One or Two?
Chinchillas are social animals that do well in pairs. In many cases, having two chinchillas is quite ideal and can be beneficial to both the owner and the animals. But there are some considerations when deciding to have two chinchillas instead of one. We will look at the advantages and disadvantages of having more than one chinchilla.
Alone
If you want to get a single chinchilla or currently have a single chinchilla, consider how much time you will have to devote to the animal. Just putting food and water in the cage is not enough interaction time to stimulate your pet. You will have to spend a good amount of time playing them them so they are not bored in the cage. If they have a chinchilla friend, they can keep each other company and entertained in your place. Of course, you will still need to give them some interaction time but not as much as if you had just one chinchilla.
Figthing
With two animals, there's always a chance that they will fight with each other, especially if they are initially strangers. If you are getting a chinchilla, consider getting two who are already friends. Introducing two chinchillas can be very difficult and result in injuries due to fighting so buying two together will free you from having to do a difficult introduction. Some introductions can go smoothly, but most often fight at least a little bit in the beginning. Once the chinchillas have become close friends, there is still a chance that they will fight in the future, so getting a second cage to seperate them for a short time is a good idea.
Care
Caring for two chinchillas who live in the same cage is actually any more difficult or time consuming than one chinchilla. This is because most of the care involves replacing food and water in the cage and cleaning the cage itself. The only difference between maintaining one or two chinchillas is that you will spend a little more time cleaning the cage, changing the water bottle more often, and adding more food than for one animal. But this additional time for two is very minimal. In addition, because they can interact with each other, you will not have to spend as much time playing with them as you would with one chinchilla.
Cost
With two chinchillas, you will need to buy twice as much pellets and hay. You will also need to change the bedding more often than for one chinchilla. In addition, you will need to make sure you have a cage large enough for the two to live comfortably. A 3 foot tall cage should be adequate for two chinchillas. While having two chinchillas will be a little more expensive to maintain, that added costs are actually minimal. You will need to buy more food, but may be able to save money because you can now buy in bulk for two or more animals. Unless your budget was really tight, you many not even notice the slightly extra costs of having two chinchillas.
Sex
When getting two chinchillas, you will need to get two that are the same sex unless you are sure that you want babies. Even if they are related, any two chinchillas of the opposite sex will likely produce babies. You may be able to neuter the male, but this is a risky operation at not many vets can do. It is better to have a male-male or female-female combination.
For more information about chinchillas, visit forchins.com. For discussion of small pets, including chinchillas, rabbits, and guinea pigs, visit smallpetclub.com.
posted by forchins @ 11:20 AM
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