How do you explain?

[lydz]

How you explain chins that jump every time close the recliner or move my arm but do not flinch when I turn the vacuum on?

My big worried when we got our babies was that the vacuum would scare everytime I turned it on. They didn't even look at me.

How does that make sense?

 

[JennyBug]

I run the vacuum so much in my house that it doesn't bother them (I actually have to shoo them away from the hose attachment when I'm sweeping out their cages). Maybe it's just the suddenness of the noise of the recliner or movement. I haven't the faintest other than pure guesses, but I would be interested to know as well.

 

[lydz]

You'd think turning on the vacuum was pretty sudden too....And I get hearing the vacuum often but from the FIRST time.
Weird.

 

[andymilo]

nothing phases my baby girl....we had a tropical storm and she didn't even flitch when the lightening went off...while my dog usually shivers in fear lol...she is not afraid of any noises...she doesn't even move lol...even when i try that "snap your fingers to let them know they are not suppose to be doing that"...it doesn't work lol...

 

[addictedtochins]

I don't know....their ears are huge and they have exceptional hearing so you'd think a vacume would sound like a fighter jet to them. I can only assume that their brains are accustomed to loud sounds, but their eyesight isn't that good and movements set off a tried and true deep seated flight reaction from a prey animal.

 

[Jenn]

I have noticed the same thing with Tinkerbell. The bird calls, kids running by, my hamster running around the house in his ball, etc, all make her run and hide. But she'll come right up to the vacuum. I wondering if these other sounds are more distant and she can't see what they are so these sounds frighten her, where the vacuum can also be a distant sound that works it way up to the cage - at least in my home. The vacuum is also a long, monotonous sound as opposed to a quick, sharp sound...but in the end, who really knows?

 

[Cuddlebug]

I have one that appears to be afraid of everything but she will attack the dust buster when I vacuum off her shelves.

 

[Diva Chins]

My chins have learned I wouldn't hurt them, so pretty much anything I do doesn't phase them. Doof still sprays me out of spite some times, like if I don't put Her Majesty's food bowl back in right in front of her after I empty the old pellets and put in new. She also sprays me if I don't put her timothy hay back in her favorite place. Vacuums, quick movements, nothing phases them.

 

[ABBY W.]

My guess is that the sudden movements of the recliner, or your arms trigger a flight response. In the wild, sudden movements or shadows moving over them could indicate a predator nearby. Since chinchillas are fairly new to the pet world, they retain many of their natural instincts and responses. While the vacuum is noisy, in their natural environment noises don't often pose a threat, but sudden movement can.

 

[TillyChinchilla]

I actually have to shoo them away from the hose attachment when I'm sweeping out their cages

Same here. The first time I did it I made the mistake of sucking a nose into the vacuum hose when I bent down to turn it off and had my hand resting on the inside of the cage door. Luckily she was never hurt, but I am really careful now as they seem to like the vacuum a lot.

 

[lydz]

My guess is that the sudden movements of the recliner, or your arms trigger a flight response. In the wild, sudden movements or shadows moving over them could indicate a predator nearby. Since chinchillas are fairly new to the pet world, they retain many of their natural instincts and responses. While the vacuum is noisy, in their natural environment noises don't often pose a threat, but sudden movement can.

Well that makes sense. I've only had them for a month now so as used to us as they have become, the movements are still new.