Having battled with poor quality locally breed chinchillas I decided to try my hand at importing. I was told it would be difficult and very tedious. This didn’t put me off and I began surfing the web for a potential breeder overseas. The first site I e-mailed sent back a reply WE DO NOT SHIP, still this did not deter me and I sent another mail. It came back “yes we will ship as long as South Africa allows the import of chinchilla lanigera”. I was over the moon as they had the best looking chinchillas on the web. I was fortunate to have clicked on www.chinchillas.com they have online auctions selling the best breeding stock of chinchillas in the world. In just less than 4 months of red tape and waiting for the correct temperatures to ship my 12 chinchillas arrived.

Amongst them 3 Royal Persian Angoras you have to check out the site to read up about these gorgeous chinchillas. It was an absolute pleasure doing business with chinchillas.com a special thanks to Jim and Laurie for all their effort and especially to Laurie for her invaluable advice in making the correct choices when choosing my beautiful 12 chinchillas. Check out the photo gallery to see these amazing high quality animals. The photos below are of my 3 RPA chinchillas.

 

Chinchillas are relatively new to the pet world. Most people are unfamiliar with the chinchilla and don’t even know what they look like. When purchasing a chinchilla please do so from a reputable breeder. I personally avoid pet shops and have rescued chinchillas in the past from them. I have yet to come across one that has some form of knowledge regarding chinchillas and for that matter many other pets e.g. the guinea pig. They are only in it for the money and the sign says it all “NO GUARANTEE ON LIVESTOCK”, why no guarantee aren’t they confident that the animal has had the best possible care? To fellow breeders please don’t sell to pet shops but screen potential buyers and find the best possible homes for your babies. Chinchillas are rodents and believe it or not are family of the guinea pig, squirrels, beavers, porcupines, rats, mice etc. They originated from South America and lived in rocky places in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Argentine. In such high places the chinchillas would have been accustomed to drastic weather changes. Their thick coats would have protected them from the extreme cold. Captive bred chinchillas have become accustomed to different living conditions, diets and climatic changes.

They were originally bred for the fur trade but I won’t discuss that disgusting practice!!! Fortunately some clever individuals recognised the fact that they make fun and interesting pets. As more and more people are becoming opposed to the fur trade so the demand for their fur has lessened (although unfortunately not completely). Luckily people are recognising there potential as pets and they are becoming more and more popular. However, chinchillas are not for everyone. As a responsible pet owner you need to consider a few things e.g. chinchillas can live as long as 20 years, can you make this long term commitment? This is a long time to commit to any animal, so consider your long term plans. Take all your plans into consideration before purchasing a chinchilla or any other pet for that matter. Can you afford to care properly for your pet chinchilla? Are you willing to clean its cage weekly and sometimes twice in a week? Do you have access to the correct food and grass for your pet chinchilla? Can you afford the initial outlay of a decent sized cage? Can you afford the price of a chinchilla? Chinchillas are considerably more expensive that guinea pigs and rabbits. Fortunately there food is relatively cheap and they do not require vegetables and fruit. Feeding a chinchilla is fairly cheap in comparison with a guinea pig. They are endearing little characters and such fun to watch as they jump and perform acrobatics.