I voted this time around based on the chins I currently have, but my oldest chinchilla lived to be approximately 16 years old.
Henry was just under 16 years old when he passed away. I honestly don't remember the circumstances under which he died, but I do know that he had been sick for quite some time and that he was on a range of different antibiotics and oral treatments at the time of his death. I grew up with Henry and while I was young yet when he passed on, he was a fixture of my childhood and I remember so many of his antics.
After Henry passed away we acquired Tallulah and Zsa-Zsa. Tallulah had to be put down shortly after her third birthday due to malo and Zsa-Zsa died a year after that at age 4. She also was put down due to malo. The two girls were litter mates and we later found out that the breeder we got them from had a history of knowingly breeding chins with malo.
There was a trio of male chins following the deaths of the girls, but my mother's boyfriend got rid of them one day while my mother was at work and we were at school. They were all under 3 years old at that point and I truly hope they were given to someone who was willing to care and provide for them. I prefer thinking that than the alternative, but I digress...
My oldest chin now is Celia. She is almost 3 years old. Bria is 2 years old. And Leighton and Ashton are both just about 1.5 years old. I'm grateful that I have had the experience I've had with chins while growing up and I know first hand that chins can lead happy and healthy lives well into their teens (and beyond). Thankfully my girls are still young, but with help from this forum and others with far more experience than me, I am hopeful that my current chinnie girls can lead healthy and long lives as well.
