Common Chinchilla Terms

Regardless of how simple and normal we may think a term is ...
don't ever think "everyone knows that" ...not all do ... you probably didn't, in the beginning.

After we've been in the 'Chinchilla World' for a while ... the terms we use are so much a
part of our "normal" speach, we forget ... what we did not know in the beginning. When
you look a word up in the dictionary, it will often give you a very different meaning than
the one the same word means in the chinchilla world.

Remember ... it is much easier to learn, if we understand the terms being used.

acidophilus - live culture bacteria used to replace the "good bacteria" used to digest food in the
intestines of chinchillas. Often used when chinchillas are on anti-biotic because anti-biotic will kill all
bacteria ... the good and the bad.

allele - a term used in genetics to describe 1 of 2 forms of a gene sharing the same location making up
the chromosomes in the genetic chain. Some alleles are dominant and some recessive.

blocky - Refers to a chinchilla's overall appearance/shape that is desired in chinchillas when looking at it
from above. The shoulders and hips should be very close to the same with, having the appearance of a
brick.

breedback - allowing a female chinchilla to become pregnant while still nursing the original litter ...
straining the resources of the female and the kits being nursed and trying to form within her ... caused by
allowing the male to remain in the cage after the female gives birth to the kits.

breeder - Anyone who puts two chinchillas of opposite sexes together. Good Breeder - a breeder
that knows what they are doing AND does it properly.

breeding - The act of mating.

breeding situation - any time you put a male chinchilla, 10+ weeks old or older, with a female
chinchilla 4+ months old or older (regardless of relationship) ~ this can = kits and/or a pregnant dead
female chinchilla (because she is to young and to small) and/or incest and/or the death of a male if
another male is in the same cage/area when the female is in season.

bumblefoot (ulcerative pododermatitis) Bacterial infected sores usually caused by bacteria entering the
body via cracks in the skin, cracks or splits usually caused by keeping a chin on a wire floor constantly,
causing it to get sores or abscesses on it's feet.

carrier - A chinchilla carrying a single recessive gene from one parent, but no obvious signs of it in the
chinchilla's appearance. (i.e. a standard/violet carrier looks like a standard, but is carrying a violet gene
from one of it's parents). These are usually know as heterozygous. A chin can carry more than one
recessive gene.

chew blocks - blocks/cuts of untreated pine wood given to chinchillas to chew on and play with, also
needed to help keep the chinchilla's teeth properly worn down.

chinchilla - an exotic animal in the rodent family, native to the Andes Mountains, origionally
prized/hunted for it's fur, a relatively new pet to the pet world, has softest fur known to man.

chin-proofing – the act of preparing a room/rooms for the free-play outside it's cage of a chinchilla(s).
This includes, but is not limited to:
1. Removing or securing food, chemicals and cleaners that would kill a chin if eaten or gotten into (some
foods we eat, will kill a chinchilla).
2. Closing off any openings 1" square or larger (chins can squeeze into the smallest of places).
3. Removing or covering any and all containers of liquids, from drinks to a toilet bowl (chins are not
suppose to get wet).
4. Enclosing or unplugging any and all electrical wires (no crispy critters, please).
5. Lay in the floor and get a "chin's eye-view" of all it may find to get into or play with (chins are curious
creatures and avid explorers).

chromosomes - Structures within the center of the cell that house the genes which determine what a
living thing will look like. Chinchillas have 64 chromosomes.

collar - A metal device placed around the female chinchilla's neck to keep her from getting into the run
and getting into another females' cage and possibly getting into a fight.

Cross Breeding (outcrossing) - Breeding chinchillas that are not related to each other.

deluxe mix - A name usually used to describe chinchilla pellets mixed with lots of treats ... a 'no-no' for
your chin.

dominant gene - The gene that determines the outward appearance (phenotypically) of the chinchilla.
The dominant gene cannot be "carried".

dust bath - A container used by a chinchilla to take it's bath in.

dust bath dust - Volcanic ash chinchillas take their bath in to remove the excess oils in the fur and
keep it clean.

exotic pet vet - A vet that has had special training with exotic animals, not your regular vet that cares
for the domestic animals such as cats and dogs.

feline distemper - a cat pneumonia - highly contagious and deadly to chinchillas.

fur rings - Fur that often gathers around the penis of the male chin after mating. Fur rings need to be
removed by the breeder, if the chin does not remove it. Complications can result if the fur ring tightens
or is not removed.

chew blocks - blocks/cuts of untreated pine wood given to chinchillas to chew on and play with, also
needed to help keep the chinchilla's teeth properly worn down.

giardia - A deadly parasite that is thought to be dormant in most animals. It is also known as the
'opportunistic parasite' because it lies in wait until the system/condition of a chinchilla is down/or
weakened, then it will take over, many times resulting in the death of the chinchilla.

genotype - An animals genetic makeup.

gestation period - The time it takes from conception to the delivery of the kit. Usually an average of
111 days for chinchillas, but can vary from 105 to 120 days.

grotzen - the veiling on the back of a chinchilla

guard hairs - The 'stiffer', thicker, taller "hairs" that grow all over a chin's body and help to hold the fur
in place, in addition to this they will often give a very unique look to the overall appearance of the chin.
IE: the silver or dark guard hairs on a white mosaic often give the effect or look of a thin layer of silver
over the white fur.

Gunning black - black velvet, velvet - A chinchilla having a black face, back and tail, blending on the
sides into a gray, then to a snow white belly. The black velvet has a lethal factor for the kits when bred
to another black velvet chinchilla. The black velvet, when mated with a beige can produce a brown velvet
colored chinchilla.

heterozygous - a chinchilla carrying two different forms of a gene/alleles (i.e. standard/violet carrier)

homozygous - a chinchilla carrying two identical forms of a gene/alleles (i.e. a violet chinchilla)

hue - the color cast over the fur of a chinchilla. A red hue is undesirable, but a blue hue is desirable.

inbreeding - Breeding within the immediate family (i.e. father to daughter, mother to son, sister to
brother).

jump hole cover - the cover/door used to block off the jump hole to keep the male from entering the
female's cage after she has delivered her kit/kits and to keep the kits from being able to wander into
other female's cages (something that can be fatal for a kit).

kit - a baby chinchilla.

lava stone - pumas stone - Used by chinchillas to keep the front teeth worn down to the proper size.

lethal factor - The term used for what happens when two heterozygous colors of the same color mate
(if that color is white or TOV) that will result in 25% of eggs not being fertilized.

Line-Breeding - A type of inbreeding, but with the extended family of the chinchilla (i.e. grandparent
to grand child, aunt to nephew, ect).

litter - What the kits are called when a mother chinchilla has when she gives birth.

Malocclusion - When a chinchilla's teeth have been allowed to become over grown and have grown
into the jaw, tong, and/or brain of a chinchilla. This is usually a slow painful death.

mating plug - A waxy plug made by the male and left inside the female to keep the sperm inside the
female until it/they have time to fertilize the egg/eggs. The plug is later pulled out by the female or is
expelled and often eaten.

mutation - Any chinchilla that is not a standard gray. Gray is the original color of all chinchillas.

oestrus cycle - The number of days between two cycles when a female chins goes into season, usually
25 to 40 days

Outcrossing - (cross breeding) - Breeding chinchillas that are not related to each other.

pinched neck - An undesirable trait in a chinchilla. The chinchilla's neck appears to "dip" deeply
between the head and back.

phenotype - An animal's appearance/characteristics, the way they look.

placenta - afterbirth, a chinchilla mom will usually eat all or most of it

pophole - jump hole - The opening in cages for the male to be able to get in and out of each female's
cage in a ranch run.

prime or in-prime - when a chinchilla's fur is at it's best, usually between 6 and 10 months of age the
first time. 8 months of age usually being the best it will be.

pumas stone - lava stone - Used by chinchillas to keep the front teeth worn down to the proper size.

ranch run - A type of cage that consist of several cages connected by a run (enclosed wire hallway) used
by the male to go from one female's cage to another.

spray - The act of spraying urine by the female in self defense of herself and/or her kits. Also used to
deter the advances of the male and/or to separate her fighting kits if they are to the point that they might
injure each other.

standard - standard gray - the natural color of chinchillas

superfoetation - The fertilization during the same season/oestrus cycle of an additional egg/eggs several
days after the original embryo is already started developing in the same uterus. This is rare, but does
happen. Usually the latter one will be born either obviously much smaller or may not have enough time
to develop fully and will appear as a still birth. More detailed information on this can be see on Azure
Chinchillas at: http://www.azure-chinchillas.co.uk/pages/superfoetation.php There have also been cases
where there is the fertilization of another egg/eggs in the second uterus in the following cycle ... as a
general rule, these are not developed enough to survive, but will be expelled (miscarried) during the labor
which delivers the kits in the first uterus.

swirl - Referring to an undesirable swirling pattern in the fur.

"Swish-Swish Tail Dance" - The 'antics'/mateing ritual of the male chinchilla when he wants to mate
with the female. During this 'dance' the male chin will do a little 'hop-hop', then swish his tail from side
to side and repeat this until the female accepts or declines his advances.

teats - The nipples used to nurse the kits. A female chinchilla has two separate sets, one on each side.
Should one side stop working, the other side will usually still work.

TOV - stands for Touch of Velvet - The reference to a pattern of coloring/veiling on some beige
chinchillas that have black velvet in their family history. The darker shade of brown covers the face, back
and tail of the chinchilla, blending down the sides to a lighter shades of the beige until it meets the white
fur of the belly. Usually they will have a dark stripe across the top of the front paws when born that will
sometimes fade away. These are known as brown velvets.

treats - Special food you give your chin at special times - or to bribe him/her into doing what you want
them to do. These are not to be mixed with their regular chinchilla pellets.

veiling - the fur that covers a chinchilla from the nose, accorss the back, to the tail, easily seen in the
black velvet, appearing as a wide strip of black, then blending into shades of gray to the white belly fur.
The condition of the veiling fur is considered when judging chinchillas.

wean - to accustom a young kit to food other than mother's milk, weaning a kit usually begins about 4
weeks of age (some earlier) and is usually finished by 6 weeks of age (then there are those who will nurse
as long as mom's patients will last - one of mine was still nursing a kit at 4 months of age). Momma chin
will take care of the weaning, she knows best.

whelping cage - an enclosure made of wire (a cage) usually about 15" x 15" x 24" - a chin mom needs
to be in a whelping cage when she gives birth to her kits and they need to stay there until they can safely
maneuver a regular size cage. Kits are born fully furred, eyes open and are playing within the hour.
Within the first 12 hours most kits will climb to the top of the cage, turn loose and drop to the bottom
... they can climb up, but not down ... they fall down. Whelping cages should be no taller than 15 inches
and have plenty of bedding in the bottom to soften the fall.

white - a "white", in reference to a chinchilla, is one that has white fur, other than just on the belly.

"Wilson White" - also known as White, Silver, Mosaic, Reverse Mosaic - This refers to the color of
chinchilla's fur ranging from an almost all white to a solid silver color. Sometimes the white fir is 'tipped'
in gray or has gray guard hairs or can be mostly gray with some white on the tail and other spots. It has
varying patters or spots of gray, gray ears, gray pads and dark eyes. This chinchilla when mated with
another white chinchilla carries the lethal factor.

Wrap - A chinchilla that has an Ebony gene that causes the color of the belly to match (or very closely
match) the color of the back. The chinchilla is the same color all over.

uterus - Chinchillas have two of these and has the capability to carry kits in both at the same time.

More will be added as I think of them, or someone suggest them!

Chinchilla Dictionary of Terms