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Chinchillas and viscachas are small, nocturnal mammals native to the Andes mountains in South America and belonging to the family Chinchillidae. Chinchilla fur is considered the softest in the world and is 30 times softer than human hair. Its use in the fur industry started in the 1950s. Since then, chinchillas have also become popular as house pets.

Chinchillas in their native habitat live in burrows or crevices in rocks. They are agile jumpers and can jump up to a foot above their head. Predators in the wild include hawks, skunks, felines and canines. Their diet consists of plants, fruits and seeds.

The most common color varieties are gray, white, mosaic (white with gray or black patches), beige (very light gray), and charcoal (black). Unlike most other mammals the albino phase of the chinchilla is the beige coloration; true beiges, as opposed to just light grays, will have red eyes.

Chinchillas can breed any time of the year. For a rodent they have a very long gestation period of 111 days. Due to such a long pregnancy chinchillas are born fully fured and open their eyes soon after birth. Litters are from 1 - 8 babies although the average litter size is 2.

• ORDER RODENTIA
  • Family Chinchillidae
    • Chinchilla, Chinchilla lanigera
    • Short-tailed Chinchilla, Chinchilla brevicaudata
    • Northern Viscacha, Lagidum peruanum
    • Southern Viscacha, Lagidum viscacia
    • Wolffsohn's Viscacha, Lagidum wolffsohni
    • Plains Viscacha, Lagostomus maximus
  • Many other families in Rodentia