10/30/2025
I'M ONLY LOOKING FOR A PET, I DON'T NEED SHOW QUALITY.
“I DON'T NEED A SHOW CHINCHLLA, I JUST NEED A PET”
(inspired from a show dog post I ran across)
This is one of the one of the most common things that people tell us, when we tell people that we breed, show, and rescue. “Oh, well, we don’t need a show chin, we just want a pet.” What they actually mean, though, is that they don’t want to pay the high price that they think breeders charge, and they want to a get a better deal on a cheaper chinchilla.
I’d like to correct some misconceptions today, and I’d like for people to realize that often the cheap chinchilla from the person that doesn’t show is the real rip-off. Then, when you hear your co-worker tell you that they’re getting a free chin from their neighbor, who bred their two petstore chins together, maybe you’ll tell them why that’s not such a good idea.
Here’s why:
If I ask why the average person wants a chinchilla, they usually tell me how soft they are. How plush their fur is. How large and round they are. How sweet their personalities are. Often people go on to describe how they’ve seen ones online where the fur looks so smooth, the body looks so perfectly round shaped (as opposed to more pointy and ratty), and so on and so forth. Often, these people are describing a quality bred chinchilla. That’s where, without even realizing it, many people have taken time to look at photos and decide, hey, they like the look of these specific ones. Then, these people decide they should get one that matches their idea of what their ideal chin should be.
The next step, tragically, is that they go out and try to find a chinchilla that matches this, as cheaply and conveniently as they can. Buying a chinchilla should not be like shopping on amazon, and if it is, chances are there’s a scammer involved. While reputable breeders can ship / use ground transport, it sure isn’t free, and it sure isn’t built into the cost of the chinchilla. If it is, you better run, as that chinchilla doesn’t exist, or at least, you sure won’t be owning it. To get a chinchilla, for the most part, buyers do need to drive to the breeder’s home (or a meeting spot near the breeder) and they should expect that at least some breeders will ask questions to ensure the chinchilla is going to a home that is able to appropriately care for it.
On that note -- it's worth it for people to educate themselves on what a reputable breeder actually is. Anyone can make themselves seem reputable – there’s breeder organizations to join, and let’s be honest, anyone can join them! Even with AI, anyone can make a website or page, find and post cute pics online, and make it sound like “their” chinchilla has a stellar, cuddly, handleable personality. People lie. It’s important to learn to ask the right questions (read – questions, not, ask for a zillion pictures). In my opinion, reputable breeders attend educational seminars and show their chinchillas. If they don’t at the very least show, you should ask yourself – why not?
With chinchillas, there is no “health testing” the way there is for dogs, horses, etc. This is unfortunate, as there are genetic issues in chinchillas, maloclussion (malo) being a big one. A chinchilla with malo in its genes will look healthy, until it’s not. This is where reputable breeders come in. Should a line ever pop up a genetic / health issue such as malo, reputable breeders will remove that line from breeding. Because we keep and show the offspring, we are growing out these lines and are able to see if an issue crops up later. I have several generations of many of my chinchilla lines here, so if there was a genetic issue hiding, I would know. Compare this to the person breeding two petstore chins – when the babies are born and weaned, they immediately sell them. Unfortunately, this means they have no idea what may be hiding in the lines, as even genetic malo typically doesn’t show itself until the offspring are a couple of years of age. Should the parents be producing genetic disasters, the bybs probably have no idea, and so, would never remove the parents from breeding. Unfortunately, this is a death sentence for the offspring.
Now this said, going to a breeder is not the only option to get a chinchilla – there is also rescue. We rescue as well as breed, and I think rescue is a perfectly viable option to bring home a furball. But, just like breeders, all rescues are not created equal. There are two rescues within a couple hours of here that are both unethical (this is really unfortunate). The first gets in rescues and breeds them, and is known for producing malo chins (and doesn’t care). The second charges upwards of $200 for their surrender fee for rescues, AND is also a byb. Double whammy. Now, I will say, there’s nothing wrong with trying to not run in-the-red at all times, but this is beyond unethical.
Rescues *can* be a great resource for bringing home a new chin. We have a lot of great rescue chins that are in need of a new home, and many other rescues do as well. But just like vetting a breeder, rescues need vetted as well – they’re not all good. And unfortunately, there’s no way to know what health issues rescue chinchillas may be hiding, so, although often cheaper than going to a breeder, this may be a negative.
The only way to reduce the number of chinchillas needing homes is through responsible breeding, responsible purchasing (whether through a breeder or a rescue), and responsible ownership. Reputable breeders will typically take their chins back, so they don’t end up in shelters or rescues. When people purchase responsibly, they know their chin will have somewhere to go, if they are unable to care for them at some point in the future. Also, by going to a reputable breeder who takes the time to educate and provide a support system, a buyer is often less likely to give their chinchilla up because they have someone to lean on should they have questions or concerns in the future.
One last thing to leave everyone with. One of the most common email types I get is this – “hey, we got a chinchilla from X because it was cheaper than from you, though we love your chinchillas and how you care for them! This chinchilla now has Y medical issue and we don’t have the time nor the money to care for it. We love how well cared for your chinchillas are and we can tell how much effort you put into them – can you take in our chinchilla?” Now let me ask you -- how might this scenario have been different if this person had gotten a chinchilla from a reputable breeder? It’s possible the chinchilla would still be healthy, and so, the owner would not be reaching out to a rescue, asking the rescue to take their time, effort, and money to effectively clean up someone else’s mess…all because the buyer wanted to save a buck.
