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. chinchillas live to be 15-20 years old in captivity
. chinchillas are from the Andes in South America, living as high as 15,000 feet
. the Incas ate chinchilla meat and used their fur for coats
. chinchillas are nocturnal
. chinchillas have more hairs per follicle (80-90) than any other animal; this makes them (objectively) the softest animals in the world
. because of the density of their fur, chinchillas can't harbor fleas
. domesticated chinchillas eat specially-formulated chinchilla pellets and hay (timothy grass hay is a particular favorite)
. chinchillas bathe by rolling around in a very fine dust (*cough*), which removes oil from their coats
. chinchillas' front teeth grow between 2 and 3 inches a year (*chew* *chew* *chew* *nibble*)
. chinchillas are impressive jumpers; their back legs resemble kangaroo legs, and Rigel and Indi have both been observed performing 4-foot vertical jumps
. chinchillas can grow to be about a foot long from nose to base of tail, with the tail providing another 10 inches or so; a biggish one weighs about a pound and a half (Rigel and Indi are about 600gm and 630gm, respectively)
. chinchillas are most closely related to porcupines and guinea pigs
. chinchillas do NOT tolerate heat or humidity very well at all; they must be kept in cool rooms (70 degrees F or below is best; 80 or higher can be deadly!)
. chinchillas, when happy and healthy, are odorless (assuming their human keeps their cage relatively clean)
. chinchillas come in many different color mutations: Indi is a "violet", and has a purplish sheen to his coat; Rigel is a "standard", the default chin color in the wild (he looks a lot like a rock when he's sleeping)
. the biggest health issues in chinchillas are tooth and digestive problems
. it takes around 150 - 200 chinchilla pelts to make one full-length fur coat
. chinchillas (Indi and Ri, anyway) are curious, talkative (lots of chirps and squeaks), skittish, and enjoy perching on shoulders and having their tummies rubbed
. chinchillas are cecotrophic; I'm going to make you look that one up
. chinchillas live in herds
. "chinchilla" means "Little Chinta", after the Chinta South American Indian tribe