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Welcome to the website
of the National Chinchilla Society.
About the National Chinchilla Society (NCS)
The NCS was originally formed in the 1950’s
as the Chinchilla Fur Breeders Association Ltd. It was responsible for the
importation, breeding and development of the chinchilla into the well-known
animal many people own today. In 1993 the name was changed to the National
Chinchilla Society. It must be stated that the Society is not associated
with the fur trade. The aims of the Society have remained the same
throughout its long history. These are to encourage and promote the
keeping, breeding and exhibition of quality chinchillas, whilst at all
times maintaining good husbandry practices.
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Important Notice
Several
errors have been published in the April Issue of the Gazette
. Please
follow this link to see the details.
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The
Chinchilla is a gentle, timid and intelligent animal of the rodent family.
It originates from the Andes Region of South America. An adult animal can
grow up to 30-36 cm long including its bushy tail, which alone, can measure
up to 12.5 cm. It has fine dense fur, large ears and eyes and long stiff
whiskers. A fully grown animal weighs between 600 and 800 grams.
The Chinchillas nutritional requirements are quite bland, all they require
is commercially produced chinchilla pellets, fresh, clean, dry hay and
fresh water.
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Chinchillas have continuously growing
teeth and need something to chew on. Pumice stone or pieces of wood are
recommended.
Chinchillas are rock hoppers that like to scurry, so they prefer floor
space in their cages rather than height.
It is recommended that cages should be
made of welded wire mesh, at least 16g in thickness, with the holes no
larger than 1.9 cm (3/4 inch) square. Raised wire floors allow droppings,
urine and partially eaten food to fall through, as the chinchilla is a
clean animal that does not like its fur to become soiled.
Chinchillas should be given a dust bath
for at least 10 minutes every day. The dust is specially formulated to
cleanse their fine fur of grease and dirt. Without this dust their fur
becomes dull and sticks together making it part in great clumps. This is
not only uncomfortable for the animals but unsightly and detracts from,
what is after all, one of the worlds most
beautiful creatures.
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This information,
together with all content on this website, should not be reproduced without
the express permission of the NCS Website Manager. Links to this webpage are however welcomed.
All
material, names and logos on this website ©
National Chinchilla Society Website Manager - Richard Crutchley, 2001-2006.
All articles, name (National Chinchilla Society, NCS) and NCS logos
printed in this publication are the copyright of the National Chinchilla
Society. The permission of the Committee via the Website
Manager must be obtained prior to any form of reproduction by any
means including electronic retrieval systems.
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©
National Chinchilla Society Website Manager – 2006-
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