PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine)-- If you're looking for a soft, furry friend to add to your family this holiday season, consider a chinchilla from the Maine Chinchilla Shelter.
Marianne brought the adorable chinchillas, along with lessons on how to care for the creatures to the newscast today. This week, Adrienne learned how to properly hold a chinchilla. With fragile rib cages and surprisingly strong tails, chinchillas prefer to balance all four feet on your hand or on the length of your arm, like a shelf, while you use your other hand to secure them by the tail. If you're calm, chances are your chinchilla friend will also be calm.
The Maine Chinchilla Shelter takes in chinchillas that have been surrendered or saved from neglectful situations, some have even been victims of animal hoarders. Marianne and her team of volunteers specialize in nursing the chinchillas back to help and then educating adopters about their unique needs.
Chinchillas have some of the thickest fur in the world, and because of that they require cool, dry temperatures below 60 degrees. This means a temperature controlled space is a must. Other than that, these little critters require very little extra maintenance: hay and pellets, dust for bathing, and a cage they can "burrow" into placed in a quiet space. When cared for properly, chinchillas can keep you company for years to come!
Do you think you have enough room in your home and heart for a rescue chinchilla? Contact the Maine Chinchilla Shelter today!
Fetch ME a Home airs every Saturday on the Weekend Morning Report. If you're interest in adopting other pets, you can do so at any of these other animal shelters near you: The Ark, New Hampshire SPCA, Kennebec Humane Society, Coastal Aroostook Humane Society, PAWS, SPCA of Hancock County, Cocheco Valley Humane Society, Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, Lucky Pup Rescue, Coastal Humane Society, Maine Chinchilla Shelter, and Animal Welfare Society.