Chinchilla Community Forums

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General Chat / Chirping chinny.

« on: August 19, 2015, 02:15:17 PM »

I have three male chins, all housed together. The calmest one has started kind of chirping at me if I'm eye-level with the shelf and talking to them. It's not an angry 'cack' or teeth chattering, but it's not quiet communication beeps either, like they do when they are playing. He doesn't seem to be distressed or in pain, but I've had my one chinchilla for several years and he's never made any noises like that. It's hard to tell what 'normal' is when they all have such varied personalities and habits! Has anyone experienced this or know what it means? Thanks!

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Q & A / Added two chins to my family

« on: February 24, 2015, 11:46:24 PM »

Recently added two young male chinchillas to my household, in addition to my four year old male. They seem to be getting on great, but I would like to know what behaviours to be aware of/ try to nip in the bud, and what behaviours are natural and I should leave alone. Thanks!

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Q & A / Possessiveness/ jealousy?

« on: November 26, 2013, 07:28:44 PM »

I recently moved in with my boyfriend, and brought my chinchilla with me. My fluffball seemed to take the move well, but I've noticed a new behavior. When interacting with my boyfriend while I'm not there, Chester is calm, happy and receptive to interaction and affection. But if I'm there (not even necessarily right next to them, even if I'm in the house!) Chester gets abnormally aggressive toward my boyfriend. Barking, grabbing onto the bars of his cage and kind of headbutting. I've never seen him exhibit this kind of behavior with anyone else, friends or roommates.

Has anyone else experienced this? I know bonding can take a while, and we spend time with Chester both together and individually, but this is still super weird. Thanks, chinlovers and chinfriends!

-Mogsy and Chester

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Health / Chewing on foot?

« on: November 01, 2012, 12:04:53 AM »

My chin Chester has been chewing at his foot a lot lately. There is some rough skin there, I guess just from climbing all over the inside of his cage. Is there any way I can gently remedy this so that he doesn't outright chew the rough patches off and cause potential bleeding/ infection?

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Health / Spring Fever?

« on: March 22, 2012, 02:15:43 PM »

The last week or so Chester's been going absolutely nuts (And driving ME crazy in the process.) He just won't settle down. He's getting twice as much playtime as usual, he seems overfilled with energy and is almost constantly chewing at the bars of his cage and making little beeping noises. He's also started making these weird... warbling noises. Not sure how else to describe it. Naturally, I've had a look over him, and he seems otherwise physically fine. Eating, drinking pooping, all that good stuff. Is it possible that he's just getting "lonely"?

Is there a certain season for that? He's about a year and a few months old now. This is all a very recent change in behaviour, and it -is- springtime. Any suggestions?

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Health / Hair pulling?

« on: March 10, 2012, 01:47:55 PM »

I took Chester out to play, and noticed a patch of hair missing from one side of his tail near the end. The rest of him is fine, and I've never actually caught him pulling hair before. He seems otherwise fine, eating, drinking, pooping and playing. The skin of the bare patch seems fine, too. He has wooden chews, as well as the wooden planks in his cage to nibble. My house is never really loud/stressful, and he gets frequent attention. Could this just be boredom/ loneliness when no one is home or sleeping?

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Health / Chester's eating(?) his dust during baths

« on: January 31, 2012, 08:51:31 AM »

I gave Chester a dust bath this morning and I was watching him as he played. I noticed that he'd occasionally stop rolling and take some of the dust into his mouth, appear to "chew" it, at which point most of the dust seemed to fall out of his mouth. He did this multiple times. I don't know whether he's lacking something in his diet, or maybe he likes the taste? Or maybe he's just being regular weird Chester.

He always has a full supply of Tim hay and regular food (Both of which are Living World brand, if anyone is familiar with that ) as well as a good supply of clean water. He's been on the same food since I bought him over half a year ago.

Anyone have any thoughts?

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Health / Teeth chattering

« on: January 06, 2012, 06:01:34 AM »

I've heard that teeth chattering can be a sign of aggression/being annoyed, but I've also heard it can be a sign of happiness. I've heard Chester chatter his teeth when he's annoyed that I'm scolding him for trying to chew on the bathroom baseboards, but sometimes he does it when he's just playing and doesn't really seem to have a reason to be upset/ annoyed. Is there a difference between these two in terms of how they sound?

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Health / Kind of an awkward question...

« on: January 06, 2012, 05:27:35 AM »

I took Chester out for a playtime and when he was jumping around and up on the counter I noticed a dropping stuck to the hair right under a very likely sensitive male organ of his. He doesn't seem disturbed by it, but I was wondering if I should just leave it alone and wait until it gets unstuck by itself, or maybe see if I can take a warm, wet washcloth and try to remove it?

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Q & A / Chinchilla ball

« on: November 19, 2011, 05:07:57 PM »

I bought Chester a chinchilla ball to run around in. I put him in there today and all he did was sit there confused and biting the inside of the ball.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get him used to running around in the ball or is it generally just a matter of time and exposure?

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Health / Spot on ear?

« on: October 02, 2011, 04:14:30 AM »

Chester was having playtime, and a dust bath. He scratched at his ear, and immediately after, I noticed a dark patch, like he'd removed a layer of skin/hair on the back of his ear. He didn't seem to be in pain, and he ignored his ear afterward. The spot was fairly small, half a centimeter in diameter or so, and round. Has anyone ever seen this before?

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Health / Hic-Hic-Hiccups!

« on: September 22, 2011, 06:00:32 AM »

I take Chester out a few times a day for playtime. For some reason every few days, when I take him out for the very first playtime of the day, he gets hiccups! They only last for about a minute or so, and they don't seem to be causing any discomfort. It's like he doesn't even notice them. He's always very excited/ bouncy for the first playtime of the day. Is it the sudden activity/ increased breathing that's causing these hiccups, or is it something that I should be concerned about?

Other notes: He is healthy (as far as I can tell), young, eats and drinks and poops on a regular basis and is very active, social and happy. He's less than a year old, standard gray chin. He doesn't get hiccups any other time than first playtime of the day on some days. I've looked at his nose and listened to his breathing every few days at different points of the day, and I don't hear him struggling to breathe or notice any discharge from his nose.

I don't know what to think!

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General Chat / Chester, my hero.

« on: September 13, 2011, 03:09:10 PM »

I'd been depressed for a long time. I mean, several years. Unwilling to hold down a job, missing my medication, developing a drinking problem. I spent a long time avoiding friends and family, feeling worthless and ashamed.

It was two days after my birthday; and the night after I'd gotten dangerously intoxicated. I had officially hit rock bottom. It was on a whim that I'd taken the cash I'd received for my birthday and gone to the pet store. I returned home with Chester and all the accessories.

More than two months later, I've done a complete 180. He's reignited my passion and love, life, cooking, art and nature. I'm working, enjoying friends and family, and have stopped drinking entirely. I'm also happily tapering off my anti-anxiety/ anti-depressant medication and using music therapy in lieu of.

I've had pets for more than ten years at a time, and I loved them very much. But nothing quite compares to the love, joy and excitement I get from spending time with my fuzzy little friend, even months down the road. He's helped me save me from myself without even knowing it.

This was a hard thing to share on such a public forum. If any of you have similar stories, or just want to share how your Chinny has changed your life, I invite you to do so!

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Health / Piddles during playtime?

« on: September 08, 2011, 10:57:05 PM »

I'm a fairly new Chin owner. I've had Chester for about two months. He's about seven or eight months old, regular adorable gray Chinchilla. He eats and gets fresh waster regularly, is happy, gets supervised playtime for several hours a day, and naturally he poops a lot! The last few play-times, though, he's taken to huddling in the corner of the bathroom for a few seconds and peeing on the floor. This is a new thing for him.

I haven't read anything about this kind of thing before. Is it just because he's finally settling in and getting comfortable? Coincidence? The only difference I've noted is that these play-times have been a little later than usual. I take him out several times a day as opposed to one long playtime, otherwise he drives me crazy chewing on the bars of his cage.

Suggestions?

-Sincerely, Anxious Chin Mum!