Before choosing a chinchilla as a pet, you need to consider that they can live for up to 15 years. They are lively animals and mostly nocturnal so they are not ideal as children’s pets – and children need to be supervised when handling them.

If you are buying a young chinchilla it’s best to see the babies with the mother and ideally, other chinchillas from the same family. The adults should all look healthy and the cages should be clean and spacious. The breeder should ask you lots of questions and offer information about how to care for chinchillas.

There are now some chinchilla rescue organizations that may have unwanted adults or young looking for caring homes and charities sometimes have chinchillas brought in for rehoming.

Chinchillas are not happy alone, so you should get two at the same time if possible. Litter-mates will live happily together but if they are not the same sex make sure the male is neutered to prevent them breeding.

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/caring-your-chinchilla