(FUN ANIMAL FACTS/PETS) Chinchillas are some of the world’s cutest and smallest rodents, but how much do you really know about these furry friends?
Wild chinchillas are indigenous to Latin America where they live in colonies of up to 100 in the mountains. Check out more fascinating and fun facts about this adorable little furball in the list below. — Global Animal
1. Chinchillas are nocturnal.
2. Chinchillas grow teeth for life. Their teeth can grow up to 12 inches a year.
3. Although chinchillas have eyes, they see best with their whiskers, which can be as long as their bodies.
4. Chinchillas don’t shed. Instead, they experience “fur slip” when they are stressed or frighten, where their fur falls out in large amounts.
5. Chinchillas are sexually mature by the time they are eight weeks old.
6. The breeding season for chinchillas takes place November through May.
7. Baby chinchillas are called kits, and they can be born in litters of up to six.
8. Chinchillas live in colonies of up to 100 in the wild.
9. The chinchilla’s natural habitat is in the southern part of Latin America.
10. Chinchillas can jump up to six feet in the air.
11. Chinchillas communicate with vocal sounds: grunts, chirps, barking sounds, and squeals.
12. Chinchillas digest their food twice—a process called caecotrophy.
13.Chinchillas weigh between one and two pounds.
— Cara Meyers, exclusive to Global Animal
