Series of Barks

[inkling]

I know barking questions get asked a lot, and at first, I looked around and read stories and felt okay about what was happening. After this morning, I'm a little more concerned.

Sometime last week my chinchilla barked a series of barks throughout the night. He'd do about 5-7 barks, though not extreme ones (more grunty ones, I don't know how to explain them), and then stop briefly. Then do it again. Stop. Again. Stop. Again. This went on for a little while (I'm not sure how many series/how long exactly because I was asleep) until I got out of bed to check on him. Nothing seemed amiss, I haven't changed anything, so I thought perhaps he was having a bad dream or something (it was earlier in the morning, not the middle of the night, but still before 7am. Probably around 5am).

Then I heard a huge clang and I didn't figure out what it was until the morning -- he had knocked his water bottle out of its holder. He likes to jump on top of it... That weekend I set about reorganizing his entire cage. I rearranged the shelves, I moved the water bottle so that it was underneath a shelf (preventing him from jumping on it again), and added all his new toys. I had just gotten a shipment that day -- I thought maybe he had been bored the night before too.

He *did* pull back his fleece the same night the water bottle fell. I think he was going nuts. I found some parts of the plastic scraped off but he has continued to be energetic, eating, drinking, and it's been several days, so I haven't been worried. I did change the fleece to a much larger piece, to the point it folds over itself when I wrap it around the shelf, and then safety pinned it together. It's been fine since, of course.

Everything was fine that night after I changed everything and he was very chipper. The night after he made one solitary bark. For a couple of days, nothing... I've had him for over a month and he's never really barked except his first week here.

This morning, he came down to see me while I got ready for school. When I came back from brushing my teeth, he had gone to his top shelf and wasn't as friendly as he usually is in the morning. Then he started his series of barking.

It was hard to tell if he was asleep or not, nothing appeared amiss, I don't know what's bothering him at all. He's got new toys, plenty of food, I change his water every other day, he's perfectly happy with his dust baths...

The only thing I know is that he hasn't fully switched from his breeder's feed to my Oxbow, and I just found a hole in the Oxbow bag last night. I'm considering going to Tractor Supply and hopefully finding the breeder's feed (MannaPRO) and letting him just have that, since he seems to love it so much. He's not drinking quite as much water as he had been, but his poop looks just fine.

When I played with him last night he was running circles over my shoulders, up my head, popcorning, etc.

Do I need to worry? Normally, in the morning, he's bouncing between shelves hoping for a scritch before I leave. When I refill his food in the morning it's almost impossible because he keeps running all over me (and trying to get out of his cage).

 

[jess32247]

It sounds normal, I wouldn't be very worried

Chins can bark for a lot of different reasons, sometimes for warning others about a danger, being scared, having nightmares or anxiety, ect. Or for seemingly no reason at all.

Once and a while my chin barks in the middle of the night for no reason at all, from what I can tell. Sometimes she goes on and on for what feels like forever. I've found that she calms down almost right away when I go over and talk to her and tell her everything is alright. Sometimes she'll be jumpy and skittish and won't let me pet her, which is basically what your seeing.

You aren't doing anything wrong, he might need to settle in a little more or might be a very vocal chin. My chin is around nine years old (I've only had her for three years, though) and she's very vocal when she wants to be.

 

[Godofgods]

They can bark for a variety of different reasons. Over time you start to learn the difference between them.

I wouldn't be to worried about the barking at night if you don't notice anything else. Some times they will start going crazy and barking several times in a row at high volume. Then there quite if i go check on them. But when i go back to my room they start up again. I assume they might sense something out side the building that scares them. I always give it a once over and check on them all when it happens tho, just in case.

My chins the opposite of yours. They are not happy chins when they are waking up. While normally nice and friendly, they will get grouchy and snap if you try to mess with them while waking up.

Changing a cage around can put a little bit of stress on a chin to until they get used to the new surroundings. Just takes time.

 

[jbcstratton]

Mine bark in the middle of the night or in the middle of the afternoon with nothing going on. Sometimes I think they just like to make a little noise.

 

[inkling]

He is quite a weirdo, so I wouldn't be surprised by any of these suggestions... Thank you guys! He's had me worried this last week.

This morning, though, he pulled back his fleece again, which is in about three layers now... The one is folded almost twice over and safety pinned underneath, and that keeps him from getting to the plastic. Then I have another changeable blanket on top of that, and he pulled that one back.

And now he is officially a chin who sleeps under his fleece. (And is very protective of the spot, apparently!)