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Pearson's Exotics

Debbie and Shawn fell in love with Chinchillas in 1995. We were already knee deep into breeding all sorts of Reptiles, as well as Show Ferrets, Fancy Mice and Rats, Dwarf Hamsters, Degu, African Dormice, etc., and so on. We had always been involved helping friends with dog and cat rescues, so an exotic animal rescue just sort of happened to us. LOL! In 1996 we started TEARS (The Exotic Animal Rescue Shelter) for small exotics. Of course, because of Shawn's 21 years of experience with reptiles, many of the ones we found ourselves rescuing were anything but small.

Then the first Chinchilla came through our door. It was a poor emaciated little thing, barely able to walk. Even after it recovered, it was never really as "friendly" as we were learning they could be (not that it was a surprise, given it's prior living conditions), but there was an undeniable intelligence and personality that we fell in love with. Soon we purchased some breeders, reasoning that we would rather raise babies ourselves, to ensure they would get the best treatment and be fully bonded to us. Wow, was that rewarding!!!! As I type this, we have 28 of these wonderful characters, and all but the original breeders, and 3 rescues are pets, as well as occasional breeders.

We haven't gone to the extremes of developing show quality lines (yet), but have a number of beautiful color morphs already. While the Beiges, Pink Whites, etc are probably the most beautiful, we can't help being partial to the Mosaics. I'm not sure why, but we just love them.

Well, thanks for letting me ramble on so long. If you've read this far, you either already love Chinchillas, or you will love them.

Submitted: July 6/00