Husbandry Conditions and Welfare State of Pet Chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera) and Caretakers' Perceptions of Stress and Emotional Closeness to Their Animals.

ABSTRACT: For pet chinchillas, limited data are available on husbandry and the human-animal relationship despite their impact on health, behavior, and welfare. We conducted an online survey with pet chinchilla caretakers (n = 336), targeting husbandry practices, health, behavioral indicators of welfare, and human-chinchilla relationships. We further investigated associations between caretakers' perceptions of stress in their chinchillas and emotional closeness to their animals. Basic needs such as keeping with conspecifics, constant access to water and hay, or offering dust baths were mostly fulfilled. Potential welfare issues included individual keeping (14.3%), undersized cages/enclosures (reported by 27.6% of the Austrian respondents), and suffering from a disease (14.7%). Behavioral indic

SUBMITTER: Gilhofer EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11544953 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature