Little OT but . . . Chinchillas??

[Rebecca]

I'm trying to convince my mom to let me get one. And so far it's not working because we have no experience with them. I have done research. I'm just wondering if anyone herehas any and can offer some ideas as to how I can convince her to let me buy one. Also she is big on saying they smell, I have not run across anything that says they do. Can anyone confirm that??

[babysweet]

Nope, they don't smell at all. However, they don't make the best pets, either. They're very skittish, very fast, and great escape artists. They don't particularly like to be handled, which is too bad because they are just about the softest pet you can get!

It's too bad she's worried about the smell, cause ferrets make WAY better pets... however, they DO smell. Some people are really bothered by their musky odour, I personally find it rather nice. I know, weird. :D

There are so many other options... how about a sugar glider? They also aren't really handleable pets, and they're nocturnal... but they're irresistable, and small enough she might say yes. And it would satisfy the current craving for something fuzzy.

Kim

[Dirty]

Before you even think about a sugar glider, they need LOTS of room relative to how small they are. I've heard to use 3'x3'x6' for this tiny animal to be it's happiest.

[babysweet]

Yes, you're right, and I should have mentioned that. I was pointing out that the critter was smaller, and should have specified that the cage was not. In fact, a chin and a glider would take about the same sized cage. But from a mother's point of view (who views anything small and furry as a rodent... lol), sometimes the smaller animal is easier to accept, regardless of the size of the housing.

Mom thinks... rodent? Bad.
Huge rodent? Worse.
Little rodent with big adorable Walt Disney eyes? Maybe. ;)

Kim

[Lrptls]

iv had 2 chinchillas. i had a male and a still have a female but i am selling her (if any one is interested you can contact me). my male i got from a friend and he was so skittish when i let him out, i felt like i had a wild rabbit in my basement, could see him dashing around in the corner on my eye all the time. after a few months of giving him treats he became MUCH less skitish and would even follow me around when he was out.

even though i loved him so much sometimes i just wanted to strangle him because of the chewing. chinchillas will chew on EVERY THING. even if you take it away form them, they can jump on things you dont know how they could ever get onto and keep chewing on it again.

he caught a really bad cold out of the blue and even though i took him to the vets almost right away and they gave him medicine he died any ways. a while before that i got a white female and planned on breeding them eventually, shes the one i still have. shes extremly skittish. even in her cage i cant pet her or any thing. i know it has alot to do with the people she use to live with and buying a very young chin gives you a great chance of taming him to be cuddly (i got a very skittch chin to actually sit on my sholder within 4 months or so) but finding youngins is very hard. iv only ever seen one young chin at a pet store and it was actually agresive. so if your heart is still set on geting one...good luck geting it to be nice.

and just to add a few more things.. because of their daily dust bath you will not only have a dusty chinchilla but a dusty cage and dust all around the cage. that stuff goes every where. if i stand near her cage too long i find myself sneezing. they are nocturnal and when they are active they are ACTIVE. if your going to have them in your bedroom you might as well be nocturnal too. they run around their cage so fast and so crazy it can be pretty loud (this is a wire cage i'm talking about but im sure they could make noise in any kind of cage) i'm partly nocturnal-i go to bed very early in the morning like around 5-7 am and sometimes the chin is up and keeps me up too unless im very very tired.

[Rebecca]

I'm not worried about the caging/mess for a chin. It'll be in my room, or in my downstairs bathroom. It just has a toliet in it. I was going to make a cage for it. I have thought about sugar gliders as well. That was a while ago though and for some reason I decided they were not for me?? I can't remember why though??

[Lrptls]

iv never had gliders but they seem like pretty cool pets. iv definetly heard more about friendly cuddly gliders than a friendly cuddly chinchilla. if i were you i wouldnt do any thing impulse, keep doing alot of research on them and you'll chose which one is best for you.

[Rebecca]

Oh it's not impulse at all. I've always want one or the other. I plan on making sure I have everything set up and everything, before I buy it. That is if I can con my mom into letting me get one.

[ChokeOnSmoke]

check your bylaws if you decide to get a suger glider

[pythonmdk]

and if you are thinking of getting a sugar glider instead of a chin, they are pretty smelly themselves, I think even more so then a ferret. I took care of one for a week and man the smell really carries, chins are far less smelly and really cute but yes they don't really like to be handled too much and can be jumpy and need lots of room. What ever you decide I wish you luck in convincing your mom.

[V.hb]

sugar gliders are alot of work. Require tall cages, good nesting boxes and COMPANY. housing them alone is nasty, and shouldnt be done. They're very social. I keep a trio of them and they're a ton of work. Require a speacial diet (phosphorus free vitamins also) you will need to do ALOT of research before buying one. Be cautious of your decision.


Improperly raised sugar gliders also end up to be extremely aggressive. Being bit by one isn't fun either. Dont expect a cuddly pet from the get go. Takes a lot of taming and care.

[tHeGiNo]

I have had several chinchillas over the years, and only a single male was not handleable. I found with frequent but controlled handling along with offering fruit treats, the majority will take to handling if started young enough. They definitely do not stink, if their enclosures are maintained obviously.