This post is dedicated to my dear sister whose love is her chinchilla 
The Chinchilla is a native animal of the Andes Mountains of South America. It is a little larger than a squirrel, but is a crepuscular rodent. In there native habitate they burrow in crevises of rock and jump up to great hieghts up to 5 feet.
Domesticated chinchillas can be highly skittish but with time and patients make wonderful pets and can become quit attached to their ownders. In captivity there life span is usually about 15 years, but as of 2008 the oldest chinchilla is 27 and living in UK. The oldest in America is 26.
They are usually nocturnal animals that do not tend to like to be picked up during day lite hours.
