any one on here got a Chinchillaas I pet?thinking of getting one just after a bit of advice thanks.

I used to have 2 what would you like to know 🙂 I will see if I can help

just how good a pet they make,how easy to handle are they,do they smell ok just the general stuff I need to know really thanks.

Breeding your own coat?

Google how long the rat bast%$ds live.

The oldest living Chinchilla is 27 years old …

😯

I was going to mention how long they live for too!

My daughters is now over 10 years old and still going strong! He’s a cool little guy who is calm and manageable.

We have two a male who’s 12 months old and a female who is 8 months. They don’t smell and are happy enough to sit on you. Bit noisy during the night but their cool.

I remember when I was a little kid the local pet shop had one on their special stand. it was £70 which was a lot of money to a little kid especially compared to the £3 hamsters.
no-one ever bought it, it was there for years – I expect because it did nothing. just sat there asleep all day.

Yes as said above they can last along time I had 2 male ( brothers from the same batch ) not a good idea normally as they can fight, they lasted years so it is one thing to think of when getting them ie what will I be doing in 10-15 years ! one was 14yrs the other 18yrs ( there mum got to 22yrs ! )
Very easy to look after, put some hay in the little rack every day, fresh water every day if you put a bowl in they will tip it over ! I had a metal bowl that dropped into a holder on the side of the cage, water bottles with a nozzle thing that fit to the outside of the cage will be nibbled within seconds so it needs a metal holder, chinchilla food pellets again in a metal bowl in a holder on the side of the cage, they can have a treat now and again but dont over do it little bit of apple, a raisin every now and again.
2 pine wooden boxes small hole at the front and a removable lid( for cleaning out) so the could hide in them, one on the bottom of the cage one on the top shelfthis one fastened down.
The cage I made had was 1″ square weld-mesh it was about 750mm x 750 mm base the hight was 1300mm ish it had 3 pine shelves and a bigger mesh one, if you look at a cage the base has a extra bit on the bottom this is so you can slide a plastic tray or painted wooden tray of sawdust or shavings in, if cleaned out weekly they dont smell I used to scoop the shavings from their ‘pee area’ ( yes they peed in one area of the cage ) and put fresh shavings down part way through the week.
Roses tin ( other sweet tins too ) with fine sand put this in the cage for about a hour every day ( or on the floor with lots of paper ) this is what they bath in fantastic to watch 😆 start brushing them young as sometimes they dont like it one of mine hated being brushed so he only got brushed when he was sheding his fur dont be worried if you see big tufts of fur as for each folical there is 50 ish hairs so they sometimes look a bit scruffy
They are nocturnal but will come out and play anytime if they dont want to play they wont, they can do nibbling ( mine had a chunk of breze block and plumice stone to keep their teeth down ) so if you let them out be warned ! chins chew everything its their mission in life 🙂 so plastic things are a no-no in the cage and the wooden thing will need replacing every now and again.
Hope this helps a little 🙂

I have worked in a pet shop.

The thing you need to know most is the chewing potential. They can and may well destroy a table and chairs in an afternoon [certainly in terms of resale value], and will make short work of anything if they put their mind to it.

You will need expert advice – perhaps look for an owner’s forum?

Pets at Home usually have little introduction booklets for free and basic books from £3. I would you suggest you start there.