Serious Pest Behavior

[sheena lee]

Chester is in our bedroom because it's the easiest room to control the temperature. It hasn't been a major problem for us, and though he's not quiet, hes not usually that loud...

Until tonight. It's 4:15am and I haven't been able to get any sleep. He literally will NOT let me. He started lifting up the bottom of one of his ladders and letting it fall, making a loud bang. He stops only when I turn on the light and look at him. I swear he's trying to make me insane.

Has anyone had this kind of bad behavior? So far tonight I've taken out his hay bowl (he was lifting that and banging it too) and the ladder just now.. I dont know what else to do. I feel bad because he seems upset now that I took the ladder, but he's gonna make me crazy if I leave it.

Gah!

 

[Vcchinchilla]

mei mei use to sleep in my room so he could always see me =)
until i got his wheel
wasn't a problem he'd give up some time 1 or 2am
i can live with that and ear plugs

this one night he wouldn't tire
so i went to him blew a bit of air to get his attention and he stopped like 5 mins
right when i was ABOUT to sleep so i took it out
-_- and then he started sad barking

not only did he sleep deprive me also my parents in the next room
apparently mom had to tell dad off cause he was about to ________ meimei

for the hay thing you could have a hay box which is screwed into the side of the wall?

as for ladder, is it for him to get to another level? can he get there w/o one?
i used lava ledges
fantastic for their teeth and less hazardous then stupid FN ladders provided

 

[Godofgods]

in general, chins are nocturnal. You have to expect that they will be highly active at night. I no mine are'

What type of ladder is it? A lot of them can be dangerous becuase they can get their foot or paw caught in them.

 

[Airyn]

The safest option would be to replace the ladder with a shelf or ledge, as Vcchinchilla mentioned. The rungs on any ladder can be incredibly dangerous, as one slip could result in a broken limb. If it's a FN ladder, it should only be in the cage if it's covered in fleece, which will minimize his ability to bang it around, as well as help to ensure his safety. To further minimize the noise, you can take a chinchiller and position it against the bottom of the ladder so that he can't lift it at all.

I would definitely look into attached food and hay bowls, but keep in mind that chins will almost always find a way to make noise when it's quiet. If you can leave the radio or TV on at night, that may help, but he'll still be very active and awake while you're sleeping. There's simply no way around it.

 

[Airyn]

GodofGods: Chins are crepuscular, not nocturnal... and it's "know", not "no".

 

[sheena lee]

I know that chinchillas sleep most of the day, which isn't an issue honestly because I usually sleep until at least 11:30am and go to bed generally no earlier than 2am. Since Chester just turned 6 months, I've been tiring him out right before I go to bed by letting him have outside playtime... which has worked wonders. In general he doesn't usually prevent me from sleeping, and on the worst days I put one earplug (so I can still hear my alarm!)

But last night was a real exception. He's never tried to make that much noise before, and as soon as I turned on the light he moved away from his ladder and just stared at me (with those evil eyes chins sometimes get.) I stared back for 30 minutes, he didn't move until I turned off the light again - then he was back at it. I guess I'll just have to hope that he doesn't do this every night from now on lol

The ladder isn't necessary for him to get to the next level, and it's plastic with no holes (but he doesn't chew it in the least, we watch carefully and are prepared to replace it.) He actually has two, I think I might permanently remove the one I took out last night, but the other one he sleeps on/against/around, and I think he'd be upset if I took it out.

But like I said, normally he's not that loud (or seemingly intent on keeping me up.)

 

[Airyn]

There shouldn't be any plastic in his cage, so if he can still get around okay, I'd remove it now. Is there any way for you to move him into a different room with a window unit? It sounds like that may be your only option if he continues to be a chin doing chin things, which he probably will.

 

[sheena lee]

Our bedroom is the only place where he'll be cool enough. Living in Montreal we can't have a/c on all year round, since it can easily get to -25c. We keep the heat off in our bedroom but the home office gets hot no matter what with 2 computer setups...

I've been considering bringing him in there but I'd have to monitor the temp for a little while before I do.

 

[Airyn]

I picked up some of these from Amazon earlier this year. They're incredibly handy!

 

[Jaina_Organasolo]

I used to have a pair in my room with the cage right next to my head. I was a pretty heavy sleeper mind you.
I had a touch alarm clock that you hit and the whole thing lit up - it used to light up the whole room and worked as a chinchilla disrupter. They.would shut up instantly when it lit up. Of course as soon as it stopped they'd start again but it was a relief at the time.

 

[sheena lee]

I bought a thermometer the day before I brought Chester home, it's been extremely useful! Our room stays at 20.1c normally, which is perfect. I'm gonna check out what the average is in the home office and see if moving him will be at all possible.

I don't mind having him in the bedroom 95% of the time, it's just the other 5% when he makes me crazy! Heh.

 

[cindyv3737]

I used to have a nightlight on for my girl. It helped when she started being a wild woman at night too. I also play white noise while I'm sleeping. It helps me sleep better and seems to keep the fur monsters calm. My girls are in my bedroom too, it is the coolest room in the house.

 

[sheena lee]

A nightlight may be a good option, a well as white noise. In the summer our a/c acts as white noise and it's a lot easier to sleep.. But obviously we can't keep it in all year round. I may have to look into getting those things.

 

[sheena lee]

Anyone know where I can buy a hay thingy that attaches? I came home to a giant mess of hay. >.<

 

[Godofgods]

GodofGods: Chins are crepuscular, not nocturnal... and it's "know", not "no".

Mine wake up near night, and go to sleep in the morning. They're most active around midnight - 4am~ hours. Forgive me for thinking that might qualify as nocturnal.

The ladder isn't necessary for him to get to the next level, and it's plastic with no holes (but he doesn't chew it in the least, we watch carefully and are prepared to replace it.) He actually has two, I think I might permanently remove the one I took out last night, but the other one he sleeps on/against/around, and I think he'd be upset if I took it out.

Before i took my ladders out, mine did that sometimes as well. It's quite interesting to see the positions they get into around it lol.

Anyone know where I can buy a hay thingy that attaches? I came home to a giant mess of hay. >.<

I KNOW (happy?) the feeling. I wake up every day to a mess of hay. :hair: I've yet to find a solution that would prevent them form making such a mess'

 

[cindyv3737]

Keep an eye on this thread for hay boxes.
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27265

That's where both of mine came from. I love them. While I still have a hay mess it's not as bad as it once was.

 

[Airyn]

Mine wake up near night, and go to sleep in the morning. They're most active around midnight - 4am~ hours. Forgive me for thinking that might qualify as nocturnal.

It was covered on a thread that you commented on in June (by Spooky). And here... (by CuddleBug), here... (by GorillaJTA), here... (by timandben), here... (by Rebecca1122) and here (by mishellyshel).

As I've stated previously... the search feature is invaluable if you are unsure about your advice. Clearly, this one isn't critical, but it's generally a good practice to know your stuff before you advise someone incorrectly and potentially cause permanent damage to their chins.

 

[sheena lee]

It's weird because Chester was really good with his hay for over a month. And now he took a sudden interest in tipping/dumping the bowl. I wish I had a picture, the way he dumped it out defied the laws of gravity/physics. I have no idea how he did it!

Thanks Cindy for the link, I'll keep an eye out! Right now I have him eating mainly hay cubes to keep the mess down, but I'm gonna have to give him lose stuff pretty soon.

 

[Vcchinchilla]

>.> doesn't hay cubes have alfafa
depending what pellets your feeding them
is it possible to feed too much alfafa?

(ps i dont even know if i'm spelling it right)

 

[ChinnyMom]

there are timothy only hay cubes, alfalfa only cubes, and also cubes that are a mix of both. as long as alfalfa isn't the only hay you are providing all the time, i see no issue with giving alfalfa cubes.

the concern with too much alfalfa is that the chin could be taking in too much calcium, which has the potential to turn into kidney issues (stones, crystals in pee, etc). but i have not heard of very many stories of this happening and members here feed alfalfa based pellets with some alfalfa hay with no issue. i give my boys alfalfa cubes now and then along with their oxbow (alfalfa based) pellets. the majority of their hay is timothy and orchard grass though.

have you tried wiring a coffee cup to the side of the cage? that might work as a 'hay box' until you can get a fleece hay bag.