chinchilla fun facts

As you know, I live in a house with four roommates, and I quite enjoy it.

You may not know (unless I have posted about this in the past and forgotten it) that there is also a very soft, four-footed little guy who shares our abode. His name is Raspy, and he's lived with Greg for all of his 10 years. Raspy's a chinchilla (but of course he's far cuter than the one in the picture).

Here are some fun facts about chinchillas:

• Chinchillas are crepuscular (we just learned that word today!), which means they are most active at twilight. (Raspy is certainly feeling pretty active right now. He likes to race around and thwart our attempts to catch him.)
• Chinchillas sure do love raisins - so much so that if you shake the raisin container, Raspy will awake from a dead sleep and come over and beg at the edge of his cage. He will take the proffered raisin, nibble it up and beg for more, and they say he would continue to do so until his poor little stomach burst, so we don't indulge him in the yummy raisinness as much as he'd like.
  
• Raspy hates it if you try to pick him up from the top or from behind. He will run away like lightning if you go after him improperly. However, if you stretch out your hand, palm side up, and gently slide in under his front paws, he will hop onto your hand most contentedly.
  
• Chinchillas are literally the softest animals in the world. They have up to 70 hairs per follicle (we have one).
• Raspy can hold his own against Josie, the other 4-footed member of the household, although she's four times as big as he is. We cheer him on as he stares her down.
  

Chinchillas are quite lovely pets. I highly recommend them.