People, many people love to care small animal pets rather than the larger ones; cats, hamsters, chinchillas, guinea pigs, and rabbits become ones of the most preferable choices for majority of people. The background reasons behind it? Well, first, it’s doesn’t take so much space inside your house, second – what else should be? Yes, the one and only, their adorable fluffy appearances. Many people claimed, that small pets are easier to care than the larger pets. Do this theory is true?
Basically, if we look from physical differences (especially the body’s size) I couldn’t agree more. Larger pets need more shampoo and soap to cover their whole coats; this is one example that we could take. But, do this theory is an absolute true? I can’t say it is, because as we know, every animal require different care which is what make them special. Furthermore, this issue leads people to question which one is easier to care, chinchilla or rabbit? Considering that the two of them have small bodies.
Both of them have fluffy hairs; so, which one is easier to care, chinchilla or rabbit? To answer this question, we would take you, my friends, to look closer about the differences of the nursery methods of these two adorable little creatures.
Chinchilla
I am sure, not everyone knows what chinchilla is. So, we would give you a little insight information about this particular animal. Chinchilla is a native animal of South America, specifically is Andes Mountain. They were riven in two species, the first one is Chinchilla Chinchilla and the second one is called Chinchilla Lanigera; both of these Chinchilla’s species was more robust and larger than ground squirrel; they live as a colony which called as herd. Wild chinchilla is could be found in elevation of high about 4,270 m or proportional to 14,000 ft from the ground, up in the mountain.
A Proper Care for Chinchilla as Pet
Commonly, there are few of chinchilla’s species take as pet and mostly, they were the descended of Chinchilla Lanigera. One of the example of the most popular chinchilla is the long-tailed chinchilla; however, there’s also the descended of Chinchilla Chinchilla that you could choose as pet called the short-tailed chinchilla. Due to proper care for chinchilla as pet, there are several requirements you should obey to maintain their conditions. These cares is a must and you cannot miss a single of it.
- Diet
The perfect diet requirement of a chinchilla, actually not much as different from rabbit. They crave for hays, vegetables, and fruits – mostly was the hays. Hays are the primarily foods for chinchilla, and the best hays should be accessible at all time is timothy hay. For the vegetables and fruits, give it occasionally as treats.
You should understand that chinchilla is lack of the ability to digest sweetness. Don’t forget to make sure you get rid of the food leftover inside chinchilla’s cage to prevent her eat the foods (at least per-twenty four hours).
- Bath and Grooming
One of the most important thing of taking care pet is bath time (or groom time) to make sure that the hair would keep healthy and beautiful. Furthermore, what make the different between chinchilla and rabbit? Chinchilla take dust bath rather than the water bath. Chinchilla’s hair is dense and beautiful, so it needs certain treatment to clean it up, and the way is using dust.
Most of the time, the dust was made from volcanic ash, and don’t worry is not as expensive as it sounds. One point plus over rabbit, dust bath is way easier than the water bath, not to mention that you pet chinchilla would willingly take the bathe, because they love to roll on top of it! Not to mention, chinchilla love cleanliness; and their poop – surprisingly – it contained no strong-scent. One of the most amazing thing about this animal is that you could litter trained!
- Housing
Chinchilla is smaller than rabbit, so, logically they need less-space compare to rabbit. But, however, a large cage is required because chinchilla love to climb and jump – which is a very entertaining scene to watch every day. What make chinchilla owner was such loyal to this animal is because they could bond stronger with you over time, considering their long life span which is about 15 to 20 years.
Rabbit
No need to explain anymore, rabbit is classified as one of the most popular pet of animals. There are many fabulous species available for you from angora rabbits, lionhead rabbits, Flemish giant rabbits, Holland Lop, Netherlands dwarf rabbits, and etc. Their fanatic fans also undeniable and world-wide. But, because we want to make comparison between chinchilla and rabbit, I would explain rabbit’s proper nursery you should obey.
- Diet
Just like chinchilla, rabbit’s prime diet is hays. There are many hay types you could pick such as alfalfa hays, timothy hays, oat hays, and grass hays. Beside hays, vegetables are also a good option to choose as additional foods, but this is the different between rabbit and chinchilla: rabbit doesn’t eat fruits. Furthermore, all you need to do is make sure you prepare fresh hays every day, and don’t forget to remove the leftover inside the cage.
- Bath and Grooming
There are ways to care fluffy rabbit’s hair; but, keep in mind, hair treatment was adjusted with the species. For the example, angora treatment is different from the Holland Lop. So, grooming for rabbit is a must, especially if you owned a long hair species of rabbit. Well, how to bathe a rabbit? Naturally, rabbit is a clean animal. She likes to clean herself frequently, but – however, bath is still necessary.
Commonly, you can’t submerge your rabbit into the water, all you need to do is soaked a towel into the water, squeeze it out, then wash it gently to rabbit’s body. Don’t forget to pour shampoo into the water. Then, you could dry the hair with hair dryer or wash it gently with dry towel. However, you rabbit might be put a little fight during the bath, and yes, you need to be patient to her.
Also, don’t forget to trim rabbit’s hair, because rabbit’s hair is keep growing over time. For the poop, I have to admit that rabbit’s poop is quite sting. So, frequent cage cleaning must be held.
- Housing
Keep in mind, rabbit is larger than chinchilla, so, they need larger area as their playground. Unlike Chinchilla that could play inside the cage, most of the time, rabbit’s cage is prone to use as resting place. In this case, rabbit’s owner would let their rabbits out from the cage and play indoor or outdoor (under supervision). Furthermore, rabbit’s life span is shorter than chinchilla which is about 8 to 12 years old.
But, about the bounding, rabbit could fulfill your longing of relationship. Both of you could build a strong bond for the rest of your rabbit’s life.
Conclusion, which one is better? I would not tell you which one is better, for everyone have their own specification. So, choose it by yourself, my beloved friends!