Chinchillas are clean, quiet and attractive rodents that don't smell. They can live for 10-20 years, and they've been bred and farmed for their soft, dense fur. They're quite shy and are more appropriate as pets for adults and older children.

Chinchillas are soft-furred rodents with strong hind legs, large ears and a tail that makes up about a third of their body length. Here are some more facts about chinchillas:

They have long hind limbs adapted for leaping. They can jump over six feet in height, and pet chinchillas have been reported to jump onto the top of refrigerators!

In the wild, they live in colonies of over 100 chinchillas.

Their teeth grow constantly, so they need to eat lots of hay, which is abrasive, to help wear their teeth down.

Food is passed through their gut and special droppings (called caecotrophs) are produced. Chinchillas eat these droppings, so they absorb and digest them again.

Chinchillas are nocturnal, meaning they're most active in the evening and at night.

Chinchillas have only been kept as pets since relatively recently, and experts are still learning about how best to care for them. There's no single 'perfect' way to care for chinchillas, as long as you meet their needs.