Chinchillas

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Our Pet Pages :

Chinchillas that are – or have been – part of our family.

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Mollie

Mollie is a charcoal short haired chinchilla. The name Mollie (like the original spelling, Molly) developed as a pet form of the name Mary, although today both Mollie and Molly are independently given names in their own right. The name can mean "beloved" or "bitter" depending on the origin you go with (baby name sites disagree on the true origin of the name). Her name wasn’t picked for the meaning though, but because we liked the name. Being in a cage by herself for several months caused Mollie to become depressed, and a little more withdrawn than most chinchillas tend to be. As a result, Mollie is more reserved and shy than most chinchillas, and can sometimes become agitated or grumpy for little or no apparent reason. Most of the time, however, Mollie is a sweet and affectionate little girl, who loves her sand bath, loves her food (especially if it’s cereal you’re offering) and generally enjoys being petted and stroked... As long as it’s on her own terms, which is the case with most chinchillas, but especially with Mollie, due to her mood swings.

Born: 12th October 2015.

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Maizie

Maizie is a charcoal short haired chinchilla. Her colouring is far enough up the colour chart that she’s almost dark enough to be considered ebony... Only almost though. The name Maizie is a phonetically spelt version of the name Maisy, which means "light's creation" or "child of light" depending on whether you go with the Latin or Persian origin. Once again, the name was chosen because we liked it rather than for the meaning. Since Maizie was named at the same time as Mollie, despite their age difference, some might think it would be more appropriate to give the name that means “light” to the lighter of the pair. However, we feel it’s a fitting name for the younger chinchilla that brought some light in to Mollie’s life when she became Mollie’s companion in order to help her older cage mate deal with her depression, shortly before we brought the two of them home. Maizie is an outgoing and playful chinchilla, who loves to climb, play with the bell we have hanging in their cage, play in her sand bath, and run on her wheel. She also loves her food, and often seeks out attention, whether it be just a quick chin scratch she wants, to climb on your shoulder, or to climb in to your arms for some cuddle time. Like with most chinchillas, this has to be on her terms, and lasts only as long as she decides it should, but she usually wants attention of some sort.

R.I.P. Maizie: January 13th 2016 - February 1st 2019 .

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