When my first chinchilla Gizmo died in May 1996 it was clear to me that I wanted to take care of another chinchilla. So I contacted a hobby-breeder near by and immediately fell in love with two of her chin babies. They were only about one month of age and so cute. I had to be patient though because chinchillas should stay with their moms for about 2-3 months. Anyway, it was worth waiting! My initial doubts if two male chinchillas would get along (it does not always work) were unwarranted and as long as it wasn't about food or their favorite places they were the best of friends.


Pebble was more dominant and usually ate twice as fast as Urmeli. Their favorite food consisted of small pieces of fresh apple, raisins and sunflower seeds. Since those delicacies should only be fed in small quantities they were not on Urmeli and Pebble's menu as often as they would have liked. Nevertheless they did not touch one single pellet before they were sure that they would not be given another delicious treat.


When it was was time for their excursions to the living-room I did not get to rest a single moment. If Urmeli decided to stop gnawing for a while it was for sure that Pebble was just about to destroy a piece of furniture in the opposite corner of the room or the other way round. So they really kept me busy. Interior such as chairs and small tables were carried out of the room by me anyway before letting them out of their cage, but there always seemed to be something worth biting into.


Pebble was more a "down to earth" chinchilla and heights were rather safe from him whereas Urmeli was able to reach almost everything. They also loved to sit on top of me or use my arms and legs as climbing help.
When it was time to clean out their cage they got really excited. Again and again they checked if everything was still in place. A special highlight was the refill of their dust bath. Urmeli and Pebble simply loved the smell of fresh sand and usually tried to jump inside and roll over simultaneously, which was really funny to watch.


They usually returned to their spacious cage voluntarily. Sometimes they hid underneath the sofa to take a nap and nobody in the whole world would have been able to make them come out again (even food did not work there). In that case the only thing I could do was to wait for them to regain their curiosity.


Urmeli's sudden death in May 2001 was a big shock for me, since he appeared completely lively and healthy while exploring the living-room a couple of hours before. What led to his unexpected death will probably remain a mistery forever...
Pebble of course suffered a lot, because all of a sudden he was on his own, missing Urmeli so much. Therefore I decided to find him a good new home where he would be able to find a new friend, even though it was a very difficult decision for me. It did not take very long before he moved in with Carolin's Gismo. They get along so well and I am very glad for him:-)


Iam sure I will always remember the great time I had with Urmeli and Pebble. Urmeli met Gizmo at the RAINBOWBRIDGE and I am sure that they became good friends;-)
There are more photos of Urmeli and Pebble on the following two pages!