pros and cons of owning a chin

i'm not sure if this is the correct thread for this topic so if its not i apologize. i have been considering getting a chinchilla for a while now and have been doing extensive research about everything chinchilla's need and the best ways to care for them. however in all of this research i have never been able to gain any first hand experience on what the best and worst parts of owning a chin are from someone who actually owns and cares for a chin.

so i was wondering if some wonderful people on here wanted to take pity on me and tell me what they think the best and worst parts of owning a chin are, as well as what the most rewarding part of having a chin is to you?

i am seriously looking into adopting some chins but i want to get some opinions from real chin owners first to make sure that i'm totally prepared before adopting one.

Best parts:
-There is never a dull moment
-Full of personality/funny little creatures
-Gives you something to be responsible for/take care of
-Can become very bonded with their owners
-Easy to care for
-Long life expectancy
-Caged, so good for apartments that don't allow cats/dogs(though some do not allow exotics)
-They're clean animals with little to no smell and they're easy to clean up after
-Dust baths are cute

Worst Parts:
-They're not cuddly pets
-Exotic vet bills(while most are healthy... A problem is likely expensive to deal with)
-Dust/hay can be a problem if you're allergic
-They enjoy tossing poop/bedding out at you
-Specific temperature requirements
-Can be hard to shop for - but there are plenty of people here who sell supplies
-Must keep a variety of chews available
-They're active at night... So they can be a problem if you share a room

I tried... That's all that came to mind Lol. Honestly... The bad parts are not even an issue for me. My least favorite part is their temperature requirements, since I'm always worrying about how hot my bedroom is and sometimes I get sick of the cold. Keeping up with picky chewers can be a hassle, but otherwise I see way more positives than negatives.

Cons
- They're expensive. They need a large cage, which are priced high when buying brand new. You constantly need to buy a supply of wood and chews for their non-stop growing teeth. Exercise wheels are expensive too, as pet store ones aren't suitable (plastic and too small). They need exotic vet care.

- They aren't cuddley. It just sucks because they are so soft and cute!

- They poop A LOT. You'll have to tidy the cage daily. They can be litter trained to pee in one spot, but they don't have those muscles to hold the poop in. It basically just falls out of them lol. xD

- They are active/noisy during the night, which could cause problems for you if you need to house them in your bedroom.

Pros
-Because they are highly intelligent and always curious about what you're doing, you can build an amazing bond with them.

-They are a fun pet to own! Customizing their cage is fun. Watching them play is entertaining.

- They are orderless

- They are easy to clean. Chins bathe themselves in dust. I know I said they poop a lot, but the good thing is, it's orderless and solid, which makes it super easy and quick to clean.

- They are crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) which works great with any work schedule. You have both early morning hours or late night hours to play/interact with them.

- Although they can make a range of vocal sounds, they are quiet pets. The most noise you'll hear is just from them running in their wheel, playing with their toys, etc.

- They have a long lifespan (up to 20 years) which is amazing for a rodent!

So, that's all that I can think of from the top of my head. I hope this was helpful.
I think it's an absolute joy to own a chinchilla.. I have the want for more!

I just have a few things to add

Cons
1) Some Chinchillas are not very social with humans. Where some will sit on you for a while others will ignore you

2) Harder to take vacations, because they require very specific care and are so hard to catch if they escape you cannot just have any random person pet sit them. The person pet sitting them will need specific instructions and be trustworthy.

3) Unlike other small animals you cannot leave them alone for even a weekend trip without someone checking on them. If the AC were to turn off for some reason in the heat of summer and you did not know that could easily kill them.

4) They live a LONG time, so they will be with you through most of your big life events. If you plan to move out on your own or have children in the chinchillas life time you will need to think about how they will fit into that plan.

5) They waste a lot of hay. Out of the hay you feed they will only eat around half of it. You need to be alright with them wasting hay, because you cannot force them to eat the hay they throw on the ground.

Pros
1) They are adorable!

2) If you are committed they make great pets for families with older children.

Any chin who has teeth can have teeth issues- malocclusion, elongation of the roots, reabsorption, caries, abscesses, broken teeth, periodontal disease, and when it happens it can lead to death or having to put the chin down.

Con: needing to explain to just about everyone exactly *what* a chinchilla is! people don't understand them, and usually think they are like a rabbit, guinea pig, etc. they don't understand their personalities or loooong life spans!

cons: big cages are needed, specific items to go inside cages that you either need to buy online from chinnie-knowledgeable people, or make it yourself.

con: knowing the difference between good chin food and the junk in the stores.... and buying the right kind.

con: poop poop EVERYWHERE!

PRO: the CUTENESS!
PRO: chinnies DO make noises. mine squeak to each other and it's SO sweet. but at the same time, it's not loud and obnoxious like dog barking etc.


plus everything everyone else already said!

Ohh yes the poop! I find poop everywhere even on the opposite side of the house from where the chinchillas are and inside my shoes. It doesn't bother me, but it grosses people like my DH out, however he learned to live with it.

I want to add that making the decision to have more than one should be taken very seriously, since they do not always get along with other chins. You can't just put two together or they might kill each other. If they don't bond over time (please read about chinchilla introductions), you will forever have to house them in separate cages, then multiply everything everyone has said above x 2.

Also, I love my chins, but one of the biggest challenges for me is making the time to play with them. I work a lot, and sometimes I'm pretty pooped at the end of a long day. The chins still need playtime outside of their cage, and it has to be supervised and interactive. They get into everything and chew ANYTHING, so you need to watch them all the time. Again, if you have more than one chinchilla that do not get along, this means separate playtimes for each. However, on a positive note, once playtime begins, I forget about myself and relax playing with them and /or watching them do their "popcorn" jumps and "wall surfing".

I'm glad you're doing the research ahead of time. It makes all the difference. We knew what we were getting into, so we can't complain. We just love our chins and do our best to be good chin parents. Good luck!

The biggest con is definitely the cost involved. HUGE start up costs especially:

air conditioning
big all metal cage
travel cage (for vet visits)
quality water filter
heaps of wood toys, tunnels and shelves.

Then there's the ongoing costs of exotic vet care. I've personally had two with pyometra, which ended up in surgeries. Two with root elongation (heartbreaking as well as expensive to diagnose etc). Not to mention a chin who had recurrent problems with dry eyes, resulting in frequent ulcers. Then add in the odd gut issue, then the odd foot issue (one of my chins hurt her foot on a rough chewed patch of tunnel in her playroom).

Also they require a lot of attention. Play out time every night if you can manage it (though some ppl think this is less necessary if the chin has a huge cage).
And also, who looks after them if you go on holiday? I wouldn't trust any of my family to be honest.... not because my family is untrustworthy, but simply because they are unfamiliar with chins, and have no concept of how fast these little guys can move!!! If one got out, I doubt my mum or sister would manage to catch them again!
Consequently, hubby and I haven't left the house together for more than a day in over ten years, lol. Holidays? Not gonna happen!!

Also cons, like someone else said..... poop and dust everywhere!!

Pros are obvious though. Cute fluffy wuffy crazy bundles of energetic love

thank you so much!

oh wow! thank you guys so much for replying to my thread! everything you've been saying is SO helpful.

i have a few more questions now that i've been reading what you all listed.

1) how iffy is it to get more than one chin? some people mentioned them not liking each other- which is completely understandable. i just ask because i have guinea pigs which need to have a friend to be truly happy and wasn't sure if chin's needed the same thing.

2) how careful do you need to be with monitoring the temperature? i know they have a very specific temperature range they need to be keep in so i'm not asking about that. i'm just wondering how careful i have to be if i am not home or at work where i can't be there to actually watch what my AC's doing.

3) this one's a little out there from the poop and bedding throwing- but i've heard some stories about female chin's shooting pee at their owners when they get mad. how often does this really happen and is there any way to avoid this?

4) also is it dangerous for chin's if i have other pets around? right now i have 3 cats and 5 guinea pigs. so far my cats have not been interested in or caused any problems with my pigs, but i didn't know if chins would react negatively to having other animals around.

rawrimadinno8 said:

1) how iffy is it to get more than one chin? some people mentioned them not liking each other- which is completely understandable. i just ask because i have guinea pigs which need to have a friend to be truly happy and wasn't sure if chin's needed the same thing.

Click to expand...

Some chins prefer to be by themselves. Some like company. You don't have to get more then one but many ppl do. You just have to be prepared for not only proper quarantine and intros, but you need to be prepared to house a second chin separately in case something goes wrong. And even after they are bonded they can turn on day out of the blue. So its something you need to know before hand.

That being said, ive never rly had to separate any of my 5 chins due to issues like that. Thats one extra great thing about the Ferret Nation Cages. You can block off the whole to get to the second floor, and suddenly you have two cages instead of one!

rawrimadinno8 said:

2) how careful do you need to be with monitoring the temperature? i know they have a very specific temperature range they need to be keep in so i'm not asking about that. i'm just wondering how careful i have to be if i am not home or at work where i can't be there to actually watch what my AC's doing.

Click to expand...

Careful enough. It depends where your keeping it at and how well the AC system works, and how the room holds the cold air. If you have a place thats poorly insulated and its rly hard to keep temps down, then yea you need to be extra careful. But in a decent place its a lot simpler.

If you have central air you can always add a window unit AC that has a power save feature to there room as well. I personally try never to let the temp for my chins get above 70. Which could sux for me because i hate cold. I like heat. Fortunately my chins have there own room atm. The ppl im living with run the central air as they see fit, and i actually do keep a window unit in there during the summer. So far i haven't had any issues with this set up.

rawrimadinno8 said:

3) this one's a little out there from the poop and bedding throwing- but i've heard some stories about female chin's shooting pee at their owners when they get mad. how often does this really happen and is there any way to avoid this?

Click to expand...

Two of my five are sprayers so far. When they are scared or cornered they will get defensive and spray. Usually my best bet is to not do what ever is scaring them so much. Which you dont want to do anyway unless you have to.

For example, my boy is deathly afraid or being picked up. If he even thinks you might try he goes into extreme panic. Iv never seen a chin shake in fear this much. But there are times where it needs to be done. You learn a chins patterns after a while. As well as where he will run for protection. You can use that to accomplish your goal as fast as possible. Letting it go on longer will only make it worse for them. Usually ill try to approach with my hand from above as much as i can. Harder to shoot in that direction.

rawrimadinno8 said:

4) also is it dangerous for chin's if i have other pets around? right now i have 3 cats and 5 guinea pigs. so far my cats have not been interested in or caused any problems with my pigs, but i didn't know if chins would react negatively to having other animals around.

Click to expand...

Yes. That simple. Some will tell you they have made it work but it is still dangerous. Cats and dogs especially. One swipe from them to a chin could be fatal if it connects right. I suggest not letting them have access to the room your chins are in if possible.

Other things like rabbits can be fatal as well. They are much stronger then a chin. One good kick from there hind legs could do just as much damage.
There are also animals, like rabbits iir, that can carry pasturela (sp?). While it may not be noticeable in that pet it could spread from contact with them and then your chins. You would need to make sure to sanitize yourself after handling each type of pet.

Im not saying you cant have any other pets. You can, just with many there are precautions that should be taken.

concerning more than 1 chinnie...... i'd suggest if you think you want more than 1 chin, find a pair that is already bonded. that helps significantly. you wont have to do introductions as they already live together. BUT....as everyone else said.... know that they may suddenly turn on each other and need to be separated.

you'll get different responses about the temperature question. i think i am more lax on it than most chin owners and mine are fine.

about spraying: for the first 7 years of my chinnie ownership i had 3 girls (1 pair and 1 single) and never once got sprayed. last year my pair passed away (tears!) and i eventually got 2 new girls. i also now have 2 boys. still have never gotten sprayed! but i hear stories from others about it happening often. i suppose it depends on the chinnie and your relationship with them.

as for other animals.... i have always had a zoo. my chins are my BABIES, but i currently also have 3 cats and a guinea pig. in the past, along with my chins i've had other cats, other guinea pigs, hedgehog, rats.... KEEP THEM SEPARATE. my cats have neve done a thing to hurt my chins, but i'd never let the cats in the room when the chins are out playing. dont let any animals out together, even if they are both rodents, etc.

1) how iffy is it to get more than one chin? some people mentioned them not liking each other- which is completely understandable. i just ask because i have guinea pigs which need to have a friend to be truly happy and wasn't sure if chin's needed the same thing.

Depends on the chinchilla. I know some people whos chins are fine on their own or dislike company. My chinchilla lived with his brother since he was born up until 12 weeks. When I bought him he seemed ok at first but now you can tell hes really lonely. We've reserved a chin from the same breeder to introduce to him although when I first got my chinchilla I would not have been confident at all to introduce him to another chin. I would say if you arent prepared for another chinchilla, get one (if you are ready for one) and give him lots of attention which you should do anyway with 1 chin. If he seems depressed though I'd look into another. Some breeders will do the intros for you.

2) how careful do you need to be with monitoring the temperature? i know they have a very specific temperature range they need to be keep in so i'm not asking about that. i'm just wondering how careful i have to be if i am not home or at work where i can't be there to actually watch what my AC's doing.

Sorry I'm not much help on this one, I live in the UK where it is always very cold so I don't even have an AC. I'd say on very hot days double check the AC and make sure he has a marble slab in the cage, they can lay on them if they are too hot.

3) this one's a little out there from the poop and bedding throwing- but i've heard some stories about female chin's shooting pee at their owners when they get mad. how often does this really happen and is there any way to avoid this?

Males can also do this but my male has never done this and I think its more common in females. This happens when they feel threatened or annoyed so I would say don't make them feel threatened or annoyed lol. I think if you corner them or make abrupt movements that may make them want to spray. I don't have a female so again not much use on this

4) also is it dangerous for chin's if i have other pets around? right now i have 3 cats and 5 guinea pigs. so far my cats have not been interested in or caused any problems with my pigs, but i didn't know if chins would react negatively to having other animals around.

If the chin is in reach of the cat, yes. I know rabbits can give a disease to chins called pasteurella but I don't think guinea pigs can. I'd say just make sure they don't have playtime together or they can easily get to eachother.

Regarding temperature, we live in the North of England where temps rarely exceed 22 degrees Celsius. Last summer, freak temps hit 31 degrees celcius. With the use of marble slabs, ice packs in metal biscuit tins, chilled dust baths and fans blowing over bowls of ice cubes, all the chins were less active, but otherwise fine. They still ate, drank pooped and played as normal, just no out of cage time.

I can't add much more to Smidgeyy's list. They do poop a lot and they will chew everything, your books, your walls, your furniture. They won't comfort you when you've had a bad day but they always look cute. They get moody, they have a particular diet, can't get wet, can't get too hot. But they are so adorable. I've only had mine for about 3 years but after he passes (in like another 10-15 years), I probably will not get another one. I can't bear the thought of being without my fur baby, but they definitely are much different from cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice....... Do I love my fuzz butt? You betcha.