Chinchilla Acting Strange Around Me Suddenly?

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DexterTheChin

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2019
Messages
5
Location
London, UK
I've had Dexter for around 7 months now and up until recently we have been bonding very well. He would sit on my arm, climb my shoulders, groom me etc. But recently he has been acting extremely weird around me and I don't know what the cause could be.

He now doesn't seem to enjoy me giving me strokes or scratches, he tolerates it for a couple minutes and then he'll run to his nest box which is the hide where he knows I will not touch him or bother him at all. If he sees me looking over at him or I come up to the cage to greet him, he'll hide until I move away but he loves staring at me when I'm at a distance.

Nothing has changed recently in his life, he still gets a playtime whenever he wants one (I don't let him out everyday, some days he is more nervous about playtime or just doesn't want it so I let him out based on how he is acting every day).

I checked him over for any signs of respiratory infection, broken bones or if he was in any pain and I checked for any bits of hair that may have been matted because he likes to sit right under his water bottle (even though I move it all the time, he just seems to enjoy being near it) but he seems in completely good health. He isn't lethargic in any way and he is still eating like normal.

Could it be down to the weather getting slightly hotter here in the UK as its coming into summer or could it be something else? For anyone wondering, Dexter is around 4/5 years old, I don't know an exact age because he is adopted.
 
If you don't have an ac set up yet then it could be he is getting too warm, and a human touching him isn't helping. Make sure the temp in the room is about 20C or below and the humidity is below 50%, otherwise he isn't going to be very comfortable. If the temp stays 25C or above for more then a couple hours (or less depending on how much above 25C) the chin will actually suffer brain damage and/or die.
 
If you don't have an ac set up yet then it could be he is getting too warm, and a human touching him isn't helping. Make sure the temp in the room is about 20C or below and the humidity is below 50%, otherwise he isn't going to be very comfortable. If the temp stays 25C or above for more then a couple hours (or less depending on how much above 25C) the chin will actually suffer brain damage and/or die.

I thought that might have been the case, it's only been in the last 3 days (which is when the weather has been a fair bit warmer). Thanks for the advice!
 
If you don't have an ac set up yet then it could be he is getting too warm, and a human touching him isn't helping. Make sure the temp in the room is about 20C or below and the humidity is below 50%, otherwise he isn't going to be very comfortable. If the temp stays 25C or above for more then a couple hours (or less depending on how much above 25C) the chin will actually suffer brain damage and/or die.

Hi there, thanks for the advice! I bought an ac unit today and he's already seeming a lot better in terms of his behaviour! I had an inkling that it might have been the weather but I'm glad I got someone else's advice to help me out :)
 
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