You may wonder what the name Camphor Chins means. As a child, I fell in love with the movie "My Neighbor Totoro". In the movie, there are two small children, Mei and Satsuki, who run into a mythical creature living in the woods near their house. This creature is called O Totoro. He also has friends named Chu Totoro and Chibi Totoro. These Totoros all live underneath the gigantic Camphor tree in the woods. Often times during the day, Totoro can be found sleeping within his Camphor tree, and during the night, he comes out and plays with the girls.

In my opinion, the Totoros all resemble chinchillas. I knew that when I got a chinchilla, I would name it after Totoro. But since I have all girls, I have gone with girly names like Chibi, Mei, and Suki. Chibi for the small white Chibi totoro, and Mei for the little girl. Because of my love for Totoro and my interest in the Japanese culture, I have decided to name my small group of chins in honor of him.

I just recently fell in love with chinchillas. In August of 2006, I got my first chinchilla, a standard named Chibi. It was before I really knew anything and she came from a girl who was breeding petstore chins. I now know that this is a very bad idea, but I wouldn't give Chibi up for the world. She is by far my most cuddly chin and loves everyone (well except for other chinchillas that is).

Right before I got her, I joined the forum Chins-N-Quills and found that there was a whole world that I had never known about. I tried to learn everything that I could about the care of these wonderful creatures.

I soon realized what many chin owners realize, you can't stop at just one. So by October, I was getting ready to get a second chin. This time, I got my chinchilla from a large ranch. I got my beige girl, who I named Mei. I tried introducing Mei to Chibi after the proper quarantine time but Chibi didn't want a friend. So Chibi lives in her own palace.

Since then, I have gotten two new chinchillas. Originally I had planned on getting a mosaic but when that had to be postponed, I still felt the need to get a chin. So when I went to visit with some other chinchilla people, I learned that my friend Tanya a breeder in Duluth had a little black velvet girl looking for a pet home, I couldn't resist. So I went home with a new little black velvet that weekend. I decided to name her Kona after my love for Hawaii. A week later, I made arrangements to go get that little mosaic girl. I decided to name her MuShu. So now, I have four chinchillas. Some people might think this is alot, but they obviously have never owned any chins.

I try to provide chinchillas with supplies and their owners with crafts to show their love for their chins. I am so glad that I have discovered chinchillas, and I wouldn't want it any other way.