As Pets often give birth to rodents. Today become a popular pet chipmunks. Animals resemble squirrels, however, are tamed to the man faster than the second.
They do not require complex care, to care for them is no more difficult than hamsters or rats. These beings live for quite a while. However, before buying a Chipmunk you need to know about the features of his detention in the home to create the most favorable conditions for life.
Description of the animal
Animal different red color. We all know that the Chipmunk has five dark-brown stripes along the back. The abdomen is usually a light shade. Animals have small dark eyes and oversized cheeks, where they hide food. The length of these rodents reach 15-16 see This kind of animal is clean, so their skin is always clean, nice and neat.
Chipmunks are active and energetic animals. In nature they move quickly and love to explore new territory. But the small sizes are not conducive to high life expectancy, as these rodents are often hunted large animals. Mink for yourself, the animals dig among the roots of decaying stumps or trees. In hibernation the chipmunks hibernate from early autumn until the spring.
All these characteristics of the pet you need to consider before you decide to have it at home.
Chipmunk at home
For the Chipmunk in captivity, it is necessary to create comfortable conditions for living, which will best resemble the natural habitat. If you provide the animal with everything necessary, then he will feel comfortable and will quickly get used to its owner. In natural conditions the animal lives an average of 3-4 years. With the right content at home he can live up to 9-10 years.
Basic rules when the content of the chipmunks building:
- The presence of cells. For rodent need a large cage, where he will be able to move freely and not feel awkward.
- Cleaning home animal 1-2 times a week. To the cell is less polluted, its bottom should fill with sawdust or fallen dry leaves.
- Equipment housing shelters, the perch and the wheel.
- Providing the pet with food and water. The diet should be balanced and regular. Food and water must be fresh.
- Control of the number of stocks Chipmunk. Animals can hide in their shelters to 8 kg of food. Stale food must promptly clean up.
- Organization of hibernation. Before the onset of hibernation chipmunks are required to sit in different places so they did not show each other the aggression that they have in this period. But in the spring they can again be kept in one housing.
- The organization of peace. The animal is awake only during the day. In the evening when he goes to sleep, it should not be disturbed.
Knowing these rules, maintenance and care for a pet does not take a lot of time and effort.
The chipmunks quickly become tame if they immediately begin to feed from the hand. After a while they will ask something to eat, printa. To release a Chipmunk walk across the room after a few weeks, when he’ll get used to the new conditions of life. We should not forget about shustrosti these creatures, you have to watch them so they don’t go under beds or cabinets, where they will be difficult to get.
Cage for Chipmunk
For home Chipmunk necessarily need to purchase a cage. Once free, it will climb everywhere where there are no barriers, and thus out of the Windows or balcony it will not be difficult.
Safe housing for the animal will be a metal cage. She should be tall and spacious. The ideal option would be the cell height of 1 m with a width and a length of 0.5 m. But even in this space need to walk their pet around the apartment, making sure he never hid and jumped outside.
Filler can serve as dry leaves, peat or sawdust. Synthetic materials are excluded. To remove debris, it will be convenient if the cage will slide-out drip tray.
In the home for a pet you should install a few shelves-floors, which should lead cords, sticks or ladders. A prerequisite for Chipmunk will be the availability of house. He will feel safe in extra cover. Because animals often do power supplies, should make them 2-3 house: one of them will be sleeper and a storage of food that need to be cleaned from the tainted products. You also need to carry out regular disinfection, and other secluded places.
To maintain muscle tone and good mood Chipmunk will need to do a running wheel similar to what you gain for hamsters.
Rodents sometimes I want to build myself a little nest, where they will be cozy and comfortable to sleep at night. This Chipmunk is necessary to provide a small amount of hay and leaves. From this raw material, he makes a litter in one of the indoor houses. Day formed a nest must be removed to ventilate the shelter.
Chipmunks coexist at moderate temperatures, not exceeding the bar 24 degrees. Heat can not only cause poor health, but also lead to the death of the animal. The cage should be in a shaded place. If while walking around the room the hot rays of the sun will fill almost all the space of the room, the animal could hide from them in your home.
The diet of chipmunks
In nature, these rodents feed on nuts and cereals. They often eat insects and larvae. Will not refuse animals from vegetables and fruits, if you can find them. Sometimes small animals or birds become their prey, but most of the food for chipmunks is vegetation.
The pet feeder should be filled every day. Chipmunks – very intelligent creatures. They are impossible to overfeed. They eat as much as they need, and the rest is taken away to their hiding places, where they make up a small warehouse products.
Correctly composed diet ensures that the animal will live a long life without various diseases. For chipmunks made a specialized feed that contains solid food, useful for piecing together the growing teeth, and other nutrients. For grinding the cutters can be put in a cage a couple of pieces of chalk or twigs.
But you can make your own ration for your pet. The diet should consist of the following products:
- Nuts (peanuts, cashew, cedar),
- Acorns
- Flax seeds, sunflower and pumpkin
- Oat and wheat flakes,
- Corn,
- Fruit,
- Berries
- Dandelions.
Rind purchase fruit is often treated with various chemicals, so it must be removed, otherwise the animal may get poisoned. To avoid problems with digestion, animals do not feed watermelons, melons and grapes. Experts do not recommend to include in the basic diet almonds: this nut contains silicon acid which is harmful to the health of chipmunks.
A pet can feed on sugar, cheese, cookies and milk cereals, which are a favourite food of the animal.
In the summer of the Chipmunk should be fed food containing animal protein:
- Eggs,
- Insects
- The larvae of the flour worm,
- Snails
- Bugs,
- Slugs,
- Grasshoppers.
During the cold seasons for Pets should I buy dry insects.
So the food stocks in the house is not rotten, need every day to check the shelter and remove spoiled food. We should not forget about the water in the troughs, which should be changed every day.
Chipmunk is cleanliness. From him will come the smell, which is observed in hamsters, so it does not need the EN procedures. But the condition of the cell owner would need to follow daily.
These cute and funny easy to get along with person. You can give them into the hands of neat children without fear that their animals can bite. The right attitude to the Chipmunk helps him quickly settle into the home and live in his pleasure.
