Chinchillas are beautiful, soft, and clean animals that can be wonderful pets for school-age children. Chinchillas should be kept in pairs, they can be reluctant to cuddle and can bite under stress. Your child needs to be old enough to respect their pet’s space and its need to rest during the day. The CDC does not recommend chinchillas and other rodent pets for households with kids younger than 5, mostly due to the risk of infections.
17 PROS AND CONS TO KEEPING CHINCHILLAS AS PETS IN HOUSEHOLDS WITH KIDS
There are several pros and cons to keeping chinchillas as pets that are relevant to households with children.
1. Chinchillas Shed Throughout The Year
Chinchillas shed mildly throughout the year with periods of heavy shedding a few times a year. Their shedding may be uneven, so they lose tufts of fur here and there. However, the fur grows back quickly, most people do not even notice that the shedding is uneven.
Chinchillas can do fur slip to escape if you grab them suddenly and the animal becomes frightened. So, they lose tufts of fur in the area where you would hold them. Avoid handling your chinchilla in ways that can be stressful, especially if the chinchilla is still new to your household.
2. Chinchillas Do Not Smell
Odors can be challenging when you have a pet at home but chinchillas do not have an odor. They are clean animals, and the absence of odors is one of the characteristics that make these pets so attractive to many households.
If your chinchilla urinates on something in the house or you forget to clean your pet’s habitat for a few days or weeks, there could still be an odor associated with keeping a chinchilla. However, that is not avoidable regardless of the kind of pet that you keep. An animal’s needs to be maintained properly.
A helpful aspect of keeping chinchillas as pets is that they can be toilet trained, which makes maintenance easier and reduces odors caused by the habitat:
- Place a litterbox in a corner of the cage
- Put a little bit of bedding with urine on it into the litterbox and leave it there
- Keep cleaning the rest of the cage but leave some soiled bedding in the litterbox
- Most chinchillas will eventually use the litterbox to void, so you can change the bedding in the litterbox daily
- Some pet chinchillas will learn to use a litterbox exclusively, others are less reliable and might still pee in other areas.
3. Chinchillas Are Active at Dusk and Dawn
Like most rodents, chinchillas are crepuscular animals, which means that they are most active at dusk and dawn. They are asleep or inactive at night and for a part of the day. In the wild, chinchillas benefit from such a sleeping cycle because it makes it easier to forage while escaping predators.
A chinchilla needs to maintain their crepuscular lifestyle. These pets do not adapt well to the sleeping schedule of their household.
Most older kids understand and respect their pet’s need to sleep during the day. Younger children, however, can get frustrated if their pet is asleep when they want to interact.
4. Chinchillas Are Not Very Affectionate and They Do Not Like Being Held
There is always some variation in individual animals’ personalities. Some chinchillas may be more affectionate than others and might even like cuddling. In general, however, chinchillas are quite independent and do not enjoy being held.
To pick up a chinchilla:
- Allow your chinchilla to become accustomed to the cage and your home in general
- Place your hand in the cage so your chinchilla can sniff your hand and get used to your scent
- Consider offering a treat the first few times you hold your chinchilla
- Hold your hands like a cup, so your pet feels safe and content
- Keep your hands close to a table or the floor – chinchillas are quick and could fall and get hurt easily if the animal tried to escape
- Avoid holding tightly, otherwise, your chinchilla will do a famous fur slip to escape your hands
5. Chinchillas Can Bite (And Their Bite Can Be Painful)
Chinchillas are by no means aggressive pets. However, any animal can act aggressively in self-defense. If your chinchilla needs space but a child does not pick up on the cues, the pet can bite out of fear or stress.
A chinchilla has sharp teeth, so their bite can be deep and painful.
This does not mean that chinchillas are inappropriate pets – any animal can bite inadvertently. It is, however, a reminder that children should be able to give animals their space, or their interactions should always be supervised.
Older children do very well with chinchillas because they can learn to understand their pet’s behavior and adjust their actions as needed.
6. Chinchillas Should Be Kept in Pairs or Larger Groups
Although they are reserved with people, chinchillas are sociable animals within their species. They should be kept in pairs or larger groups to stay happy and healthy.
Some animals do well on their own but it is more natural for them to have company.
If you have a male and a female living in one habitat, have the male chinchilla neutered to prevent your pets from reproducing.
7. Chinchillas Are Not For Kids Younger than 5 Years Old
The CDC does not recommend having rodents as pets in households with children younger than five years old, or if someone in your family has a weakened immune system. Please see the website of the CDC for more information.
The main concern about young kids around rodent pets is that rodents can pass on diseases. Young children do not have very strong immune systems in general. An even bigger problem is that they do not keep the best hand hygiene and tend to put their hand in their mouths and noses quite a bit.
8. Chinchillas Are Wonderfully Soft
This is not the primary reason for choosing a chinchilla for most pet parents but it is worth a mention: chinchillas have wonderfully soft fur.
Children love petting these amazingly soft and gentle pets, so it is good to remind your kiddos to give their chinchilla space if the pet seems to want some peace.
9. Chinchillas Need Time Outside the Cage, Toys and Company
As discussed above, chinchillas need the company of a fellow chinchilla. In addition, they need plenty of toys, a large multilevel cage to explore, and some time away from their habitat.
When you let your chinchillas walk around outside the cage, keep an eye on your pets. Chinchillas are quick and can hide and burrow. Like any little rodent pet, chinchillas are prone to eloping.
10. Taking Care of a Chinchilla Is a Great Chore for School-Age Children
Chinchillas are not very difficult to maintain. A school-age child can take good care of a pair of chinchillas, and that could be an excellent way for the child to have a fun regular chore to teach empathy and responsibility.
It is important to help your child, in the beginning, to make sure he or she remembers the routine well. It is also good to monitor to ensure that the essential things, such as giving the animals water and food, are never forgotten by mistake.
11. Chinchillas Have a Long Life Span
Chinchillas live up to ten years and even longer. With optimal care, chinchillas can live up to twenty years.
Most households see this as a positive but these animals’ longer than typical rodent life span does imply that they need your commitment for a long period.
12. Considerations if You Have Other Pets
Cats, dogs, and other pets may view chinchillas as prey, so you need to supervise the animals’ interactions if you have other pets at home.
In most cases, if pets are raised together from a young age, they do well in one household. Still, it is better to keep them under observation to avoid any incidents.
13. Chinchillas Are Relatively Low-Maintenance
If you are a busy family, you might be looking for an easy-to-care-for pet, and chinchillas are relatively low-maintenance.
Chinchillas do not need water baths but need to bathe themselves in special bath dust every other day or so.
Chinchillas are clean animals but they need their cage spot cleaned daily, to get rid of any bedding with urine or feces on it. Most chinchillas learn to use a potty in their cage, which makes maintenance even easier. It is still important to clean the habitat completely about every week to avoid odors and help your pets be comfortable in their cage.
14. Chinchillas Are Not Hypoallergenic
If someone in your family has allergies, keep in mind that chinchillas are not hypoallergenic pets. Some people could be allergic to a chinchilla even if they are not allergic to any other animal.
It is good to spend some time (an hour) with the chinchilla that might be coming to your house to rule out any allergies.
15. Chinchillas Are Relatively Inexpensive
Chinchillas do need a nice multilevel cage, as well as some toys for rodent pets, as an initial investment, but the monthly cost of keeping chinchillas is comparatively low.
The cage and toys could cost you a little over 100 USD but it is a one-time bill, more if you choose a fancier habitat for your pets.
The bedding and food are the monthly expenses you should be prepared for, and it is hard to estimate the expense because it depends on the brand you choose.
- Chinchillas need a couple of inches (5 cm) of non-toxic bedding in their cage, spot-cleaned daily
- A chinchilla eats two spoons of chinchilla pellets, in addition to some veggies daily.
- Chinchillas do need feeding hay available in unlimited amounts to get the nutrition they need and keep their teeth healthy.
Chinchillas are generally healthy pets but, like with any other animal, if your pet gets sick, a veterinarian bill can be high.
16. Is It Legal To Keep a Chinchilla in Your State or Country?
Chinchillas are considered an invasive species in many natural habitats and environments, which is the common reason these animals are not permitted in many areas.
Some states within the U.S. do not permit owning chinchillas at all. Some allow adopted animals but do not permit purchasing them from stores or breeders. Some places require special certification to keep a degu as a pet.
If you are not sure if your state permits keeping chinchillas as pets, you are welcome to check the lists and limitations for exotic animals on the FindLaw website. It lists the information about different species of animals by state. The website only addresses keeping exotic animals as pets within the U.S.
17. Some Veterinarians Might Not Be Familiar with Chinchillas Much
Depending on the area you live, your chinchillas might need to be seen by an exotic animal veterinarian. So, do some research to make sure that, if needed, you will have a veterinarian clinic you can take your pet for a visit.
Chinchillas are healthy pets and do not need vaccinations, but they can still become sick or have traumas. It is good to have a plan ahead of time in case your pet needs professional help.
To Conclude
Chinchillas are good pets for school-age children, not for toddlers or preschoolers.
Despite their charismatic looks and soft fur that is so therapeutic to touch, chinchillas can be very independent and they need to sleep/rest when your child might be eager to play. Your child should be mature enough to understand the animal’s cues and be able to provide the chinchilla with space as needed.
