Playful and cute little chinchillas are relatively easy to look after

Ten years ago Iris Tai Chiu-man was given a chinchilla by a friend. Since then, she has fallen in love with these furry little creatures and now has four named Mong Mong, Tong Yuen, Chi Ma and Bei Bei.

'They are so cute and furry,' says Tai, who has owned eight Chinchillas over the years. 'I don't need a lot of time to take care of them. And they mostly sleep in the day, so I don't worry that they are lonely when I go to work.'

Coming from the crepuscular rodent family, chinchillas look like a rounded, short-eared rabbit about the size of a guinea pig. On average, these nocturnal animals live for 10 to 15 years, but some have been known to live for more than 20 years. In the past, Tai's chinchillas lived in harmony, sharing their food, water and cage. But Tai's present gang are feisty critters who fight at any opportunity. The only solution was to house them separately in their own cage.

Every day, Tai feeds pellets to her chinchillas and cleans their toilet bowls, which are covered with sawdust. And twice a week she gives them a quick five-minute dust bath that helps to keep their coat in good condition.

When she comes home from work, she says her four furry friends are excited to see her. 'They jump up and down in their cage and make noises to draw my attention,' she says. 'They want to come out and play.'

As their teeth continually grow throughout their life, chinchillas are prone to chewing hard objects. 'I must give them wooden toys to bite, or else they will bite anything that's made of wood - the door, a table and the chairs,' she says. 'And they like biting electrical wires too.'