how cold is too cold

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mustangchins

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I have had a friend of mine that has a girl chin asked me if there is a too low of a temp they can handle..Where we live at there are times that we lose electricity and gets cold in our homes and we know there is a heat issue but is there a cold issue with chins. thanks :hmm:
 
Last winter we lost electricity for 4 days due to a downed power line from an ice storm. My house was the same temperature inside as it was outside -about 45 degrees. Marble was perfectly happy with the coldness. His big furry coat kept him happy and playful while we froze. We all ended up going to my inlaws house Marble included.
 
i checked out on the net..and some said that since they was from the Andes mountains that they can handle cold up to 20 below...i was like ok for the ones that live there..but what bout the house pets...lol..ok i will just make sure its not like 10 or 0 inside house..lol..it was just a curious question..
 
Chinchillas in the wild and chinchillas we have for pets can not be compared. As far as pet chins go, I'd never have it any colder than what is comfortable for me b/c otherwise there's no way I want to hang out and visit with them. If it's still too cold after I put a sweater and slippers on and wrap myself in a cozy blanket in my chin room, then it's just too cold for the chins imo. I wish people would stop comparing wild chins to pet chins b/c there's very little comparison.
 
Carol anne ....First off i wasnt comparing them ..i read it on the net and second off i understand u dont compare the two...it was just a cute question a friend of mine had when we was discussing the temps outside and wondered what the temp was that they could handle..i dont plan on trying to see if i can freeze the boys or let them get cold just to answer a question i treat my chinchillas like i would my children and so far none of the 4 of them have frozen and we have had some very cold winters...
 
Personally, I'd say that 100 years (give or take) isn't that much time for domestication to occur. It's certainly not the thousands of years cats and dogs have experienced. The same argument can be applied to higher temperatures in that just because they are household chinchillas doesn't mean that they can acclimate to said temperatures.

Then again, they haven't been studied that extensively, but I have heard "as long as the water bottle doesn't freeze, they're okay". Though in end, it's up to the owner.
 
Most say 55 degrees (F) is the lowest they would go.

That's good to know. Now I don't feel guilty not running the heater recently. It hasn't been nearly that cold, but at least 15 degrees cooler than usual. My bunny and dog don't seem to mind the cold at all either. I would turn on the heat just a bit for myself (colllldd, brrrrr) but it sets off my asthma and allergies.
 
Chinchillas are mammals and will adjust to the environment they live in. Pet chins who live in the northern US and Canada will be more well adjusted to slightly colder temps than what is the general best for them because it's just colder in those places while the pet chins who live in the south will be better adjusted to slightly warmer temps. Personally I like to stick between 67-72 any lower or higher is not very comfortable.
 
My apartment is not the warmest and can get down to 62 and my Chi Chi doesn't mind. I think that if it is a gradual change then it should be fine but I drastic change in temperature is good for them. I have electric space heaters if the need be.
 
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