It has been my experience that they do not live as long as a regular chinchilla. I have seen very, very few make it past five years of age. I have one breeding male that I finally decided to use that is over 5 - because he is older. For some reason they just die on you - be it an illness in the herd, accidents, whatever, they are far more prone to it. It has been quite the saga watching breeders start, loose their animals, then restart again. Both in the U.S. and overseas. I only have the one angora and am working strictly with carriers that are from healthy lines due to this. I fully expect them to kick the bucket any day to be honest. Even my carriers have been prone to more damage.