Months ago I had told a woman I know that I would like a male chinchilla. Daisy and Cheri, the chinchillas I've had for some years now are not all that friendly. Not mean or anything like that, but just don't like to be handled a lot. Cheri rarely lets me touch her at all but Daisy lets me pet her a bit so long as I don't try to pick her up, then she'll squirm and such to get away. I think this is because they must not have been handled much as kits, and they were about 3 or 4 years old when I got them.
The Twins
One of the twins is a girl and one is a boy. They were born November 18, 2006, so are just over 3 months old now. These two little darlings have been handled a fair bit, so I can pet them and hold them. If I open the cage door and pet them, the girl will climb up the cage, out the door and onto me. The boy isn't as active, but he is just as friendly. I haven't had time to find good names for them yet, it takes awhile as I have to get to know them to see what suits them most. The color of these two darlings is "standard gray", their mother is also "standard gray", and their father is "white mosaic". Chinchillas come in many colors.
This is the father of the twins, a white mosaic male chinchilla. Angeline, the gal that gave these 3 to me, said this fellow and the mother of the twins have pedigrees. She has the pedigrees at home and will find them for me. I will get this fellow's and a copy of the mothers so I can make pedigrees for the babies. I am not showing the chins, so really don't probably need pedigrees, but I really enjoy color genetics so like to see what colors are in the background, so what colors are likely to come out in future breedings. Mind you, I don't know any of the background from Daisy or Cheri so won't know what could come out of breedings with them, but still it will be fun to read over the pedigrees for these three.Angeline didn't know this guy's name and had never called him anything, so until I get his pedigree I won't know his name, but I can call him anything I want to. For now I am calling him Smudge because he has smudges of gray on his face, as well as the gray ears. Smudge is also very friendly. I am sure that as they get to know me better, they will be even more friendly with me. It's amazing that they are this good with a total stranger.
For the others I have solid bottom cages with shavings in them, but I have Smudge in a rabbit cage with a wire bottom. I put a pan of shavings in there, just in case, and a board for him to sit on. Earlier, after playing with Smudge a bit, I put him back into his cage and he went straight into the shavings pan and went pee. How's that for smart. He's potty trained. Bonus!!
I am truly bless, and now I am going to go find these new kids bath dishes so I can give all 5 of my chins a bath. To do this, you give them special bath dust and they totally love it. They roll around in it like crazy and it's awesome to watch.
If you would like to see pictures of Daisy and Cheri, or other of my "kids", just go to My Critters. You'll find the link on the bottom of this post or on the sideboard to the right.
6 comments:
I've heard of chincillas but never really seen them before. I thought they were mice at first before I read what they were, but then I realized they were too big to be mice.
And it's fascinating that you can actually show them. Very cool.
Yes, way too big to be mice, lol. An adult is probably about 2 pounds, though I've not weighed mine. The darn things won't stay still long enough, haha. Chinchilla fur coats are VERY expensive as the fur is the most luxurious fur there is and it takes a lot of hides to make a coat.
My chins are just my pets, not being raised for fur.
They are really cute, just discovered them while commenting on your "yellow".
I hope I don't offend you if I suggest you name them "Hat, Coat & Muff".... I know you love your new 'kids' and would never wear one :)
Thanks Gattina
Heather, I don't offend that easy, lol. I once named a rabbit "Stew", and guess what... he was! When I was first given Daisy & Cheri I told people I'd been given 2 beautiful Chinchilla coats... and the best part of it was they are still being worn by their original owners! Most people didn't see the humor in that. How about Muff & Mittens for the twins, haha. We'll see. I'm going to call their father Smudge until I get his pedigree and see what his real name is, then decide whether to use his real name or not.
So sweet! :)
Post a Comment