Interesting fact that I wouldn't be surprised of

[Ippo456]

From OMG Facts:

A chinchilla can jump 5 feet in the air.

That’s over 10 times its own height! This is because chinchillas typically live in rocky, mountainous areas where it is often necessary to jump to high ledges. This jumping ability also comes in handy when avoiding predators such as hawks, skunks, and foxes!

http://www.omg-facts.com/view/Facts/19764

 

[Michelle43]

haha, and I'm worried about taking the ramps out of my chin's cage?:chin1:

 

[AZChins]

They can. The trick with our chinchillas is not to let them know this or you end up with chins on the counter tops. That happens all the time here though because I used to think it was cute to let them jump up as high as they wanted. When I do playtime I end up with chins jumping up on my desk and stealing things. Although, it does seem that captive bred chins don't jump as high as the chins in the wild do...I could be wrong though. My chins have no trouble bypassing ledges and ramps to get to the higher levels in cages.

 

[cindyv3737]

Hahahaha! I just watched Shelly clear an easy 3.5 feet during her playtime tonight. She could have jumped higher.

 

[AZChins]

Shelli is a little evil, isn't she?

 

[cindyv3737]

A little? There is a reason I got her fleece with skulls and crossbones on it.

 

[3CsMommy]

Crash regularly launched himself off of my ex's shoulder. Said ex is 6'1". (And yes, I nearly had a heart attack every time he did it.)

 

[Mummypig]

LOL I don't doubt it. Poppy isn't even 4 months old and she can effortlessly hop onto our side board (easily 3ft) - and I was also worried about taking ramps out of her cage and wondered if she'd be able to make it the 6 inches from one ledge into her hammock :rolleyes2:

 

[CJR]

These chins are made for jumpin'!

 

[Isabella Whateva]

These chins are made for jumpin'!

Oh man, that may be the funniest thing I've ever read

 

[Tennyson]

I always try to create caging climates that encourage jumping so as to keep the chins as close to their natural habitat and behaviors as I can I think its sad some chins just never go jumping-they use ramps everywhere and just forget that they have incredible leg power behind them!

 

[3CsMommy]

The reason ramps are a concern is *because* chins jump. Ferrets aren't great at vertical jumps (what with being a tube with legs and a slight case of ADHD), so they need ramps to get between levels safely. But chins don't, and tend to get snarled in things they try to jump over, like ramps or hay wheels/balls. Someone on here had a trip to the e-vet come up when her chin tried to jump on/over a chain of toys and got her foot caught, and chain toys are generally considered to be safe. (I'm pretty sure the chin was a female mosaic, but I can't remember the owner's name for the life of me.)

 

[Amy555]

My boys are still young and before I got them they spent the first 4 months of their life in a single level cage so when they came home with me it was a big learning curve. It took them a couple of days to get the hang of jumping and would dangle and slide off the ledges. After about 4 days they both could get to the top level, but I have seen them miss and fall all the way to the bottom so I'm still not comfortable getting them a wooden hidey house yet. So it's all fleece and cardboard until they get the hang of their coordination skills.

 

[soysauce]

if we ever have playtime in the bathroom soy sauce jumps up on top of the counter and thats probably close to 3 and a half feet high. it scares me every time she looks like shes going to jump down from the counter so i make a elevator with my hands for her
when she was younger she used to jump two thirds of the way up my bros door which is probably about 4 feet high so shes getting close to the 5 feet the little dare devil