Silver Mosaic Chinchilla

1 Silver Mosaic Chinchilla Breed Overview

Some Silver Mosaic Chinchillas give the illusion of being all gray, but on close look their underfur is white; most can be told apart. The Silver Mosaic Chinchilla’s scientific name is South American chinchilla, and because its appearance resembles the cartoon chinchilla in Hayao Miyazaki’s film ‘My Neighbor Totoro,’ Hong Kong people renamed it ‘Silver Mosaic Chinchilla.’

The Silver Mosaic Chinchilla is very gentle and lively, likes to hop around, is active and curious, sniffing and then nibbling each new thing to study it. It averages a 15–20 year lifespan, has no active aggression, and when meeting an enemy only flees or urinates at it; when playing together they often stand face to face and urinate on each other.

Because the white genetic gene cannot exist in homozygous form, the Silver Mosaic Chinchilla’s genotype is one white genetic gene plus one standard-gray genetic gene. However, the white gene can combine with other dominant or recessive genes, and the offspring will show white to a greater or lesser extent, especially at the tail tip. Most white chinchillas have gray fur, influenced by the standard-gray gene, and the position of the gray on each white chinchilla differs — some form a symmetrical, beautiful pattern on the face, some are all gray with only a white tail; we call such chinchillas with both white and gray fur Silver Mosaic (White Mosaic). Some chinchillas are pure white, called Pure White or Wilson White; although rare and precious, they are absolutely not pure pink-white (Albino White), because their eyes are still black — the standard-gray gene just does not affect the coat color.

2 Silver Mosaic Chinchilla Physical Characteristics

The ideal adult male Silver Mosaic Chinchilla weight is 400–500 g, and the ideal female weight is 450–800 g. The average body length is about 23 cm, and the tail length about 11 cm.

A newborn Silver Mosaic Chinchilla weighs about 50 g. It has a pair of large, bright eyes, and many whiskers of varying length beside the nose, giving keen touch. The ears are large, thin, and blunt-rounded. The forelimbs are short with five toes; the hind limbs are strong with four toes, good at jumping. The Silver Mosaic Chinchilla’s back and sides are gray-black (and some other artificially bred colors), fading to white on the belly, with evenly distributed fur. The Silver Mosaic Chinchilla has the densest fur in the world, with 40–60 down hairs per follicle, reaching 80 in the best-source United States (cats and dogs have only 1–3 hairs per follicle), but such soft, dense fur also brought the near-extinction nightmare.

Most Silver Mosaic Chinchillas are gray, then beige, then velvet black; some special colors only appear after a generation, or several generations. The International Chinchilla Association divides them into 17 colors, but because the coat color is mainly controlled by seven different pairs of alleles, by the U.S. color classification there are 7 basic colors, and the combinations of these seven pairs can develop at least 20 or more coat colors, so the actual number of colors exceeds 17.

In fact, the Silver Mosaic Chinchilla has many color names, and Chinese and English translations often differ, causing confusion. U.S. usage also differs from Hong Kong: in the U.S., Brown, Tan, and Pastel all refer to the same color, differing only in shade; the proper name for beige is hetero beige, gold is homo beige, and Pure White is also called Wilson White, etc.

3 Silver Mosaic Chinchilla Living Environment

Before keeping a Silver Mosaic Chinchilla, prepare its supplies first; do not buy the chinchilla and then run far to buy supplies. At home, the key environmental concern is temperature: in cold winter it must not drop below 5°C, and in hot summer it must not exceed 28°C.

The Silver Mosaic Chinchilla needs space to move and stretch; too small a cage may cause stress and resultant behaviors (such as fur chewing). According to Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department guidelines, for one chinchilla the cage should be about 34×42 cm, for two about 42×60 cm, and for three or more about 52×70 cm, with a height of about 50 cm. But in principle do not keep three in one cage, and do not keep same-sex chinchillas together until you are sure they get along, to avoid fights over territory.

Generally, buying a dedicated chinchilla sleeping house is a necessary investment, especially for a newly arrived chinchilla that needs a retreat to feel safe. Sleeping houses on the market come in wood and ceramic; each has merits. A wooden house helps keep warm in winter, is more natural and comfortable for the chinchilla, and also helps grind teeth. A ceramic house comes in many nice shapes, is prettier, and easy to clean.

The Silver Mosaic Chinchilla loves to jump up and down, usually able to jump over half a meter high; installing a platform in the cage lets it play and grind teeth, and sometimes rest on it. With a large cage, consider a branch for climbing and perching. But the wood must be safe for chinchillas; if you gather your own branches, first boil them to disinfect and kill insects, then sun-dry or oven-dry.

Normal chinchilla droppings have no smell, but the urine does, so absorbent bedding must be laid in the cage. For cages with a bottom tray you can use wood shavings, cat litter, paper grass, or other absorbent material. Note that although pine shavings are very deodorizing, substances in pine may cause chinchilla asthma. Unprocessed pine shavings are unsuitable for chinchillas.

The Silver Mosaic Chinchilla’s tolerance limit is below 32°C, so cool it in summer; it is comfortable between 18–22°C. The cage must not be in direct sunlight. The living environment must be well ventilated, but not directly under an air conditioner or in a draft, or it easily catches colds or diarrhea from uneven body heat. Do not place it in a hallway or other frequently trafficked, disturbing spot. One or both sides of the cage should be against a wall, not in the room’s center. But avoid walls with wallpaper or paneling, which the chinchilla may chew and eat. Place the cage on a chair or table so it has a broad view of its surroundings, not directly on the floor. The main points of a chinchilla’s living environment: quiet, shaded, elevated, dry, and ventilated.

4 Silver Mosaic Chinchilla Care Tips

The Silver Mosaic Chinchilla always gives a quiet impression, and overly quiet animals are often hard to understand. A chinchilla that does not fuss, scream, dart around, or shed when seeing strangers usually has a fairly cheerful temperament. One that, when held, does not spray urine or bite hard is relatively gentle. A chinchilla’s teeth grow throughout its life and must be constantly worn down to stay healthy, or overlong incisors make chewing difficult and harm its health.