Burrowing?

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Megz1228

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2009
Messages
33
I have two boys who will be two years old this spring. I got them October 2009. Recently, one of my boys, Hemi, began burrowing. I have a FN142 and on the second floor I have fleece that is double layered that just lays on the tray. Hemi has started burrowing under the fleece. At first it was really cute to see him poke his little head out to see what's going on. Now, he rarely comes for scratches and doesn't snuggle as much with Hank. Hemi has always been much more active and Hank always pretty melo. They used to be next to eachother all the time, but Hank seems pretty annoyed with his recent antics. Hemi has also started biting me. He did this when I first got them - which I expected as they didn't know me. But he rarely bit for about a year. Any ideas as to what is going on?
 
i've noticed a similar change in rutherford when my dad built him a hidey place out of cardboards. my dad wanted him to have more privacy, so you could barely make out rutherford's butt when he was inside the cardboard boxes. after a while of becoming really comfortable in the cardboard boxes, he became very wary of him and somewhat aggressive, like biting me, and not wanting to be touched as much. as soon as i took out the cardboard boxes, he went back to his usual self. he was a lot more friendlier and came over for chin scratches and massages. maybe you should switch out the fleece for bedding? it is messier, but if Hemi is doing the same thing rutherford was doing, maybe that will solve your problem? hope this helps.
 
Are you using the regular FN plastic trays- the ones it comes with? If so, you can prevent burrowing by making a 'pillowcase' style fleece liner that is open on one end only. Then you just slip it over the tray and shove the whole thing in. They can't burrow this way, but you might have to change the liner more often, since it would only be one layer.

As to their behavioral changes, boy chins can have a "teenager phase", and I have heard that it can happen as late as two years. There is no guarantee two male chins will always get along, even if they are brothers or were buddies for their entire lives. Monitor them closely- you may have to consider separating them if they start to fight. Keep the stress level down in their environment, stick to a regular feeding/play/cleaning schedule, and see if that helps with the biting.
 
Back
Top