page_title: Long-tailed chinchilla
section_title: Behavior
hierarchical_section_title: Long-tailed chinchilla / Behavior
caption_attribution_description: English: A pet long-tailed chinchilla
context_page_description: The long-tailed chinchilla, also called the Chilean, coastal, common, or lesser chinchilla, is one of two species of rodent from the genus Chinchilla: the other species being C. chinchilla. Both species are endangered in the wild after historically being hunted for their soft hair coats. Domestic breeds of chinchilla are believed to descend from specimens of C. lanigera. Domestic chinchillas come in three types: la plata, costina, and raton.
  Historically, Chilean chinchillas were reported from Talca, Chile, north to Peru, and also eastward, from Chilean coastal hills, throughout low mountains. No fossils of the Chilean chinchilla are known to have been found, and by the mid-19th century, Chilean chinchillas were not found south of the Choapa River in central Chile. Wild populations of Chilean chinchillas, as of 1996, occurred in Aucó, near Illapel, IV Región, Chile, in Reserva Nacional Las Chinchillas and in La Higuera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, about 100 km north of Coquimbo.
context_section_description: As rodents, they are crepuscular animals - active during twilight hours. As herbivores, they are gregarious and prefer living in groups. Usually, males and females have a harmonious relationship with each other. They rarely fight in the breeding and mating season. Chinchillas are matriarchal animals.
  Chinchillas have a high demand for dietary fiber. A well-balanced chinchilla diet consists of high-quality grass hay, chinchilla pellets and limited amounts of vegetables and fruits. They should be provided clean and filtered water contained in a bottle equipped with a sipper tube daily. The feed intakes of adult chinchillas are about 5-6% of their weights. The posture of the chinchilla when eating food is like that of the squirrel. They use hind limbs to sit and use forelimbs to grab the food and put them in their mouth.
  Chinchillas require a dust bath at least twice a week in fine volcanic ash. They like to play and roll in the dust.
caption: A domesticated chinchilla running across the carpet
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