters or chinchillas as pets. When considering which of these small “pocket-sized” pets to buy, it is a great idea to investigate the differences and styles of each pet.
Chinchillas are originally from South America, but have been exported throughout the world. Due to the way they look and the way that they behaved, they have become a popular novelty pet to own.
Some reasons that chinchillas as pets are better than hamsters are:
They are very clean animals, and as long as you clean out the chinchilla cage, you should not have a problem with unpleasant odours.
They have a very long lifespan, especially considering their size. Where hamsters usually only live for three to five years, chinchillas have been known to survive for up to twenty years, as long as they are well taken care of.
Chinchillas As Pets
Chinchillas are very busy animals, and are sure to be more entertaining than hamsters, who quite often only lounge about in their cages, or run on their exercise wheels.
Although chinchillas are quite skittish, and don’t love to be held, they do form a very strong bond with their owner.
Chinchillas eat very little, and can snack on a single chinchilla treat for a whole day long – as such feeding them is very economical.
All of these aspects are positive points when comparing chinchillas as pets with hamsters. However, we have to mention certain difficulties that having chinchilla pets can cause.
As mentioned before, chinchillas do not appreciate being snuggled or held closely, and will bite if they feel threatened. Although their bites very rarely break the skin, this can be an issue if you want to buy a chinchilla as a pet for a young child, as the child will not understand why they shouldn’t snuggle with their pet.
Another matter of importance is the fact that chinchillas nibble on anything they can get their teeth on. Due to their rodent ancestry, their teeth always grow, and as such they have to nibble to keep them trimmed. Thus, you have to make sure that the room you are keeping them in is chinchilla proof, with no wires, shoes or boards for them to chew on. So basically, by all means let yoir pet roam about outside of its cage, but just make sure you keep an eye on him or her at all times, lest he or she get into a dangerous situation, or cause damage to your home.
However, if your child is older than ten years of age or you are considering buying the chinchilla for yourself, it is clear that chinchillas as pets are a lot more fun to keep than hamsters.
