| Abstrakt: |
Simple Summary: The authors investigated what size cage adult chinchillas preferred when given a free choice. Compared to the cages traditionally used in chinchilla farms, the tested cages had a larger floor area, higher height, or both. It was found that the chinchillas chose cages with smaller floor areas and lower heights more often. Especially during the resting period, there was a significant difference between the choice of cages. The explanation for the results is that the wild chinchilla hides from predators in a narrow place, usually seeking shelter between rocks. Chinchillas in farms have retained this behavior and prefer smaller, more protected cages. The study aimed to investigate adult chinchillas' preferences when choosing between cages with different floor areas, heights, or both. The size of the cages with a larger floor area was double that of the standard-sized cages in the farms (0.25 and 0.50 m2), while their height was 2.4 times that of the standard-sized cages (0.4 and 1 m). The chinchillas (10–14 in each cohort) were housed in blocks of cages where they could move freely between the smaller and larger cages. The chinchillas' location preferences were monitored continuously over five days using infrared video recording. The chinchillas were observed in the cages with smaller floor areas 1.9 and 2.7 times more frequently than in the larger ones (p < 0.001) during the dark (active) and light (resting) periods of the day, respectively. When the cage height was 0.4 m, they chose it 3.4 and 6.7 times more frequently, respectively, than the cage that was 1 m high (p < 0.001). When both the floor size and the height were increased, the chinchillas still favored the smaller and lower cages (p < 0.001). The study findings suggest that adult chinchillas show a preference for smaller and shorter cages when the small and large cages are not environment enrichment barren, especially during the rest period of the day, even when the floor area, height, or both are increased. In the future, it would be important to investigate different forms of cage enrichment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
