The homeland of the chipmunk and its behavior in the wild, a description of its appearance, advice on keeping a rodent at home, possible difficulties, purchase. On our big planet, it is probably impossible to find such a person who would not know who the chipmunk is. Not everyone has read encyclopedias or books about animals that contain a description of these animals, but the fact that most of the population of our world saw a cartoon about two cute chipmunks Chip and Dale, who are always in a hurry to help, is a fact.
Today there is an opportunity to admire this fluffy creation of nature not only on TV screens, but also in your home. It has been very fashionable to have such a cub as a pet lately, especially among fans of a variety of rodents, such as hamsters or guinea pigs.
Keeping a chipmunk in an apartment is a pleasure, in view of its cleanliness, unpretentiousness in food, and besides, its daytime activity and a restful night's sleep. In addition, nature has awarded this rodent with a very outstanding appearance, which attracts attention at first sight.
A chipmunk in your house is a funny and playful animal that will not leave indifferent to its person not only all the inhabitants of your house, but also everyone who will come to visit you.
Origin and home territories of the animal
The Siberian chipmunk (Latin Tamias sibiricus) is a cute little animal that belongs to a large detachment of rodents, the class of mammals, the family of squirrels and the genus of the same name of chipmunks.
In order to meet this wonderful rodent in its natural habitat, there is no need to buy expensive plane tickets and go to the ends of the world. They live very nearby, namely in Russia, in its European part, in the Urals, their largest population is observed in Siberia and the Far East. There is no most suitable place for the chipmunk to live, he feels quite comfortable in dense coniferous and deciduous forests, as well as in the forest-steppe and in the middle of meadows where tall grass grows, and in impassable thickets of bushes and even in rocky terrain. The only natural locations that this animal tries to bypass are swamps and forests with high humidity, nevertheless, it likes a dry climate more.
Features of the behavior of chipmunks in the wild
By their disposition, these pretty animals are very active and mobile, their period of activity falls on the daytime. They are great at climbing trees, although they spend most of their lives either on the ground or in their houses. As a dwelling, these hardworking animals use burrows of medium depth, which they construct with their own paws. A place for housing construction is most often chosen near trees, and occasionally they can settle near large bushes. By nature, they are very calculating and thrifty, therefore, when chipmunks start digging a home for themselves, they try to "equip" several burrows at once, which inside look like a full-fledged city apartment. Usually this "apartment" of a chipmunk consists of a "bedroom" where the animal rests and several "utility rooms", where it stores its food supplies. After all, they have a habit of making large supplies of food for the winter and they need to store them somewhere. Also in their house there must be a separate "room", which the chipmunks use as a restroom.
In the warm season, these hard workers prefer to live where there is more fresh air. These can be crevices of old trees, hollows and birdhouses located at a low height.
Despite the fact that these mammals tend to hibernate, which usually lasts from October to the end of March, they admit the thought that they may wake up in the middle of winter and want to eat a little, this is where their supplies will come in handy. Chipmunks usually begin to collect food from August; as food for the cold season, they prefer various nuts, acorns, berries and dried mushrooms. When this Siberian rodent is working on replenishing his personal "refrigerator", he is not intimidated by either the long distances or the weight of the food. Sometimes animals carry food in their cheek pouches at a distance of over 1000 m, and about 5–7 kg of goodies accumulate in their burrows.
As for the summer diet of chipmunks, it is a little more varied, he gladly treats himself to young shoots of plants, a variety of berries and seeds, sometimes he can afford to eat a few small insects. These fluffy eccentrics are very independent and like to live in splendid isolation, so for his habitat each chipmunk occupies its own separate area. This mammal is not the most hospitable animal, so if one of the relatives comes to their personal territory or, moreover, climbs into their hole, the owner of these possessions will react very aggressively to this visit.
But he can show such heroism and courage only in relation to other representatives of his kind, there are other enemies in nature, which, unfortunately, the chipmunk cannot drive away. Namely, these are squirrels, sables and, oddly enough, bears. These animals, climbing into a dwelling to a fluffy small animal, do not plan to attack it, usually they pursue the goal of feasting on the supplies of a prudent owner.
Usually, these pretty rodents live in their native lands for their entire life period, but if it happens that there is no opportunity to eat well in this area, then they can change their place of residence to a more comfortable one. Chipmunks do not love their relatives very much only when they come to visit them, but if any danger approaches, the animals consider it their duty to notify all their neighbors about it. They use whistles as alarms, or the so-called trill, which can be heard quite far away. Also in their "vocabulary" you can hear a kind of "grunt", it is usually emitted by females during the mating season. A common thing for these animals is to warn all forest dwellers about the upcoming rain, for this they have their own original sound - "burunbu-ryu-burun", who knows, perhaps thanks to him the animal got its name.
These animals reach sexual maturity already at the age of one. With the arrival of a warm spring, when the day becomes longer, the first leaves can be seen on the tree branches, and the mating season begins in beautiful rodents. When to enter the process of mating and with whom to do it - usually the female decides. As soon as she made such a decision, she begins to call her chosen one in every possible way, with the help of sound signals and playful behavior, as if giving permission to the male to mate with her. It happens that mating did not take place on the day chosen by the "woman" - the chipmunk, then in this case, it is worth waiting for two or three weeks and the female will start estrus again.
The gestation period in chipmunks lasts about 25–35 days, at the end of this period 5–10 baby chipmunks are born, which for the first month feed exclusively on breast milk. Then the mother gradually accustom her children to more adult food, and after a few weeks, the children completely leave the parental nest and go to settle in their adult independent life.
Description of the appearance of an Asian chipmunk
Nature has awarded this representative of the animal kingdom with a very beautiful and memorable appearance. Chipmunk is a very miniature animal with a muscular body and a very fluffy tail. Its small body weighs on average from 80 to 120 grams, the body length is about 11-19 cm, and the length of the caudal process is about 7-14 cm.
The body of this rodent is wrapped in thick fluffy fur, which is painted in a slightly reddish color; in the projection of the back, you can easily see some kind of decoration - these are five black lines that are located vertically.
Chipmunk maintenance, home care
In the event that someone has a question about taming this fluffy representative of the rodent squad, then you can be calm - it is not at all difficult to find an approach to the chipmunk. With regard to this animal, it can be confidently asserted that the path to its heart and favor lies through the stomach and a little thanks to its greed and thrifty. If you regularly offer him some delicacies that he will gladly accept from you and hide for himself "for a rainy day", you will very soon become his best friend.
Caring for such a pet as a chipmunk is a pleasure, it is not at all whimsical either in living conditions or in food, and besides, it is also very clean by nature. With a minimum of effort, you will end up with a loyal friend who will always look forward to waiting for you from work and cheer you up every minute.
Before you bring a new resident into your house, who will be a chipmunk, it is highly recommended that you arrange housing for him in advance. After all, this comrade is not only very mobile, but also very curious, letting him go for a walk around the apartment, he not only can do some kind of dirty trick, but he can easily get under the sofa or bedside table. It will not be so easy to get it from there, especially if you have not yet had time to make friends with him properly, in such a situation even the offered goodies may be powerless. Even worse, this sly guy can easily jump out the window or sneak out through the front door, so during such trips around the house you need an eye and an eye for him.
A medium-sized cage is perfect as his personal home, but by no means small. When you buy a cage, you need to remember that your pet should be able to walk around it, you also need to provide that there should be a place in his home for a variety of entertainment, such as shelves and various driftwood. You can also install a running wheel for your pet, he will definitely like this structure, he will rush there with pleasure, which will please you, and he himself will maintain his physical shape, well, and a good mood.
It will also be good to set up a small house in the chipmunk's cage, in which your cub will rest and put the saved food. Your little friend may have a desire to furnish his house according to his personal taste, having built a nest there, in this case it would be good to provide him with "building materials", for example, hay, leaves, small branches and even pieces of cloth, this will be his bedding. But it is better to clean the flooring during the day for airing, and return it to its place in the late afternoon.
Although the chipmunk is a great lover of cleanliness and order and never smells bad from him, one should not forget about regular cleaning of his house. After all, hidden products tend to deteriorate and rot - these are both unpleasant odors and junk food for your pet, well, and an excellent environment for unwanted animals.
By natural need, the chipmunk usually goes to the same place.
The correct temperature regime is the key to good health and good mood for your pet. He does not tolerate heat very well, so it is recommended to put his cage in a shaded place, but it is also not worth keeping him constantly in the shade. Sometimes you can put his dwelling on the windowsill so that your friend can breathe fresh air and bask in the sun, in summer such "walks" should be done in the morning, when the sun is not yet scorching, and in the spring your fluffy lodger can spend much more time under the sun.
The fact that your pet has personal living space does not at all imply the fact that it must be there all the time. When you have free time, you can take it out for a walk. But this should be done under your personal, careful supervision. It is better, of course, that he walk in a closed room, so the likelihood that your miniature pupil will be lost is very minimal.
Despite the fact that the chipmunk as a pet is not very common, it is not at all difficult to feed it. The main food for it can be purchased at any pet store, only on the packaging, not a chipmunk will be drawn, but a hamster or a guinea pig. It is also not at all difficult to compose a diet for him on his own, the favorite products of such an animal are nuts, berries, oatmeal, dandelions, sunflower seeds, fruits, both fresh and dried, and acorns. With great pleasure, these mammals feast on a cube of other sugar, cookies, cottage cheese and milk porridge, hard-boiled eggs. From time to time, you can include live food in your pet's menu, he will not give up crickets, mealy worm larvae or some kind of bug.
Usually these animals themselves ask for food when they are hungry, but you should learn to distinguish when the animal is hungry and asks for food from begging for an extra portion of food, which he will immediately take away to some secluded place, and they will whine almost constantly.
It is very important that the chipmunk always has clean drinking water in the cage; it is good to use containers designed for parrots as a drinker.
Possible Chipmunk Health Problems
“We are responsible for those we have tamed” - this is really so, because, having brought to the house one of the representatives of the world fauna, you should be aware not only of what this or that animal eats, where it lives and how it has fun, but also what it hurts. After all, knowing about some of the pathological conditions that most often occur in your smaller friend, you will not only be ready for anything, but also be able to prevent and diagnose them at the initial stages.
Like all animals, the small fragile organism of the chipmunk is prone to various diseases.
- Heart problems. It is important for this fluffy animal that his life is calm and measured, sudden stresses and shocks can lead to the so-called "heart attack" in your friend. If you notice that your pet lies motionless, his breathing is shallow and rapid - call the veterinarian, and in the meantime, it is good to moisten his fur with cool water and transfer the patient to a shaded cool place.
- Respiratory tract diseases. This is not to say that the chipmunk is very sensitive to cool indoor conditions or drafts, it's all about its immunity. With improper nutrition and hypovitaminosis, the pathogenic flora will immediately begin to flourish in his little body and, possibly, the onset of symptoms of acute respiratory infections, if treatment is not started in time, your rodent may develop pnia.
Also, these animals can develop inflammatory skin diseases, parasitic diseases and pathologies from the gastrointestinal tract.
Acquiring a chipmunk
It is not at all difficult to buy a chipmunk, and not particularly expensive, the average cost of one individual is from 3,000 to 6,000 rubles. It is important to remember that it is better to bring an animal from a pet store to your house, because in natural conditions these animals are carriers of such dangerous diseases as toxoplasmosis, tick-borne borreliosis and even the plague.
See what a chipmunk looks like in this video:
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