Some silver spotsChinchilla's hair gives the illusion that it is all gray, but in fact, as long as they look closely, their undercoat is white. But most of them can be distinguished. The scientific name of the silver-spotted chinchilla is South American chinchilla, because its appearance resembles the cartoon silver-spotted chinchilla in the Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's movie "Silver-spotted Chinchilla", so it was renamed "Silver-spotted Chinchilla" by Hong Kong people.

Silver-spotted chinchillas are very docile and lively, they like to jump around, active and curious, they will first sniff every new thing before biting to study it. Silver-spotted chinchillas have an average lifespan of 15 to 20 years. They do not have any active aggression. They just run away or urinate at the enemy when they encounter the enemy. When they fight each other, they often stand face to face and urinate each other.

Since the white hereditary gene cannot exist in a homozygous form, the genotype of the silver-spotted chinchilla is a white hereditary gene plus a standard gray hereditary gene. However, the white genetic gene can be combined with other dominant or recessive genetic genes, and the offspring will have more or less white on the body, especially at the end of the tail. The vast majority of white chinchillas will have gray fur, which is affected by the standard gray genetic gene, and the gray distribution on each white chinchilla is different, and some form symmetrical on the face. Beautiful patterns, some are grey all over with only a white tail, we call this chinchilla with both white and grey fur as White Mosaic. Some chinchillas are pure white, called Pure White or Wilson White. Although they are rare and precious, they are definitely not pure pink white (Albino White), because the eyes are still black, but the standard gray genetic gene is not in the coat color. Just have an impact.

Adult male silver-spotted chinchillasChinchillaThe ideal weight should be between 400-500g, and the ideal female weight should be between 450-800g. The average body length is about 23cm, and the tail length is about 11cm.

The newborn silver-spotted chinchilla weighs about 50 grams. The silver-spotted chinchilla has a pair of large, bright eyes, many whiskers of different lengths on the side of the nose, and is sensitive to touch. The ears are large, thin, and bluntly rounded. The forelimbs are short with five toes, and the hind limbs are strong with four toes and are good at jumping. The silver-spotted chinchilla has grayish-black hair on its back and sides (and some other cultivated colors), a fading to white belly, and evenly distributed body hair. The silver-spotted chinchilla has the densest fur in the world, with 40 to 60 down hairs per pore, and as many as 80 in the United States, which has the best provenance (cats and dogs only have 1 to 3 hairs per pore), But such a soft and thick fur also gave the silver-spotted chinchilla a nightmare of near extinction.

Most of the silver-spotted chinchillas are gray, followed by beige, velvet black, and some special colors even appear every generation or several generations. Cats are divided into 17 colors, but because the coat color of the silver-spotted chinchilla is mainly controlled by seven different dual genes, according to the color separation in the United States, there are 7 basic colors of the silver-spotted chinchilla, and these seven dual genes have 7 basic colors. The combination can develop at least more than 20 coat colors, so there are actually more than 17 colors of silver-spotted chinchillas.

In fact, there are many color names for silver-spotted chinchillas, and there are often many differences between Chinese and English translations, which can cause confusion. The name of the United States is also different from that of Hong Kong. In the United States, Brown, Tan, and Pastel all refer to the same color, but the shades are different and have different names. The correct name of beige is hetero beige, gold is homo beige, and Pure White Also known as Wilson White and so on.

Raising silver-spotted chinchillasMy Neighbor Totoro must prepare things for it first, never buy a chinchilla and then take him a long way to buy supplies. In the living environment, family breeding needs to pay attention to the environmental temperature. The temperature in the breeding environment in cold winter should not be lower than 5 °C, and the temperature in hot summer should not be higher than 28 °C.

Silver-spotted chinchillas need a certain amount of space for their activities to stretch. If the cage is too small, they may feel pressure and tension and cause undesired symptoms (such as biting hair). According to the data in the Hong Kong Agriculture and Fisheries Department's guidelines for raising silver-spotted chinchillas, the length and width of a cage for raising a silver-spotted chinchilla is recommended to be 34 × 42 cm, and the length and width of a cage for two silver-spotted chinchillas is recommended to be 42 cm. × 60 cm, the length and width of more than three are recommended to be 52 × 70 cm, and the height of the cage should be about 50 cm, but in principle, it is not recommended to keep three silver-spotted chinchillas in the same cage. Cats should also not be kept in the same cage until they are sure they can get along in harmony to prevent them from fighting over "turf wars".

In general, buying a dedicated silver-spotted chinchilla bedroom is a necessary investment, especially for a new silver-spotted chinchilla who needs a shelter to make it feel safer. There are two types of bedrooms on the market, wood and porcelain, each with their own advantages. The wooden bedroom is good for keeping warm in winter, it is more natural and more comfortable for the silver-spotted chinchilla, and it can also play the role of grinding teeth. Porcelain bedrooms come in many beautiful shapes, are more beautiful and are easy to clean.

The silver-spotted chinchilla is an animal that likes to jump up and down very much. Generally, it can jump to a height of more than half a meter. Installing a springboard in the cage allows the silver-spotted chinchilla to play and grind its teeth. Sometimes it can also squat. rest on it. If you have a large cage, consider placing a branch for the silver-spotted chinchilla to climb and perch. However, it should be noted that the wood must be harmless to the silver-spotted chinchilla. If it is a branch picked by yourself, it should be boiled in boiling water, disinfected and killed, and then dried in the hot sun or oven.

The feces of silver-spotted chinchillas do not have any smell under normal circumstances, but the urine still smells a little, so it is necessary to lay a bedding material that can absorb urine in the cage. Generally, cages with bottom partitions can choose absorbent materials such as sawdust, cat litter, and papyrus. But it is worth noting that although pine sawdust has a strong deodorizing effect, the substances contained in pine wood may cause asthma in silver-spotted chinchillas. Unprocessed pine sawdust is not suitable for silver-spotted chinchillas.

The maximum temperature that silver-spotted chinchillas can withstand is below 32 degrees, so pay attention to cooling them down in summer, and their comfortable temperature is between 18 and 22 degrees. Silver-spotted chinchilla cages cannot be placed in places where the sun directly hits them. The living environment of the silver-spotted chinchilla should maintain air circulation, but it should not be placed directly under the air conditioner, or placed behind the wind, otherwise it will easily lead to uneven heating of the silver-spotted chinchilla and cause colds, diarrhea, etc. Do not place silver-spotted chinchillas in aisles, or in areas where other people frequently disturb them. The cage should be attached to the wall on one or both sides and cannot be placed in the center of the room. But be careful not to stick to walls with wallpaper or wainscoting, as silver-spotted chinchillas may nibble on them. Try to place the silver-spotted chinchilla cage on a chair or table, so that it has a wider field of vision and can observe the surrounding environment. Do not place directly on the ground. The main points of the living environment of the silver-spotted chinchilla are: quiet, dark, high, dry, and ventilated.

Silver-spottedChinchilla gives the impression that it is always quiet, and animals that are often too quiet are not easy to understand. Seeing strangers do not quarrel, bark, scramble, and do not shed their hair, silver-spotted chinchillas are generally quite cheerful. These silver-spotted chinchillas that are held on the body without urinating or biting are relatively docile.

The teeth of the silver-spotted chinchilla grow continuously for life and must be worn continuously to ensure health. Otherwise, the long incisors will make it difficult for the silver-spotted chinchilla to chew and affect its health. Excessive molars will cause the silver-spotted chinchilla to grow in old age. The root of the tooth grows into the brain and causes death. Commercially available molar stones can help silver-spotted chinchillas to grind their teeth, while molars need to be worn by molar wood and timothy grass. The most economical and convenient molar wood should be the disposable birch chopsticks sold in supermarkets. Bamboo disposable chopsticks are not suitable for use because bamboo silk may cause digestive system problems in silver-spotted chinchillas.

Standards for a healthy silver-spotted chinchilla:

1. Lively, active, flexible and smooth in running and jumping, without shaking when walking. (Such a silver-spotted chinchilla is basically healthy)

2. Body capillary, dense, uniform, no exposed skin or dandruff after blowing, thin tail hair, no lack of hair or dandruff thing. (Silver-spotted chinchillas that lack hair may have fungus or biting disease)

3. Active, but not exaggerated. After normal play, they can stop. There is no sudden biting, manic, frantic jumping, and hitting the cage. (Silver-spotted chinchillas sleep during the day, and it is normal for timid silver-spotted chinchillas to jump in panic for a short time, make noises, and even be afraid of shedding hair after being approached by strangers)

4. Silver-spotted chinchillas have no eye stains and no redness around the eyes. (There are many yellow-green eye stains, or silver-spotted chinchillas with red and swollen eyes, and the eyes are inflamed)

5. The liver door is clean, and there is no loose stool or dirt. Normal silver-spotted chinchilla feces should be hard, oval about half a centimeter long, dark green or dark brown. (Silver-spotted chinchillas with soft stools, loose stools, and dirty anus have digestive diseases)

6. No damage to the whole body, blood stains, upturned tail, symmetrical limbs without deformity, and can eat normally with open mouth. (Such a silver-spotted chinchilla must have no fractures or trauma)

7. Be able to defecate and urinate normally, without frequent urination and urination at any time. (Congenital frequent urination, male silver-spotted chinchillas who cannot urinate smoothly may be infertile)

8. The two incisors are the same length, yellow, and can be covered by lips, without showing teeth and salivation. (The silver-spotted chinchilla whose teeth are too long, white and salivating cannot eat and may have gingivitis. The silver-spotted chinchilla with broken teeth but the roots still has no major problems after the teeth grow out)

9. Blow air on the back of the silver-spotted chinchilla. It is better that the skin cannot be seen after the hair is scattered, otherwise it means that the strain is not good.