FayeEsquire
Active member
My little guy is nearing puberty...I think. He's a young male between 5-6 months and isn't neutered. Tonight I came home from work and he seemed kind of off but yet, not really.
Normally he is eagerly sitting by the door of the cage for playtime when I get home. Tonight he was sitting in his cage and not really responding to my communicating with him. It wasn't until I went to touch him to examine him that he seemed interested in moving - and he seemed fine after that. He crawled on my shoulder out of the cage, went and took a dust bath, and has explored his normal spots. However, things still seem a bit off.
I've noticed that as he's been hoping around, he's been making some quiet little "whimper" noise (the best way to explain it). He doesn't seem injured and has a lot of energy. More so than normal.
He also doesn't seem to be eating as much and has been ignoring food during playtime. His feeding schedule is pretty strict. I give him a tablespoon of pallets with fresh hay when I leave for work during the day and a tablespoon at night when I get home. Normally he'll eat from my hand and spend a bit of time eating between scampering around.
But tonight he hasn't gone near his food bowl during play and has only excepted one or two pallets from my hand. Normally the tablespoon I put in his bowl when I leave is gone by the time I get home, but there was a still a bit left over today. He still ate his hay though.
His droppings seem normal and there's still plenty around.
I'll be anxiously checking on him throughout the night and in the morning to make sure he's ok before I need to leave for work. I was just wondering if anyone has had a chinchilla with these sudden swings because this doesn't match is normal patterns or attitude. I'm looking to put my mind at ease while I'm gone all day.
Normally he is eagerly sitting by the door of the cage for playtime when I get home. Tonight he was sitting in his cage and not really responding to my communicating with him. It wasn't until I went to touch him to examine him that he seemed interested in moving - and he seemed fine after that. He crawled on my shoulder out of the cage, went and took a dust bath, and has explored his normal spots. However, things still seem a bit off.
I've noticed that as he's been hoping around, he's been making some quiet little "whimper" noise (the best way to explain it). He doesn't seem injured and has a lot of energy. More so than normal.
He also doesn't seem to be eating as much and has been ignoring food during playtime. His feeding schedule is pretty strict. I give him a tablespoon of pallets with fresh hay when I leave for work during the day and a tablespoon at night when I get home. Normally he'll eat from my hand and spend a bit of time eating between scampering around.
But tonight he hasn't gone near his food bowl during play and has only excepted one or two pallets from my hand. Normally the tablespoon I put in his bowl when I leave is gone by the time I get home, but there was a still a bit left over today. He still ate his hay though.
His droppings seem normal and there's still plenty around.
I'll be anxiously checking on him throughout the night and in the morning to make sure he's ok before I need to leave for work. I was just wondering if anyone has had a chinchilla with these sudden swings because this doesn't match is normal patterns or attitude. I'm looking to put my mind at ease while I'm gone all day.
