Moody Chin?

eventgirl · Oct 3, 2009

I have one chinchilla (soon to be two I am getting a baby really soon

) And it almost seems like he has mood swings. I keep everything pretty much the same everyday. The main part of my apt is really small so I am able to basically let him run all day when I am home and able to watch him (which is usually around 4-6 hours) I just keep his cage door open and let him come and go as he pleases.

Some days he is a little zipper and he does not stop the whole time I allow him to have time out of his cage. He is always very very friendly on these days too. Only to take a maybe 15 min nap on his chin chiller. But other days (like today) he is a little grump. He maybe comes out for like 10 min and then goes back in his house to nap. Even though the cage is open and he has free roam doesnt want to come out. He will let me pet him but I get barked at if I go to pick him up on these days.

Is this normal chin behavior? lol

Bethany2386 · Oct 3, 2009

My chin boy does this too. We can't let him out as he pleases because we have stairs and wide open rooms, but some days he will let me get him out of the cage, and others I can't because he will bark and bite me. It's weird.

eventgirl · Oct 3, 2009

Luckily he hasnt bitten me, but a great example is today is cage cleaning day and I went to get him out of his cage and he scratched me pretty good a few times on my arm which 90% of the time is not normal for him.

HamNCheese · Oct 3, 2009

yes, this is normal...some days they want to run, others they just want to be crabby and sulk. Can't come up with a reason why, I just chalk it up to general chin strangeness. Just gotta judge by what they're tellin ya that day, I suppose!

Carol~Anne · Oct 3, 2009

If he's out for that many hours during the day then he's probably just tired b/c after all the daytime is their natural time for sleep. He may be out b/c you leave his cage door open but he's probably quite tired and wants/needs his sleep.

Directorthiang · Oct 4, 2009

Sorry to any menfolk reading this post, but I have a question myself: I've noticed that my boys get rather moody and sullen, too, and after watching them for three months, I've noticed that it always seems to happen around MY time of the month. The other three weeks they'll be adorable and lovable and cute as can be... and then three days of the month, they become grumpy little brats.

Could there be a link? How bizarre...