is it normal?

[sweetandhyper]

We got a chinchilla less than a week ago from some teenagers who didn't give us much information on him. He's according to them roughly a year old. The last couple days he has just been sitting with his mouth around one of the cage bars and his front paws close to his chest. Is he bored? He has a chew log made of willow and he uses it and a couple wooden shapes he chews on. Since we put a slab of granite in his cage to help keep him cool he's also been chewing on it there are marks along the edges. Is this normal? He seems bored with his wheel as well only moving it a couple turns. We let him out at night when the kids are in bed for a half hour. I know nothing of his life before coming here. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Godofgods]

chins chew on everything. its not uncommon to find teeth marks on various objects.
They will stand around with there arms and hands close to there chests. Mine do it as well. Some times they only do it with one hand and it always scares me; thinking that they might have hurt it. But so far mine have always been fine.

What type of cage is he in?

 

[obcsed]

I have a couple who like to sleep with their mouths on the bars. Totally normal for them. Get him a lava ledge or some lava bites to chew on. Chins need things to chew to keep their teeth in good shape. Pumice and wood blocks are good too.

One week is not long enough to know what is normal for him. The things he is doing are not unusual and his activity level and other habits may change once he is use to his new surroundings.

Also, what kind of wheel does he have? Is it bigger than those crappy plastic or wire ones you get at pet stores. If it isn't a good sturdy wheel, he may not enjoy running in it.

 

[akane]

Chins are silly creatures that chew on everything and sleep in weird positions. You get used to it. When we put in our granite chillers everyone played dead chinchilla on them. They were laying and sleeping in such weird positions we kept poking them to make sure they were alright. Lately Katsu has gone from hiding in his house to sitting in the open with his paws tucked just balanced there for hours at a time until we pay attention to him. Inada sometimes crams herself between her wheel on the door and the ledge on the end wall and hangs there off the ground waiting for the chance to beg for treats or play time. Don't even get me started about Keck's weird behaviors. At least Aika and Hachiro don't give me heart attacks or have me staring at the cage in confusion as to what the chinchilla is up to now. They also don't try to chew inedible objects. That's Aime's job. She works over my computer monitor and speakers whenever she is out. Which is better than her attempts to eat the antique dresser because she can't get anything off the computer equipment. Just have to watch the speaker cord that is wrapped in a cord protector.