Also known as "chins" they have incredible velvety fir, and they resemble a chubby squirrel with Mickey mouse type ears. They are nocturnal, although they do get up and play alot during the day. Chins are very smart and playful, and I'm told can be trained. They are also very clean, so their cage area doesn't tend to stink as many other types of caged animals can.

My first chins were a proven breeding pair and although they were sweet animals, I can't say they ever really bonded to us much. Chins usually have 1-3 babies (known as kits) and their pregnancy is 111 days which is incredibly long for an animal that size.

The babies are born really advanced for newborns. They are open eyed, fully furred and running around nearly within minutes of birth. They can also eat adult food nearly from that first day, although the majority of their diet is from nursing.

Chins eat a pelleted food called chinchilla food. They should have 1 raisin a day as well which they love as a treat. Every couple days, give them a bowl with chinchilla dust in it and watch out! They roll and swirl and play like mad in their "bath". It is a blast to watch, always great for company to get a laugh.

We kept one of the babies from this pair, and she was the best pet we ever owned. We handled her from day one and she bonded to us very well. She was playful, sweet, never bit and had a cute little quiet bark. Tons of personality as well!

Chins are active, on the move pets versus quiet lap pets that will just sit there while you hold them. I would recommend if possible getting a baby over an adult however as it seems if they are younger, they bond better to their human owner than older ones.

Another very nice quality about chins as pets, is they have no claws or fingernails. They have these little soft pads on the bottom of their feet, so you don't get scratched. I wouldn't recommend them with small children however, as young children could easily hurt a chinchilla.

The average lifespan is about 10-15 years, they do need to be indoors or climate controlled setting. They come in many colors but standard gray is the most common. The rare colors will usually cost more. Because of their long life span, be sure you are ready for the commitment.

When we were finding good homes for the babies, most people who were interested had never seen or been around chins before. The ones who did know something about them all had this in common; they either had owned one previously or knew someone close who did, which speaks very well of chins as pets.