Emma Jones
Chinchillas can live 10 to 15 years if cared for properly. Some even reach a proud age of 20 years. From around the age of ten, the animals start to age and need to be cared for accordingly.
An elderly chinchilla becomes calm and comfortable. It sleeps longer and hops around the apartment less persistently. Its fur becomes lighter and shaggy and its eyes lose their shine. Some chinchillas now prefer to spend their time eating and become fat and sluggish.
A diet coordinated with the veterinarian can help here. Other chinchillas forget to drink and eat and invade. Here, too, the vet can help with supplements. You can take other precautions to make your old friend’s old age as stress-free as possible. Provide extra peace around the chinchilla cage. You can also help your pet with daily grooming. If the chinchilla no longer goes to the sand bath alone, simply put your darling in it once a week and sprinkle some sand over it. It is also important that you keep a close eye on an old chinchilla so that you can contact the vet immediately if you have any problems.
Farewell to the animal
If your oldtimer won’t eat, sits apathetically in the cage, and is becoming increasingly blind and deaf, you should take him to the vet. If the animal suffers too much from the ailments of old age, the doctor will advise you to have your chinchilla euthanized. Even if it’s difficult for you, sometimes a relieving injection is the best thing you can do for your loved one. If the chinchilla can still live well with its old age, you will one day find it peacefully asleep in the cage. Once your pet is gone, it’s time to mourn. Chinchillas can be buried in your own garden. Sometimes it helps to give your little friend a dignified farewell. If you don’t have a garden, the animal cemetery is an alternative. You can also leave your ferret with the vet, who will pass it on to the carcass disposal. If the ferret was also cared for by your child, the loss is all the more serious. The death of a beloved animal often comes as a shock to children. A funeral often helps to process the grief better. Take your child’s grief very seriously, immediately a new animal or silly distraction attempts will not cheer up your offspring at first. However, if your child wants a new friend after the initial grief, treat them to a new animal.
Farewell to partner
But not only you and your child will mourn. If you have kept two chinchillas, one of your fluffy rodents has lost its partner and is now sitting alone in its cage. You should also consider ways to make the loss of your second pet easier. If the surviving chinchilla is also very old, it may be difficult to introduce it to a new friend. Then you are asked. You should then take special care of the lonely animal and give it a lot of time in its last few months so that it can better cope with the loss. If your second chinchilla still has a few years to live, you should definitely try to find a new friend for it. Because chinchillas can be very picky about their partners, finding a new friend isn’t always easy. But it’s definitely worth a try. Ask animal shelters and chinchilla helpers, there are bound to be one or the other lonely soul who can help your abandoned darling get over the loss.