While no pet is right for everyone, there are some pets that simply do not make good pets for children, especially young children. It is not that the pet is a bad pet, it is simply that their make-up makes them unsuitable for children.
Chinchillas are one such pet. While Chins are certainly cute and a lot of fun and every child who has seen these cute fuzzy animals seems to adore them, they really aren’t a pet that mixes well with young children.
Here are 6 reasons why.
1.Although Chinchillas look robust like a rabbit or guinea pig, they are far more delicate, their thick fur makes them look much larger than they actually are. Their legs and feet are especially delicate, and if grabbed by a leg a Chinchilla can easily suffer a severe fracture.
2. Chinchillas are not cuddlers. Though a well socialized chinchilla will sit on it’s owners lap for a few minutes, these animals are very inquisitive by nature and will not be content to just sit as they would much rather explore the world around them.
3. Chinchillas are nocturnal which means when your child is awake and wants to interact with this pet, the pet is sleeping, disturbing a chins natural sleep cycle can result in a chin having health and socialization problems including biting.
4. Chinchillas can not be played with like a dog or a kitten can. While chinchillas are happy to climb all over their owners when they are exploring, they will not chase a ball, or follow a string, or interact in ways that most children can understand.
5. Chinchillas normal and natural personalities simply are not a good fit for small children. The fact, that a chinchilla will not be content to sit on a child’s lap or play with them will make a young child feel as though the chin does not like them. Most children do not understand that it is simply the chinchillas basic personality and not a lack of affection for the child.
6. Children quickly become bored with chinchillas. While a child may be attracted to a chinchillas cuteness initially, once they discover that a chin won’t play with them and are hardly ever awake when the child is, the child’s attraction to this pet quickly wanes. If the parent does not step in and take complete responsibility for the pet the chinchilla will suffer from lack of socialization and perhaps even from lack of basic care.
While a small child who has been raised around chinchillas may learn to appreciate and even love these unique pets and even learn to handle them appropriately they still need to be supervised when doing so. A child who has not grown up around chinchillas will not understand these animals unique needs and nature and therefore should not have one until they are old enough to understand why these animals act the way they do.
Choosing the right pet is essential and a parent should never choose a pet for their child based simply on the child’s desire to own one.
