Rats VS Chinchillas - How different are they to own?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ธ.ค. 2024
- Considering owning Rats or Chinchillas and wanting to know the similarities and differences in their care?
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Some other differences I found that I didn't mention in the video:
I'm obviously allergic to rats (urine) and I made sure that wouldn't be the case before getting Chinchillas. From speaking to other owners of both that seems to be the case that Chinchillas are more hypoallergenic to own unless you are allergic to other things like their hay, its a lot less common to be allergic to them themselves, compared to Rat allergies being quite common.
Theres a huge difference in the smell / ammonia levels. 3 male rats smells much stronger than 2 chinchillas (female and neutered male). I notice virtually no smell walking into the chinchilla room besides the woody smell of their bedding. As much as people will say that rats don't smell, they do, and it clings to everything.
I'd heard about the less allergen aspect of chins, good to know it works with their urine too! I'm definitely sensitive to hay unfortunately though. Is there an alternative to feeding hay with them or nah?
@@DarkestFinale Unfortunately chinchillas need unlimited Timothy hay at all times, you could give oat hay and herbal hay, but only as occasional snacks. Using anything other than timothy hay as main diet will lead to health problems
No they need it as the main part of their diet. I’m allergic to grass pollen and was sensitive to hay when I had rabbits growing up but now that I’ve been buying higher quality Timothy hay it hasn’t been irritating me at all 😊
We have an active carbon filter running in our room for unrelated reasons, but it takes great care of the rat smell, can recommend if smell is an issue
@@LuluTheCorgi I have a great air purifier in the room but theres always going to be a smell, I don't notice it but people who come to my house do. If i leave anything fabric in that room or even my camera the smell clings to it for weeks after
I had a chinchilla 15 years ago and she was my heart and soul. Unfortunately she came from a pet store and had severe health and dental problems. She passed away at 3 years due to a complication from anesthesia for a dental. It was incredibly traumatic. I loved her so much. 🥺 ❤️
I’ve always wanted rats or chinchillas but never had space indoors, I fell in love with Guinea pigs at 7 and are now 14! My three pigs live in a shed and I looooove decorating their cage even with rat hammocks lol and I couldn’t be happier, neither could they.
Awww. I love my piggies too 🐹
Guinea pigs are very sensitive to heat and cold, do you have a temperature setup for them?
@@burntbeansoup yes I do! I have installed AC and keep doors open in summer (there are mesh ones behind those to ensure nothing gets in and they don’t get out). For the winter, I have a greenhouse heater, blankets on top of their hutch, give lots of hay and make sure doors are shut or open very minimally.
As a long time guinea pig owner, I couldn't imagine having pigs in a shed. They're much to fickle and delicate to be kept in one, in my opinion. A C&C cage indoors is the best since they need alot of supervision, etc.
@nontoxicpaint Exactly. A lot can go wrong outside- a large animal can break in, a dog can go loose and scare the shit out of them, the AC/heater can break or not be enough, etc..
I have been watching your video for a while now and they’ve really helped my little ratites have such a better life thank you :)
Its crazy that you're just getting chins as i just adopted/rescued a chin myself after years of owning rats. Rats short life span is really what made me switch. Im enjoying learning about chins along w you. Ive only had her a few days so were still getting used to each other. I need to change a lot about her setup. I still have rats as well but they are older, about 1.5 closer to 2 years old. Ill be following along even more. Thanks for the great info and content ❤❤
I'm happy just keeping rats and don't plan on owning chinchillas, but I'm really enjoying your videos on them! It fascinates me to learn about them 😍
Im glad you like learning about chinchillas. I think they are cute but chinchillas are so fragile will die unexpectedly.
Do I plan on ever owning rats or chinchillas? No. Am I gonna watch the whole video because I stan well informed and caring pet owners? Of course!!
I'm not planning to get either pets. I just love hearing the information that you've gathered about your pets.❤
I own cats and parrotlets. I don’t intend to adopt any of these pets but I’m enjoying watching your experiences
This is a good video because you talk so openly about both! Showing both pro’s and con’s. ❤
I know a lot about other rodents but chinchillas I really know nothing about so I’m excited to learn. I’m a guinea pig mum but they are so different since they don’t really climb or jump. My two boys are always very excited every time there’s something new in their enclosure but even though I’ve given them 2.5x1 m (3x7 c&c) of space I still feel like I could have gone bigger. They do seem to like it in there I just want to spoil them 💕
They are the best thing that’s happened to me 🥺💕
Been waiting for another video. It makes me so happy! Keep it up!🐀❤
This video is also for those of us that own neither and have no intention of owning either 🤣🤣
I have rats and chinchillas. I've been owning rats a lot longer. I've been owning chinchillas for close to two years now. I can relate so much to things you are mentioning. When I first brought my boy Snuffleupagus home he was "barking" and took my by surprised so I text the breeder and sh told me 😂
Must admit, my pet place has Degu, and they are very tempting... I think they live like 14 years or something.
They live 6-8 years
I've had 4 that lived for 9 years❤@@chanellethomas6886
They are like day and night. Rats are awesome beyond words. What i love the most about them is how much they love human interraction. The only good thing about chincillas is that they have no smell whatsoever.
There’s so many good things about chinchillas, enough so for me to switch over to owning them entirely lol
Agree 100%. Rats have so much personality! Chins are adorable but derpy as heck😂
Bruh, you even forgot to mention that the average lifespan of a chinchilla is five times that of a fancy rat (15 years vs 3 years).
Chinchillas are considerably different than owning rats. I have had both together. Also my chinchillas absolutely hated the smell of my hands if I handled the rats before coming to the chinchilla.
Chinchillas HAVE to be kept cooler, in their native area of South America (in the Andes mnts it doesn't get hot), they also have no way to easily release body heat and need to get dust baths (never, ever water).
You can have a chinchilla out running around for up to an hour in cooler temps.
Personally, I find rats more affectionate and playful. You definitely need to get male chins neutered. The hormones can cause...issues.
mouse(?) peek-a-boo at 2:59
OMG IM SO EARLY ILY EMI
Great video! I’m enjoying learning about chinchillas!
It was very interesting! I thought Chinchillas were less fragile than rats. That's good to know.🥰🐀🐹❤
I wanted to ask where did you get that rope ladder for your rats
I bought one for my mouse but the spacing is too bug for him
Hey Emi ! I hope you see this and are able to help. ❤
I have an elderly rat that I just got recently from a couple who were overbreeding them. He was kept in a tiny cage all alone for 2 and a half yrs and only came out when he was being bred. He's a surprisingly healthy boy and will live for a long while I believe. The problem is, due to not having any playmates or cage mates ever, he does not like other rats.
I've tried a few different bonding methods, kept cages close together, switched hammocks to get used to smell etc etc. I can't neuter him because he's already so old. What should I do? Is it okay if I get him a couple of "friends" but just keep them next to eachother in separate cages?
I want to give him the best end of his life but it's proving to be difficult and unlike anything my previous rats have been like. I've never had a difficult bonding until now!
Hi I've had rescued rats from similar backgrounds and found if they don't want rat friend's give him more human time out with you he will bond with you I hope this helps you I've kept rats for over 60 years ❤ good luck Maria x
@@mariabrett6712 thankyou🫶🏻💗
we need a cage tourr :)
I need the order i've been waiting over 4 weeks for to arrive before I can do that :')
hi!! kind of unrelated to the video itself, but this is a topic I don't see covered, so I wondered if you could give advice or create a video on it.
How can I acquaint myself with rats and interact with them to understand them better? In my personal situation, i'm looking to get pet rats in the future but since I haven't interacted with domestic rats before I want to familiarize myself with them.
What do you mean by that? Do you want to interact with rats before getting some? You could try asking breeders if they'd let you see their rats. If you mean getting to understand rat body language and such, there's some videos on it you could find
@@echoless3474 I'd like to handle and interact with rats so that I'm used to their general mannerisms. I've held and interacted with other rodents before, such as hamsters and mice, but never rats. Do you know of any other ways other than asking a breeder, though? (There aren't any breeders in my general area.)
@calypsoxx_ maybe a rescue? They sometimes have rats. Or try seeing if there's any facebook rat groups in your area and see if any owners would be fine with you meeting their rats
I’ve been considering chinchillas for a while, because of their life span and health. I didn’t know you can only let them out for 20 minutes. I was going to turn the radiators off and have them in an unheated room. But I don’t think I can keep them in a cage all day I’ll have to have more of a think about It. Food for thought, thanks.
To be honest what I intend as being a "quick free roam" when i have places to be or somewhere to go ends up being longer because i cannot get her back into the cage for the life of me haha. If you have an air con unit or its the middle of winter with no heating in that room they'd probably be fine to run around for a bit longer and a lot of people probably do!
@@EmiologyI taught mine to go back into their cages I've kept chins,degus and rats I have 33 rats, males and females but they smell the worst I'd say but I love rats and have the little zoo Ventura cages and pet planet for males love your videos❤❤
The actual recommended time of playing is an hour, not 20 minutes. Sometimes they will want to go back early sometimes they fight not to go back in. As long as they are in a cool room and have a dehumidifier going they will be fine.
What about Rats vs. Marmots
Omg that is the cutest rat ever, does that brown rat, have a certain name colour?
Burmese 😊
@@Emiology thank youuuu!
I have had chinchillas for almost 10 years and almost 15 years of experience with them, and they are the absolute best animal in my opinion, but I almost never recommend people get them as they are not for most people.
Like you said they are extremely delicate and sensitive, and live for soo long and require so much research and unique care. They are adorable little shredders, who will destroy everything in their path, so having 15-30 different chew toys in their enclosure at all times is a necessary expence most people aren’t willing to spend, which will lead to boredom and overgrown teeth that will require a vet visit.
Degus could be a solid option if you want a mix between chinchillas and rats, they are the best of both worlds and live for 5-10 years and are in general alot healthier than rats.
However if you have the space, time and money and willingness to dedicate the next 15+ years of your life to chinchillas they are such good and rewarding pets with huge personalities and quirks!
Chinchillas are illegal in my country (Perth, Australia) but dammit I will continue to watch as much chinchilla content as I can!
Its actually recommended that chinchillas get an hour of free time at the least, if the temperature is cool in the room they will be fine 20 mins is not enough.
strange question: should I put an exercise wheel for my mice in the cage? because my mom had an accident with it!
As long as it’s a safe one it can be beneficial. What was the accident?
one mouse crawled under the wheel while the other was running in the wheel😢
What kind of wheel was it? Was it on a solid platform?
Ehh?? No… it hang on the side of the cage, now we have a wooden wheel which is larger
@@sigridhartman8401 ah yeah I can see how it could have caused a mouse to get trapped behind or underneath it, hopefully the wooden wheel will be much safer
I think you forgot your compare smells and frequency of enclosure cleaning 😀
I’ve always wanted rats but they require a lot of things I can’t get and it’s a lot of money I do have mice though.
Awwww cute video, thanks❤🎉
Chinchillas would be a perfect pet for me but they’re not legal in Australia 🥹
Great video! Could I ask, please, can chinchillas be litter trained? And also, do they tend to pee everywhere like our chaos potatoes? Thanks 😊
Some people do litter train them and it works the same as it does with rats where having differing substrates can help them to distinguish the difference. They do pee on their beds / shelves but its no where near as frequent or as damaging as rat pee is to things, i wondered the same thing when I was looking into chinchillas, the idea of having exposed untreated wooden shelves was wild to me coming from owning rats where within weeks everything would be soaked in pee and ruined, but I haven't found that to be the case with chinchillas :)
@@Emiology thank you so much. I was wondering exactly the same with all the extra wooden shelves around! Its definitely given me food for thought. I got back into owning rats after a looong break and our 2 boys are now just over a year old. We lost one of our original trio at a year old unexpectedly. Vet suspected heart failure. My daughter has found it really hard and with their short life spans it's making me reconsider getting any more. But now you've got me thinking about chinchillas! 😊
So, I do not write this comment in bad faith. I am just going to ask about a point you made in your past videos about feeders. And I may be slightly bias as I have two feeder rats that mean a lot to me. You see the TH-cam videos of people who have at least two dozen drawers of feeder mice. They're only a fraction shown who own/sell to snake owners. So I don't see the moral insymmetry in someone spending 8$ to just rescue two? Regardless, thank you so much for your videos!
It all adds up though. Your $8 may sound insignificant, but it adds up to thousands across the US. I understand theres not as many ethical rat breeders there, so you've got to do what you've got to do, especially once you start owning rats and you need to continuously get more you trap yourself in the cycle of having to support pet stores or feeder breeders.
Supply and demand may feel small when its just your $8 but on a larger scale the pet demand creates an added need for more to be bred just like the need for a food source, although that will never go away, its a handful more mother rats that will be kept back and subjected to a life living in a drawer being bred over and over and never seeing daylight so that person can make $8+ dollars per litter. Ultimately I will never recommend or condone it, especially when it can result in some very disappointed first time rat owners when they have a rat they can't touch or who dies at 6 months old because they were never bred to live that long. (Theres always exceptions to this). But its ultimately up to you if its your only option or you're happy with that decision :)
Another example is you'll often see videos on social media of people 'rescuing' (purchasing) baby feeder rats who should still be with their mothers drinking milk, and trying to hand raise them and sometimes the baby rat starving and passing away a few days later. Thats subjectively a lot longer and prolonged suffering for a young rat than a quick death from being eaten by a reptile.
Live feeding and the huge demand for it in the US doesn't sit right with me as its not so much a thing here in the UK, the idea of young rats / mice being ripped away from their mothers before their eyes are open and they need milk every few hours to be put into a paper bag and then sit in a vivarium where a snake might not immediately eat it seems significantly unfair :( It's a tricky one all round.
@@Emiology Yeah, I thankfully did my research. However, many do not and that results in the death of the first paid bought. I personally don't see myself buying more. However, there is a no refund policy for feeders so I will give them best life possible until then. Thank you for the comment. 🐭
Interesting
I know you have never personally owned a rabbit, but do you possibly know if a bunny or chinchilla is better to keep as a pet? ps: I love your vids😀
I’ve owned lots of rabbits 😊 I can’t say what’s better as it depends what you’re looking for in a pet, but in terms of companionship most rabbits will be better for that
@@Emiology Thanks a lot😀
I love you so so much...I have watched so many of ur videos about mice and rats....I'm a mouse breeder...I have more than a hundred mice... they are my life...I have little time for anything else....I always say, mice just don't quit..lol...lots of love
I had no idea chinchillas made noise what so ever omg
i dont know if you are aware but when searching for your channel, multiple rat pest control ads pop up? its kind of upsetting and tone deaf of youtube to suggest this and i know you dont have control over it i just wanted to let you know :(
I have 0 control over what ads pop up unfortunately. It will be based on key words like ‘rat’