Chinchillas are nocturnal which means they sleep during the day and are awake during the night. Chinchillas are wonderful climbers and often have a tendecy to reinact spiderman sequences into the wee hours of the morning. They're also fantastic jumpers--they can jump as high as 3 feet in the air! Talk about a vertical huh? Chinchillas are also herbivores and in the wild they fed on all the roots, bulbs and mosses they were lucky enough to find. Pet chinchillas are supplied with special chinchillas pellets which are alfalfa-based and very easy and inexspensive. A healthy chinchilla is a very clean and odorless animal. In fact, their fur evolved in such a way that it's unable to support any fleas or other pests!
The chinchilla is right now considered a part of the rodent family (although there is some debate on wether they are closer to the cavy family). They are characterized by a roundish body, large ears and bright round eyes. The bushiness of the tail closly resembles that of a squirrel. Their size is about that of a guinea pig, they average 600 grams as an adult and head to tail can be about 43 cm long. Chinchillas are very inquisitve and intelligent creatures and it has been said that thay have an astonishing memory. But one aspect of chinchillas that any owner can agree with is that each one has thier own distinctive personality, and that's what makes them so special.
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