Keeping Chinchillas As Pets
Transcript for:
Keeping Chinchillas As Pets MR. SAM LITZINGER
12:17:34
Welcome back to "The Animal House." I'm Sam Litzinger joined by Dr. Gary Weitzman, the chief executive officer of the Washington Animal Rescue League. We would like to hear your animal questions. 1-877-610-3647. Again, the number is 1-877-610-3647. Send us an email at animalhouse@wamu.org, plus check out our animal of the day quiz at facebook.com/wamuanimalhouse.
MR. SAM LITZINGER
12:18:01
Why don't we take an email first? Let's get to one from Emma. "I'm a college student in Boston, and I'm interested in getting a pet. I'm not a huge fan of the typical pets that college students have, for example, I don't love fish, and I'm concerned about the noise that a guinea pig might emit. I'm interested in chinchillas, but you can tell me whether you think that's wise or even possible. Any recommendations for a less typical pet that might live happily in a college dorm room?"
DR. GARY WEITZMAN
12:18:26
Hmm.
LITZINGER
12:18:26
Chinchillas?
WEITZMAN
12:18:27
Okay.
LITZINGER
12:18:27
What do you think?
WEITZMAN
12:18:28
That would not be the first one that comes to mind.
LITZINGER
12:18:29
Okay. We'll just cross that right off the list then.
WEITZMAN
12:18:32
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:18:32
Emma, we think we can get rid of the chinchilla.
WEITZMAN
12:18:34
I think chinchillas are coming into a little bit more popularity than they have been the last few years.
LITZINGER
12:18:39
Is that a good or a bad thing?
WEITZMAN
12:18:40
I don't think it's a good thing at all. I think that there are certain animals that we've domesticated that are wonderful as companions for us, and I'm not a fan really of chinchillas, and in the wrong cases, rabbits, if you don't have the right environment for them. But chinchillas are. They're exotics, they're wild animals. And I think in a lot of jurisdictions, a lot of states, they're actually not legal. Here in Washington D.C. they're not legal, and I know a lot of other ones you have to at the very least register them.
WEITZMAN
12:19:05
So they're considered to be an unusual and exotic species that you really -- that shouldn't necessarily have as a pet. Now, we're gonna get a million phone calls and emails that I said that, because there are some wonderful ones out there, and they're wonderful, beautiful animals, and in some cases they can be kind of happy with the right environment. But honestly, these are really social creatures, and I think one chinchilla does not, you know, a social pack make.
LITZINGER
12:19:27
Hmm, it'd be a very unhappy chinchilla, a lonely chinchilla.
WEITZMAN
12:19:29
I think so. Even if they love you, you know, they need their own.
LITZINGER
12:19:32
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:19:32
So unless you're willing to have an entire pack of chinchillas...
LITZINGER
12:19:35
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:19:36
….I don't think it's a good idea.
LITZINGER
12:19:36
Which would presumably take over Emma's entire college dorm room here.
LITZINGER
12:19:38
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:19:39
So what else -- what should she consider?
WEITZMAN
12:19:40
Well, so if she's not thinking of the usuals, and she -- and I'm glad she said she's not gonna rush out and get a new dog, a new puppy...
LITZINGER
12:19:45
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:19:45
….because that's the last thing a college student needs. Really, there's nothing that's worse for studying for mid-terms and finals than having a puppy to take care of. They're in transition too. You want to take a more mobile pet. Honestly, for me, one of the first ones that comes to mind, you don't want the noise of a guinea pig, seriously, get a rat. Rats are fantastic animals. They make wonderful pets, they're very intelligent, they're incredibly clean. You know, don't go down to your local alley and pick one up, okay? Please don't do that.
WEITZMAN
12:20:11
But, you know, unfortunately, in a lot of shelters there are a lot of surrendered rats that were pets and, you know, a lot of them are bought rats from pet stores, and we shouldn't be doing that anymore. But go to your shelter. And actually, that's probably the best answer for Emma anyway. Go to her shelter and see what there is in terms of quote unquote "pocket pets." These animals desperately need a home. They're risking huge rates of euthanasia for small animals.
LITZINGER
12:20:32
Sure.
WEITZMAN
12:20:33
So go down to your local shelter, and there's wonderful ones in Boston. I think that's where she said she was from.
LITZINGER
12:20:36
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:20:37
You know, the Angel Memorial, the MSPCA, the Animal Rescue League of Boston. See what's there that's at risk of being euthanized. But honestly, don't discount rats, and I'd like to do a plug for them. They're great, smart animals.
LITZINGER
12:20:48
Would she need two rats?
WEITZMAN
12:20:49
It's nice to have two. Every species should have another one of its kind with it, I think.
LITZINGER
12:20:54
Consider the rat, won't you, Emma?
WEITZMAN
12:20:56
Consider that rat, yes.
LITZINGER
12:20:57
Our telephone number is 1-877-610-3647. Our email address is animalhouse@wamu.org. Let's take a telephone call from Sharon. Sharon, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
SHARON
12:21:10
I do, and my question is about my chinchilla.
WEITZMAN
12:21:13
Oh boy, that didn't take any time at all. (laugh)
SHARON
12:21:16
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:21:17
See, you were just waiting for that.
WEITZMAN
12:21:19
Would you recommend...
SHARON
12:21:20
Exactly.
WEITZMAN
12:21:20
...that Emma gets a chinchilla for her dorm room?
SHARON
12:21:22
Well, my problem is – actually, the chinchilla is my daughter's...
WEITZMAN
12:21:26
Ah, okay.
SHARON
12:21:26
...and she wasn't allowed to take it to her dorm. She's off at college.
WEITZMAN
12:21:30
Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's the other factor too. That's true.
LITZINGER
12:21:32
So you -- so that means you have the chinchilla?
SHARON
12:21:34
I do...
WEITZMAN
12:21:35
Ah, okay.
SHARON
12:21:35
…and the chinchilla and I used to be great buddies until my daughter left.
WEITZMAN
12:21:40
Oh, really?
LITZINGER
12:21:41
So now what's the chinchilla doing to express its displeasure with you?
SHARON
12:21:45
Oh, she's crazy. She'll go back like she's this huge beast. She stands on her hind legs and thrusts out her chest, and does this real aggressive dance.
WEITZMAN
12:21:56
Oh.
SHARON
12:21:56
She's even hissed and spit at me.
LITZINGER
12:21:57
Oh, my.
WEITZMAN
12:21:58
Yeah, okay.
SHARON
12:21:59
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:22:00
This is an unhappy chinchilla, Gary.
WEITZMAN
12:22:00
Yes. This is -- what's your chinchilla's name?
SHARON
12:22:03
Sassy.
LITZINGER
12:22:04
Well...
WEITZMAN
12:22:04
Well, okay. (laugh) She's...
LITZINGER
12:22:06
Living up to to the name.
WEITZMAN
12:22:07
She is living up to her name.
SHARON
12:22:08
I know.
WEITZMAN
12:22:09
Oh, no. Okay. How long have you had her for?
SHARON
12:22:12
She's almost three.
WEITZMAN
12:22:13
Okay. I heard recently that chinchillas can live up to about 15, 20 years old.
SHARON
12:22:20
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:22:21
Boy, okay. You've got a long road there. (laugh) Well, you know, the first thing is, I don't think there's gonna be a lot of ways for you to train this out of her and have her not feel aggressive or threatened by you. Is that new behavior for her to be acting like that toward you?
SHARON
12:22:34
No. That's why it's so funny, and in fact, I'm her primary caregiver. She loved me before Freesia left. And even now, she likes me to pet her, but she gets all weird and strange when I take her out of the cage.
WEITZMAN
12:22:48
Oh, okay.
LITZINGER
12:22:48
Wow.
WEITZMAN
12:22:49
And she was okay with that before?
SHARON
12:22:50
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
LITZINGER
12:22:52
Maybe she thinks you've hidden the daughter away, and...
SHARON
12:22:55
Exactly. It's my fault or something.
WEITZMAN
12:22:56
Right. Or something worse.
SHARON
12:22:58
Yeah. Or that I'm not taking you, I want Freesia. So it's like an and/or.
WEITZMAN
12:23:04
Oh, boy. Now we're really getting to psychology of chinchillas.
LITZINGER
12:23:06
Chinchilla psychology. (laugh)
WEITZMAN
12:23:07
But you know what, you might be on to something. I mean, I assume she was pretty bonded to your daughter too?
SHARON
12:23:12
Oh, they're extremely bonded.
WEITZMAN
12:23:14
Okay. Well, then that is...
SHARON
12:23:14
Yeah. (unintelligible)
WEITZMAN
12:23:15
...that is part of it. You know, whether or not she can actually reason through that, you know, where is your daughter, I mean, I think that what she is noticing is that her social group has been altered. Is it just you and Sassy now?
SHARON
12:23:28
Basically, yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:23:28
Okay. Yeah. Then that's just part of it. And that goes to what I was saying before, and thank you for not yelling at me for saying that, but, you know, chinchillas are huge social animals, and they really do need a large pack.
SHARON
12:23:38
Oh, yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:23:39
In the wilds of I guess, Chile, they're in big, big groups, and, you know, they've got funny behaviors too that we don't allow them to do as domestic pets. They like to clean themselves in dirt, and they roll in dirt and, I mean, I don't know how that works, but that's part of their behavior. They like to be very active. They like to be with a lot of other animals. So I think now, you know, we're down to just two out of her pack of formerly three, which wasn't large to begin with.
SHARON
12:24:03
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:24:03
And I would say, first of all for you, Sharon, you should really -- don't put yourself in the position of getting bitten or threatened by her, because that will just stress the animal, and obviously stress you. So I would say, if she doesn't want to be picked up and taken out of her enclosure, then I would leave her there, and try to do other things that will kind of enrich her environment with toys and food and things to climb on, or...
SHARON
12:24:22
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:24:23
...or under, or a larger pen. That might be nice too.
SHARON
12:24:26
Mm-hmm. That's a good idea.
WEITZMAN
12:24:28
But definitely don't pick her up and put her somewhere that's gonna stress her out. It's not gonna end well, and I think you don't need me to tell you that. (laugh)
SHARON
12:24:33
It doesn't. (laugh)
WEITZMAN
12:24:35
And take what you can get.
SHARON
12:24:36
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:24:36
If she only accepts you just petting her, then just pet her for now. Has it only been in the last couple months? Is this the first year your daughter's gone off?
SHARON
12:24:43
No. She was gone last year.
WEITZMAN
12:24:45
Oh.
SHARON
12:24:45
And I think it may be a maturity issue too, because for the first semester when she was gone, she was fine with me.
WEITZMAN
12:24:52
Okay. Interesting.
SHARON
12:24:53
And then my daughter was home for a semester because she switched schools, then she went off, and then this year, you know...
WEITZMAN
12:24:58
Yeah.
SHARON
12:24:58
...she's like I'm -- you're not acceptable.
WEITZMAN
12:25:01
Yeah. (laugh)
LITZINGER
12:25:02
You're not what I want.
WEITZMAN
12:25:04
Yeah. You're right. She's only three years old. This is a maturity issue. This is sort of talking about...
SHARON
12:25:07
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:25:08
…last week about dogs, and that's that there's a fear, a learned fear period, and in chinchillas I guess it's longer than it is for puppies, which is about 14 months.
SHARON
12:25:16
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:25:17
But she is a mature adult now, and that's probably what's going on. The other thing too is that they have an innate, you know, and instinct -- that's redundant, innate instinct -- but they have an instinct to breed as well, and to have other mature social interactions, and that's all changing now too as she's becoming a three year old.
SHARON
12:25:34
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:25:35
So, you know, I love that you're keeping her, and you're giving her a home, nothing more drastic is happening, but unfortunately, I would take what you can get from her, and mark sure that she's got as enriched an environment as possible, and take the guilt away from yourself. Pet her in the cage, make it a nice wonderful cage for her, and let -- just see if she grows out of this a little bit too.
LITZINGER
12:25:56
Hey, a quick question from me, Sharon. When your daughter comes home, does the dynamic change with Sassy the chinchilla?
SHARON
12:26:02
Oh, yeah. It's as if I'm making it all up. I tell her….
WEITZMAN
12:26:04
Oh, my gosh.
SHARON
12:26:06
….the beast Sassy has become, and she goes, hmmm.
WEITZMAN
12:26:09
Oh, that's got to hurt your feelings. (laugh)
SHARON
12:26:13
But she knows...
LITZINGER
12:26:14
Try not to take this personally, Sharon.
WEITZMAN
12:26:16
Yeah. Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:26:17
Yeah. Well...
SHARON
12:26:18
But she hasn't seen it because yeah, then Sassy jumps around and lets -- and snuggles up to me, and I'm like, no, no, no. This...
WEITZMAN
12:26:24
Oh, no.
SHARON
12:26:24
...is not the Sassy when you're gone.
WEITZMAN
12:26:26
Oh, that's just insulting, isn't it? That's just terrible. Do you know, actually as you were saying that, it occurred to me, there's a lot of people out there that probably have had similar experiences. There's aren't a lot of chinchilla families out there, but...
SHARON
12:26:36
A chinchilla help group?
WEITZMAN
12:26:37
Yeah. But...
LITZINGER
12:26:37
Maybe there is like a support group or something, yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:26:38
You know, there really is. I would go online, see who's out there, and then get on the listserv and just ask them.
LITZINGER
12:26:44
And we'll solicit here.
WEITZMAN
12:26:45
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:26:45
If anybody knows and can email us...
WEITZMAN
12:26:46
Absolutely.
LITZINGER
12:26:46
...we'll pass the information along and put it on our website. But Sharon, thanks very much. That's an unusual question.
WEITZMAN
12:26:51
It really is. Who knew we'd have two chinchillas questions in one day?
LITZINGER
12:26:53
Yeah. Much appreciated.
SHARON
12:26:55
Okay. Thank you very much.
WEITZMAN
12:26:56
Good luck.
LITZINGER
12:26:56
All right. I'm just gonna ask this stupid question of you, and this is the dangerous question...
WEITZMAN
12:27:00
Okay.
LITZINGER
12:27:00
...that I usually ask. Should they consider getting another chinchilla?
WEITZMAN
12:27:04
Ooh, well, you know, I think so, but -- yes.
LITZINGER
12:27:08
Okay. All right.
WEITZMAN
12:27:08
But with the provision that it could make things worse, but I do love animals to be together with their species.
LITZINGER
12:27:12
Okay. I just wanted to check, because that was one possibility she might want to consider.
WEITZMAN
12:27:15
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:27:16
1-877-610-3647. Our email address is animalhouse@wamu.org. Let's take a telephone call from Diana. Diana, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
DIANA
12:27:27
Two years ago I adopted a couple of rescue kitties.
WEITZMAN
12:27:30
Oh, good. We're not good talking about chinchillas.
DIANA
12:27:32
No, not chinchillas.
WEITZMAN
12:27:33
Okay. All right.
DIANA
12:27:34
Bodi is the mom, and Kiki is the the little girl, which is Hawaiian for little girl.
WEITZMAN
12:27:39
Okay.
LITZINGER
12:27:39
Aah, I thought I recognized that from my days out in the old country there, yeah.
DIANA
12:27:43
And Bodi, reference to Buddha...
LITZINGER
12:27:45
Yeah.
DIANA
12:27:45
...not quite finding her zen. She's starting to do something that almost all the time when I'm home I see her doing this. I'm starting to worry if there's something wrong, is it OCD, and...
WEITZMAN
12:27:56
Oh, what's she doing?
DIANA
12:27:57
Bodi is chasing her tail incessantly.
WEITZMAN
12:27:59
Oh, okay. All right.
DIANA
12:28:00
So I have kitchen stools, and she'll get up and there just peer under and wave at her tail and switch around on the stool.
WEITZMAN
12:28:06
Yeah.
DIANA
12:28:08
And then if I kind of shoosh her down or put towels over the chair, she'll get down and she'll go against the wall and spin in circles, or use the leg of the table and roll around -- wrap around it to chase her tail.
WEITZMAN
12:28:18
Oh, poor girl, okay.
DIANA
12:28:19
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:28:20
Is it new behavior for her?
DIANA
12:28:21
Pretty much. In the past two months.
WEITZMAN
12:28:22
Aah.
DIANA
12:28:23
They both occasionally chase their tails, but all of a sudden she's doing it incessantly.
WEITZMAN
12:28:28
And Bodi is the mom?
DIANA
12:28:29
Yes. And she's about four years old.
WEITZMAN
12:28:29
Okay. Okay. Has anything changed for her in the house?
DIANA
12:28:34
No.
WEITZMAN
12:28:35
Okay.
DIANA
12:28:35
No. They have lots of toys, I play with them daily with lasers and strings and catch and...
WEITZMAN
12:28:40
Yeah.
DIANA
12:28:40
...they have windows with perches to look out. Pretty good space, about 1500...
WEITZMAN
12:28:44
Okay. And they're indoor cats it sounds like.
DIANA
12:28:45
Mm-hmm. Indoor only. Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:28:46
Okay. Yeah. Well, you know, you're absolutely right. You diagnosed it. You don't need me at all. It is OCD, probably. We've actually just started really annotating that cats have this obsessive compulsive behavior of chasing their tails, and only in the last maybe five years or so have we started medicating it to some various success.
DIANA
12:29:05
Oh.
WEITZMAN
12:29:05
But now it actually does, we believe, need to be medicated. So I would definitely talk to your vet about this compulsive behavior.
DIANA
12:29:12
Okay.
DIANA
12:29:12
And don't worry, you know, we always tell people this. It's not forever.
DIANA
12:29:16
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:29:16
But this girl needs to have something to break the cycle.
DIANA
12:29:19
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:29:19
And so there's two things to do. One is to get the proper medication, often it's Prozac from your veterinarian. And the second thing is to make sure that her environment is really as enriched as you can do it.
LITZINGER
12:29:28
Disneyland for cats, as you like to say.
WEITZMAN
12:29:29
Disneyland for cats. I do love to say that. And you're doing a good job playing with her.
DIANA
12:29:33
And people have already teased me about how many toys they have, so I'll just look for more.
WEITZMAN
12:29:37
Okay. Okay. You can just become the...
LITZINGER
12:29:38
It's not enough, Diana.
WEITZMAN
12:29:39
...have the crazy cat household. But yeah. For them it's never enough, so all sorts of different things. Cat grass, toys, and actually those wonderful treat dispensing toys that can really get that hunter in the cats to actually come out. All of that stuff. But, you know, you're really gonna probably need some pharmacological help too, and that's where your vet can come in.
DIANA
12:29:56
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:29:57
But this actually -- it's not a good behavior. Nothing to excess with a cat is healthy. So that's usually a result of something -- some stress or just something just not quite being right. First of all, talk to your vet. Get a good prescription there to start her on.
DIANA
12:30:10
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:30:10
And then start to really enrich that environment and get her happy again.
DIANA
12:30:13
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:30:14
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:30:14
Try that. Maybe she's…
DIANA
12:30:15
Aah.
LITZINGER
12:30:15
You know what I was thinking, she's chasing enlightenment since her name is Bodi.
WEITZMAN
12:30:18
There you go. I know. Maybe she is. If she catches it, let us know.
DIANA
12:30:22
Yeah, really.
LITZINGER
12:30:22
Maybe she's like the Dervishes or something, she's dancing constantly.
WEITZMAN
12:30:25
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:30:25
Well, report back to us after you've talked to your vet, will you?
WEITZMAN
12:30:27
Yeah. Yeah.
DIANA
12:30:28
Oh, thank you so much.
WEITZMAN
12:30:29
Sure.
LITZINGER
12:30:30
Thank you very much, Diana. Yeah. Cats have OCD, eh?
WEITZMAN
12:30:32
Complicated, yeah. Cats are very complicated.
LITZINGER
12:30:34
Their inner lives are fascinating.
WEITZMAN
12:30:35
Mm-hmm.
LITZINGER
12:30:36
Thank you, Dr. Gary.
WEITZMAN
12:30:37
Sure.
LITZINGER
12:30:37
Coming up, we celebrate National Squirrel Appreciation Day in "The Animal House."
MR. STEVE WILLIAMS
12:31:00
I'm "Animal House" producer Steve Williams, and here are three stories that caught our eyes this week. Federal officials announced that several species of giant snakes native to the Florida Everglades are banned from being imported into the United States or transported across state lines. The new law applies to the Burmese Python, the Northern and Southern African Pythons, and the Yellow Anaconda. Thousands of these massive constrictors are believe to be living in the swampland.
MR. STEVE WILLIAMS
12:31:23
As for the reasons behind the reptiles proliferation, many are believed to have been pets that were dumped once they grew too big. Others may have escaped from pet shops during 1992's Hurricane Andrew, and have been reproducing ever since. Meanwhile, efforts to establish online registries for animal abuser similar to ones for sex offenders, are gaining support with legislation pending or soon to be introduced in at least five states.
MR. STEVE WILLIAMS
12:31:46
Florida State Senator Mike Fasano who has proposed Dexter's Law, named after a kitten that was beaten to death in his state, says his proposal would require convicted animal abusers to register with authorities with their names, home addresses and photographs would be posted online and they would be required to pay $50 a year to maintain the registry, and a spokesperson for the Animal Legal Defense Fund says he expects similar proposals in more states.
MR. STEVE WILLIAMS
12:32:08
Talk about a fall from grace. Arco, a German Shepherd formerly an employee of the U.S. Capitol Police as a bomb sniffer, used to roam the halls of the White House. Recently, he was in the Detroit Airport on the way to a new home in Michigan, when he headed for exit stage right, biting a police officer that tried to apprehend him in the process. Arco was eventually captured and safely delivered to his new home. More information about these stories is at wamuanimalhouse.org.
Transcripts of WAMU programs are available for personal use. Transcripts are provided "As Is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. WAMU does not warrant that the transcript is error-free. For all WAMU programs, the broadcast audio should be considered the authoritative version. Transcripts are owned by WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio and are protected by laws in both the United States and international law. You may not sell or modify transcripts or reproduce, display, distribute, or otherwise use the transcript, in whole or in part, in any way for any public or commercial purpose without the express written permission of WAMU. All requests for uses beyond personal and noncommercial use should be referred to (202) 885-1200.