How big does a Short-tailed chinchilla get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla) reaches an average size of 30.5 cm (1′ 1″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). Usually, they reach an age of 10 years. A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 499 grams (1.1 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Short-tailed chinchillas have 2 babies about 2 times per year. The Short-tailed chinchilla (genus: Chinchilla) is a member of the family Chinchillidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.

The short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla; formerly C. brevicaudata)—also called the Bolivian, Peruvian, or royal chinchilla—is an endangered species of South American rodent, and one of two species in the genus Chinchilla. Their original native range extended throughout the Andes Mountains of Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. These animals were exploited for their luxurious fur, causing their numbers in the wild to dwindle. The other species of chinchilla is also endangered; C. lanigera, or the long-tailed chinchilla, is the wild ancestor of the domestic chinchilla, which is commonly raised as a pocket pet throughout the world.
Animals of the same family as a Short-tailed chinchilla
We found other animals of the Chinchillidae family:
- Northern viscacha with a size of 34.2 cm (1′ 2″)
- Long-tailed chinchilla with a size of 30.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Short-tailed chinchilla with a size of 30.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Southern viscacha with 1 babies per litter
- Plains viscacha with a size of 52.4 cm (1′ 9″)
- Wolffsohn’s viscacha bringing 2.68 kilos (5.91 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Short-tailed chinchilla
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Short-tailed chinchilla:
- San José brush rabbit with a size of 29.4 cm (1′ 0″)
- Volcano rabbit with a size of 29.7 cm (1′ 0″)
- D’Albertis’ ringtail possum with a size of 32.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Brown four-eyed opossum with a size of 26.1 cm (0′ 11″)
- Slender-tailed squirrel with a size of 26.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Lord Derby’s scaly-tailed squirrel with a size of 35.7 cm (1′ 3″)
- Collared titi with a size of 29.4 cm (1′ 0″)
- Northern glider with a size of 25.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Painted ringtail possum with a size of 26.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Indonesian mountain weasel with a size of 30.9 cm (1′ 1″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Short-tailed chinchilla
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (2) as a Short-tailed chinchilla:
- Moupin pika
- Moncton’s mosaic-tailed rat
- Kellen’s dormouse
- Balkan snow vole
- African civet
- Common echymipera
- Smith’s red rock hare
- Golden-headed lion tamarin
- Greater dwarf shrew
- Golden mouse
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Short-tailed chinchilla
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Short-tailed chinchilla:
- Long-tailed porcupine with an average maximal age of 10.08 years
- Black-tailed prairie dog with an average maximal age of 8.5 years
- Hispaniolan solenodon with an average maximal age of 11.33 years
- Parti-coloured bat with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Ground cuscus with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Groundhog with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Taruca with an average maximal age of 10.58 years
- Blue duiker with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Masoala fork-marked lemur with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Jamaican fruit bat with an average maximal age of 10 years
Animals with the same weight as a Short-tailed chinchilla
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Chinchilla chinchilla:
- Golden-rumped elephant shrew bringing 535 grams to the scale
- Greater bandicoot rat bringing 583 grams to the scale
- Mountain giant Sunda rat bringing 419 grams to the scale
- Bougainville monkey-faced bat bringing 573 grams to the scale
- Yellow-bellied glider bringing 568 grams to the scale
- Eastern gray squirrel bringing 546 grams to the scale
- Mauritian flying fox bringing 473 grams to the scale
- Colburn’s tuco-tuco bringing 400 grams to the scale
- Smoky pocket gopher bringing 403 grams to the scale
- Masoala fork-marked lemur bringing 409 grams to the scale
