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Update: My awesome landlord let me use his tile cutters to put the last tile in place. The wheel is in, and has helped somewhat with the aggression on Crash's part. He still picks at YouBe, but considerably less now, and I've seen them cuddling a couple of times, though briefly. YouBe is very aware of me, so it's hard to get pictures of him unless it's from across the room through the cage. Otherwise he's right up against the lens trying to pry it away from my hand.

Crash and Nova get along smashingly. They even shared the jumbo dust bath tonight. Treats and twigs still cause some kerfluffle, but that's normal in any multiple chin setting. On a cute note, tonight was the Ceremony of First Rose Hip (except for Crash, of course). Crash got his first so he'd go hunker down somewhere and eat it, but I was surprised that YouBe sniffed delicately once, snatched it out of my hand, and bolted to the top of the cage to munch. Nova was clearly interested in his, but didn't want to take anything from my hand. He dropped it, Crash stole it, so he stole Crash's and back and forth while YouBe sat in the hammock and chowed down. But, I have a trump card: crushed rose hips from ForCHINate chins, which Nova ate out of my hand. :D

And, corny as it is, as part of the bonding process, I sing to my chins. Tonight while I was singing, YouBe came to the bars (surprise, surprise) and squeaked along with me to our own version of "You Are My Sunshine". But the kicker came after rose hips, during bath time, when Nova actually chose to sit on my arm and wait his turn in the dust bowl. :D It was a good night.
 
:( Nova and YouBe have bites on their feet and there were smears of blood on the shelves and house. Crash is now in the bottom by himself w/ the Flying Saucer, and Nova and YouBe have the top to themselves while the bitten spots heal. No damage elsewhere that I can tell, though Nova is really not pleased with handling.

All I can think of is that since Nova and YouBe like to sleep smushed onto the top shelf, Crash must have stood on the hidey house and bitten them. I was out after work for a few hours (laundry day), but didn't notice anything amiss when I got in at 5, so it must have happened between 5 and 8:30 tonight.

But, for something positive: Nova came to sniff me even after the fuss over the bites and didn't immediately bolt when he saw I didn't have a treat. I'm going to start teaching him the "come" command with orchard grass if he ever forgives me for checking his feet etc. tonight.

YouBe, as usual, was completely fine with me doing anything to him. His favorite thing seems to be putting all four feet on the back of my hand and nibble/grooming me to put himself to sleep. He also spent a good 5 minutes snuggled up on my shoulder squeaking in my ear. Guess he was telling a good story b/c he was nodding off as I put him back in the cage. :)

Crash, brat that he is, doesn't have a mark on him. I'm sad that his friendship didn't work out like I'd hoped, but maybe the other boys in the house will at least give him someone to 'talk to' while I'm at work. Once a bully...
 
So sorry that the introduction didn't work. Hopefully everyone will heal quickly and be happy. I do know that Edgar and Oscar, who live in separate cages, keep each other company so Crash will probably be able to enjoy them from afar.
 
Ugh I'm so sorry Becky! I'm glad Nova is warming up to you though - I knew it would be good for him to come to you. I'm shocked that Crash bit him too though! They seemed to be such buds.

YouBe loves you... he seriously fell head over heels the second you walked in.
 
Thanks. The plan is for Crash to be their annoying neighbor downstairs on his treadmill at all hours. Debating about a wheel for the upstairs, but I don't want to deal w/ Quality Cage until the powder coating issue is addressed. :(

As far as the damage goes, Nova has one front paw with a nip on a knuckle, but it was deep enough to bleed. YouBe is chewed up along the side of one leg, though nothing was super deep there either. I haven't checked yet tonight since I just got home and got dinner, but they'd closed well and didn't seem super tender. I'll keep an eye open for signs of infection, and I've got Critical Care here already should I need to figure out antibiotics or something. I doubt it's going to be that bad, though. And at least now I know it wasn't necessarily Cervantes' fur chewing that caused Crash's attitude change; he could just be a more dominant chinchilla and is safer alone. I'm sure they'll still talk to each other through the ceiling/floor, which will help Crash considerably while I'm at work.

YouBe is... something else. We sing together almost every night, he's an excellent manicurist (I have no fingernails left at all), and a great hand warmer. I'll have to try to get some video to post of his antics. He might rival Handbag for charm. I melt every time I pick him up and he just snuggles against my shoulder and squeaks at me. I never thought I'd get a cuddler. :D
 
A friend of mine, A., is a senior at a local university. She'd seen chinchillas before meeting Crash, but the more she's around me and my goofballs, the more she thinks she wants one once she settles into grad school. I've already told her "when the time comes" that I'd hook her up with a rescue and suppliers, but in the mean time, I'm encouraging her to spend time around my guys to get a feel for how chin-keeping is done right and make sure she won't have allergies etc. crop up a few months into things. It also takes a load off of my mind to have more than one person locally that's comfortable enough with the chins to baby-sit if I suddenly have to go out of town or something.

Tonight she and another friend came over, and A. spent a good 20 minutes at the chin cage, where YouBe turned on the charm. She's now wrapped around his little paw too. Best line of the night: "I've never felt chinchilla feet. They're weird!" (YouBe's trick is to groom your hand while standing with all four feet and his belly up against you. It's frackin' adorable-- and the little stinker knows it!)

I'm locking my doors or the next contestant on "The Bachelor" is going to be my chinchilla! I've got the best Valentine ever. :D Talk about a blessing.
 
Just had to share some of the antics of the last few months. YouBe and Nova are still in the upstairs of the FN. Crash is downstairs by himself, and staying that way for good. He has, however, become a chin/ear skritch addict, which he wasn't before. Jealousy making him want my attention, perhaps? In any event, he seems mostly content.

The cute, though, comes from upstairs. The house you see in these pics doesn't attach to the wall b/c I've tiled the cage and it's easier to take them out w/out anything screwed down. So, they're able to 'redecorate' as they see fit.

Apparently, they're lazy little boogers, or just get SO TIRED from dragging their houses all over the cage that they simply can't hold their little heads up.
~*~

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Champagne Supernova

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Could You Be Love

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Chinnie feets!

And, of course, that woke him up:

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Good, you're home. Come here so I can pet you.
 
Eh, it's kinda 'give and take' on the mean thing. Nova just pushed YouBe out of the fleece tube so he could sleep in it all stretched out. But, that wasn't good enough, so he woke back up and tackled YouBe on the top shelf so they can snuggle... whether YouBe wants to or not.

I just feel bad that Crash won't have a buddy like that unless I can get him snipped, or happen across a healthy, spayed female. If I did it, I'd be inclined to have him snipped anyway to possibly calm some of the dominance/aggression. He's clearly lonely. :(
 
Woohoo! The only other person I know of him doing that with is my hubby - he really bonded with Mike.

I'm so glad he's coming out of his shell! :)
 
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