Chinchillas (Laboratory) - Pathology

Introduction

The chinchilla is a type of hystricomorph rodent and there are two types; the Chinchilla langier, or long-tail and the Chinchilla chinchilla which has a short tail. Chinchilla are found in the wild at altitudes of between 9,000-12,000 ft within the Andes in South America. Chinchilla have been kept in captivity since 1923 when a small number of animals were brought to North America.