In many countries of the world, people keep chinchillas as pets. These funny little animals are unpretentious in care, very beautiful, with constant fuss and care they cheer up everyone. Before buying an animal, many are interested in how long chinchillas live, because this fluffy lump becomes a family member from the first days, so you want him to be around for as long as possible.
At home and properly maintained, these animals can live for more than 10 years. As a rule, life expectancy is 15 years, but there were centenarians who celebrated their 20th anniversary.
Chinchillas come from the Andes, where they live at an altitude of 2-4 thousand meters. There are not so many of these cute fluffies left in nature; valuable fur became the reason for their mass extermination. Mostly small species up to 500 g.
Chinchilla fur is very thick and soft, parasites do not start in it. That is why many are breeding these animals foruse of their skins for tailoring fur products. How long chinchillas live depends entirely on their living conditions, care and nutrition. If they live in a small dirty cage, they can easily catch an infectious disease and die.
The optimal temperature for keeping chinchillas is within 20 ° C, if more, then they lie on their side and breathe heavily. At a temperature of 30 - 32 ° C, they can die from heat stroke. It is better not to put the cage in direct sunlight, in hot weather you can put a bottle of frozen water or a granite stone in it.
How long chinchillas live also depends on the diet. The food should be balanced, have all the necessary vitamins and minerals. As a treat, animals are allowed to give a minimum amount of dried fruits, hay. It is very important not to overfeed a chinchilla; up to a year, one spoonful of feed per day is enough for her. Much attention should be paid to the teeth of the animal.
A chinchilla has 16 molars, they grow throughout life, so there should be food in the cage to help grind them down. It can be dried branches of an apple tree or birch, a s alt mineral stone, which also enriches the body with useful microelements. Also, you can not drastically change the diet, because the animal may suffer from colic, constipation or diarrhea. If a chinchilla has diarrhea, then she needs to starve for a day, sit on crackers. For constipation, stroke the tummy and give the pet carrot juice or a decoction of prunes.
How long chinchillas live also depends on the breeder. If you buy animals in a nursery where all the conditions for keeping were provided, good nutrition was provided, all vaccinations were made, then there is a greater chance of getting a he althy fluffy. If you make a purchase on the market, then there are high chances that a sick chinchilla will come across. At home, such an animal can live only a couple of months, after which it will die of an unknown disease.
A chinchilla will delight with its presence for many years if it is provided with rational nutrition, proper care, equipping the cage with various devices in the form of wheels, tunnels and slides so that the pet does not get bored.
