Classroom Chinchillas

Two male chinchillas were acquired by a school to be classroom pets for blind kindergarten-aged children. After a period of time in a classroom it was decided that they were not suitable pets. Chinchillas are nocturnal, so they would prefer to sleep during the day. In addition, chinchilla "poops" can and do end up going everywhere, which was a concern particularly with the blind children. Not knowing what else to do, these two boys were placed in a cage in an empty classroom where they lived for at least one school year. Their only interactions with people were limited to a few minutes a day when they were fed and had their cage cleaned. All of their physical needs were taken care of, but none of their needs for love, attention, and stimulation. Finally, thanks to one of the teachers, the school realized that it needed to find a better environment for the boys, and they were given to CA Chins.

Once they found a new home within CA Chins, the biggest challenge was addressing the emotional needs of the chins. They were fearful, and cautious about all of the normal noise and activity of a household. The "gray" was already of low weight, but become anorexic and started losing more weight. He was hand fed with a syringe for a few weeks, until he started trusting us enough to take food from our hands. He is now the first to beg for treats when he hears the raisin bag. The "Tan" has become confident, curious, and enjoys people.

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