How to care for a chipmunk at home

Chipmunks - mammals belonging to the order of rodents from the squirrel family. These animals live mainly in North America, where they are distributed almost everywhere: from northern Canada to Mexico. In Europe, Chipmunks of the Siberian species inhabit the northern part of the mainland, which falls on the territory of Russia and China. Now these pets can be found in Central Europe, where they were brought by breeders.

Chipmunks in natural habitat

Those who are going to get this rather exotic animal at home should get acquainted with the features of his life in the wild. The appearance of all the chipmunks is the same, their distinctive feature is five dark stripes on the back, separated by light stripes. The tail of the animal is longer and less fluffy compared to squirrels. The rest of the animals are very similar. Chipmunk weight rarely exceeds 100g.

Lifestyle

Chipmunks live in the forest. The animal creates a long hole in the area of ​​the roots of shrubs and low trees. Housing is carefully hidden from surrounding eyes, has several branches and a place to store supplies.

In winter, the animal falls into shallow hibernation, during which it wakes up several times. Chipmunks love sunlight, in the spring they spend in the sun all day. In summer, animals hide in the shade when the sun is at its zenith. The activity of the pet is directly dependent on the ambient temperature.

Power Features

Chipmunks hide the found food items behind cheeks to transfer to a mink. There, part of the food is eaten, and part is stored for the winter. During short awakenings, the animal will eat from these reserves. Thus, more than 5 kg of food can be prepared.

Breeding

Pregnancy in a female chipmunk lasts approximately 30 days. During the year, one female hatches the cubs twice: in spring and summer. In one litter, from 5 to 8 individuals are more often observed. Chipmunks bring up cubs alone. These animals do not like the company of their own kind, adults do not live two in one hole.

The life span of the chipmunk in the wild does not exceed three years.

How to choose a chipmunk

Chipmunk is an exotic animal enough for keeping at home. You can buy it at a zoological store or from a breeder. The price range is very wide. If you buy a chipmunk from a conscientious breeder, the pet will cost more, but the chances of getting a healthy domesticated animal increase dramatically.

Buying is best done in the spring and summer. In the warm season, chipmunks are most active, therefore, you can track their condition. In the autumn, the animal becomes aggressive, and in winter it can fall into hibernation or become dynamic. To recognize a sick animal in this case will be difficult. After the purchase or before it should show the pet to the veterinarian.

You can meet a chipmunk in a natural habitat. It is difficult to catch him, because the animal runs fast enough, knows how to jump and hide. Chipmunks minks are designed in such a way that it is difficult to find them even for a dog.Trying to tame a wild animal is strongly discouraged. It is difficult for the chipmunks living in the wild to get used to the new conditions of existence. Such a pet will feel uncomfortable at home, and may die or escape.

Cell selection and equipment

Chipmunk is an active animal, therefore the cage should be selected as large as possible. The bottom must be covered with any organic material, which will not be a pity to throw away, since it will be necessary to change the litter often. Chipmunks are very clean, therefore the cage and all its components will need to be washed, cleaned or changed.

Equip the cell should be in sectors. Let the animal choose where he wants to sleep, eat food, and send in his natural needs. A distinctive feature of the chipmunks is that they themselves choose a place for the toilet and do not cope with their need elsewhere. Therefore, letting the animal go for a walk around the house, do not worry about the cleanliness of carpets and furniture.

There must be a closed house in the cage. He will imitate the mink in which the chipmunk lives in vivo. The litter of the house is best made of hay or grass and aired daily. Here the chipmunk will sleep and possibly store supplies. In addition, the chipmunk must have a wheel. The cage must have a roof and close securely.

Chipmunk Food

As already mentioned, this animal eats everything that it finds. Chipmunk can be fed with cereals, sunflower seeds, cereals, all nuts, except almonds, thick cereals. These pets are real sweet tooth, therefore they will be happy with liver, sugar, berries and fruits. Solid foods must be alternated with soft foods. In addition, you can buy special balanced food for the chipmunks at the pet store. A piece of chalk should be put in the cage, his animal also loves.

The chipmunk needs to be given more food than it can eat, because it will postpone part of the products. Chipmunks are often stockpiled in their own cells. It is necessary to check and refresh them periodically so that the animal does not eat the spoiled product.

Basic content rules

Chipmunks care has several important features and rules, which are mandatory.

1. Let your pet go for a walk around the house, but don't lose sight of it. Chipmunks love to run around spacious rooms, but can escape through an open door or even jump out of a window. Be sure to close the windows before releasing the chipmunk.
2. Let him house the kitchen periodically. Chipmunk needs to get food for winter stock. He doesn’t care that he is well fed all year round, this is instinct.
3. Always close the cage. First, the animal can escape; secondly, a nimble animal risks being accidentally crushed; thirdly, it is capable of quickly emptying your stocks of cereals.
4. Feed the chipmunk sweet with your hands; this is to position the animal to the owner.
5. Each chipmunk should have its own cage. Several animals can be kept together only in spring and summer, while in the cage there must be a house for everyone. In the fall, chipmunks become aggressive and dangerous to relatives.

If you follow all the rules for caring for the chipmunk, he will remain healthy and active for a long time. The life span of an animal in captivity can reach 10 years.

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