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Health / Baffled by drastic changes in my chinchilla's personality...HELP!
« on: July 31, 2011, 11:42:04 AM »
Hello,
I'm really confused and worried about the changes I've seen in my chinchilla, Chewy, over the past few weeks. A quick history on him: Chewy is 14 or 15 and has never shown any signs of illness in the past. He's been playful, affectionate, and always eager for more attention and treats. He gets premium chinchilla food, always fresh water, has an exercise wheel in an already large cage (5 levels), gets a dust bath usually twice but at least once a week, and is taken out to exercise around the apartment every day.
This is how he behaves now:
1. He rarely comes out of the his plastic hut he has in his cage, except to eat, drink, and use the bathroom.
2. Whenever anyone comes near him, even if I'm just walking past in the hallway, he starts barking angrily. He even barks at the cats when they saunter past his cage.
3. If I try and take him out of his cage for exercise, or try and tempt him out of his hut with a treat, he tries to urinate on me and bite me.
4. He doesn't seem to care about attention or treats anymore. He won't even budge from his hut when I shake his treats bag.
I've read that chinchillas are creatures of habit, and I can say for absolute certain, nothing about his environment or routine has changed. Not the food, not the attention, not the daily activities that go on around him...nothing. I work with elderly patients at my place of business, and the only thing I can think of that mirrors his symptoms is dementia, which experience on a daily basis in the patients. He's become increasingly irritable and aggressive, likes his comfortable spot or the place he feels safest, and doesn't like to leave his cage.
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions that could shed some light on his radical change in behavior, I'd be most appreciative!
I'm really confused and worried about the changes I've seen in my chinchilla, Chewy, over the past few weeks. A quick history on him: Chewy is 14 or 15 and has never shown any signs of illness in the past. He's been playful, affectionate, and always eager for more attention and treats. He gets premium chinchilla food, always fresh water, has an exercise wheel in an already large cage (5 levels), gets a dust bath usually twice but at least once a week, and is taken out to exercise around the apartment every day.
This is how he behaves now:
1. He rarely comes out of the his plastic hut he has in his cage, except to eat, drink, and use the bathroom.
2. Whenever anyone comes near him, even if I'm just walking past in the hallway, he starts barking angrily. He even barks at the cats when they saunter past his cage.
3. If I try and take him out of his cage for exercise, or try and tempt him out of his hut with a treat, he tries to urinate on me and bite me.
4. He doesn't seem to care about attention or treats anymore. He won't even budge from his hut when I shake his treats bag.
I've read that chinchillas are creatures of habit, and I can say for absolute certain, nothing about his environment or routine has changed. Not the food, not the attention, not the daily activities that go on around him...nothing. I work with elderly patients at my place of business, and the only thing I can think of that mirrors his symptoms is dementia, which experience on a daily basis in the patients. He's become increasingly irritable and aggressive, likes his comfortable spot or the place he feels safest, and doesn't like to leave his cage.
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions that could shed some light on his radical change in behavior, I'd be most appreciative!