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

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 (<i>n</i> = 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 indicators of good welfare, such as playing and cuddling with conspecifics, were observed several times per day by 40.9% and 87.9% of the respondents, respectively. Repetitive and unwanted behaviors were less common (fur biting, for instance, occurred 'never' in 82.9%). Caretakers rated their animals as generally more stressed if the animal was ill and more often showed fearful behavior toward them. Caretakers feeling closer to their animals spent more time engaging with them. Correct identification of this kind of association could be used as guidance for recommendations to improve chinchilla welfare at home and in the veterinary setting.