why won't she hide in her house? O.o

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turtlemoon

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Feb 12, 2013
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Las Vegas, NV
hello everyone! :)

i have a couple of questions. i'd type a wall of text, but because i'm on my phone, there's a chance it may get deleted if it decides to refresh on its own (internet is being buggy tonight)- like last time, and i'll get very frustrated. ._.

anyway, as for my questions:

1. we got our little chin, Jackie, about two months ago, and the first three weeks or so that we had her, she would hide in her house when we got near her and she would sleep in there. it's been a month since she last stepped inside, except for maybe twice when she dragged her toys inside, and it's worrying me. she "hugs" her house and goes behind it a lot, but no longer inside. is that a problem? should i really be worried? :/

2. since maybe two days ago, she started making this one weird sound... she sounds like she's chewing on something, but we look over and she hasn't got a thing in her mouth. is that bad? i suggested to my boyfriend that maybe she's grinding her teeth, but she's wearing down her toys just fine-they're almost completely gone. (which reminds, we have to go out and get her new ones. she'll be so excited! :D) anyway, is that sound something i should be worrying about? what could it be?

thank you in advance for your answers, replies, and help. :)
 
My chins generally run and hide to where ever they feel most safe. Maybe yours feels better else where. Also, just outa curiosity, how big is the house? I no when i had a little store bought house and there has barley enough room for them to fit in it, they didn't care for it that much. So i made them one thats large enough to house a family. And they use it all the time.

Mine also grin there teeth some times. Even with many chew toys around. They seem to when they get overly excited or anxious, maybe even scared a bit.
 
My Daisy used to spend all her time in ger house, but one day decided she didn't want to be in there. It's nothing to worry about. She'll find a place she likes to sleep, my Daisy sleeps in her fleece tube all day long now

Daisy makes that sound once in a while too, but I couldn't tell you what it is. I assume she's grinding her teeth as well. I only hear it like maximum once a week, if it was any more often I'd be worried.
 
the house is big enough to house two six-month-old-sized chins, or one one-year-old-sized chin. we are planning to upgrade both, her cage and house, in about three to four months when her buddy will be born and we can pick her up. (about another month and a half 'til she's born and two months wait-time while she grows, is socialized, and weaned.) earlier though, sometime after posting, i came to the conclusion that maybe she is scared of enclosed spaces- after that incident with the kitchen cabinets, since it happened to be right before she stopped going into her house. OR, she prefers the other space and her house doesn't compare. o.o maybe i should get her a tube in the meantime and hopefully she uses it. does it have to be fleece? or can it be that very thick cardboard-like tube that fabrics are usually wrapped around?
either way, i'm glad it's really nothing to be concerned about. at least she drags her toys inside it (well, she's just done it twice) and it's really cute. :3

she's made the sound a few times, but it's only been a couple of days. i hope it's 'cause she's excited to be getting a buddy in a few months :D :3

thanks guys! :) my mind is at ease... for now. xD i'm new to taking care of a chin so i'm sure i'll be back :p

once again, thank you! :)
 
My 6.5 yr old Jane spends most of her day inside her house. My little boy Joey JUST started sleeping inside daily after a year! Not sure what changed. He brings his chin buddy stuffed toy inside and lays half inside, half on her looking out sometimes. :)
 
ah, so it's normal behavior. that makes me happy. ^-^

also, that's cute, that your chin takes his toy inside his house. when i saw my chin doing it both times, i was like, "aww. how cute! :3" haha

Jackie only has wooden toys, but i like the idea of giving her a stuffed toy. what should it be made of? can i make it myself (i love making small plushies ^-^), or do i have to buy it already made? if so, where's the best place? does PetSmart have them?

thank you in advance for the replies! n.n
 
Fleece is the only safe fabric you can use in a chinchilla's cage, as it tears into little pieces instead of string that could wrap around there mouth, feet, ect. If she started chewing the fleece, you'd still have to take it out right away.

One of my chins tubes is cardboard wrapped in fleece, the other is a slightly bigger metal tube I bought at a hardware store. If you use cardboard, you'll probably need to rest it on a ledge as well as attach it to the side of the cage. Mine isn't very stable when it's only attached to the side (though I could probably fix that), but my chin really loves sitting on her ledge that holds up the tube.

She wouldn't trade her fleece tube for the world ;)
 
awesome! :) we went out and bought one of those little fleece blankets so i'll be using that. :) also, is it possible for me to use old fleece sweaters i no longer wear? i have a couple and if it's alright to use those, i shall cut them up and be creative with 'em. ^-^

i'll go get her a nice tube so she can crawl in it and play with it. thank you for the ideas! :)

i don't believe our chin has a favorite toy/hiding place yet, but once i know what it is, if any, i'll be sure to have a replacement on hand, for if and when needed, so that she doesn't get upset. =P

thank you for the wonderful advice and ideas! =]
 
turtlemoon said:
awesome! :) we went out and bought one of those little fleece blankets so i'll be using that. :) also, is it possible for me to use old fleece sweaters i no longer wear? i have a couple and if it's alright to use those, i shall cut them up and be creative with 'em. ^-^
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The material should be Blizzard or Anti-Pill fleece only. You can find it at fabric shops. Any other can be dangerous if it frays (the strings could cause impaction if swallowed). The stuffing should also be the same kind of fleece just in case she chews a hole in it.

Different chins like different things. I have one that loves his tube but only sits on top of his house as though it were his throne. The other one loves to sleep in his house and wheel. They're fun, quirky little critters. :)
 
If the fleece sweaters are made with 100% polyester and you made sure you got all the stitching out of it, then I don't see why you couldn't use it!

You can sometimes find fleece blankets at Walmart for a good price, it's not the highest quality but I haven't had any problems with it. I can't remember the exact size, but I was able to make a hammock, pillow, and half of a cube house (other half was made with black fleece!) and still have enough to cover my cat's window bed with it. It was on sale for about $4, they had a couple patterns and colors.

If you're lucky, you can sometimes find some decent sized piece in the scrap bin for cheap ;)
 
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