I got my chinchilla about a week ago now, he is 2 months (and a week) old.
He's extremely friendly and warmed up to me much quicker than I would have expected. He let me scoop him up no problem today. But I have a couple of questions!
1. How much timothy hay should he be consuming? When I handfeed him pieces, he'll eat them (unless he drops them). He is drinking plenty of water and I see him eat his alfalfa pellets frequently. I refill both of these things at least every other day (the water to avoid contamination), but I haven't had to resupply the hay just yet. Is it because he's so young? I placed loose hay in the cage in case he was having difficulty accessing it from the hay box (but I doubt that, since he jumps on top of it all the time), and he seemed to mostly just burrow with it.
2. Should I be worried about him pawing at his mouth? He's done this since he's got here and at first I thought he had a skin tag on his lip area, but I don't see it anymore. He does not act in any way to be sick -- he bounces around like crazy, his eyes appear normal, his fur is fine, his noises are fine. Is it a weird tick of his?
3. Is it normal for him to chew the bars of his cage? Vyxxin gave me a grapewood toy when I picked him up and most of the bark is gone from one of the big pieces, he's chewed through a stick of pine, and more. Does he just want out? He is an extremely eager, adventurous little fellow and *has* jumped over my arm and out of his cage before I immediately placed him back. He always is looking to get out and cannot stand being put in his carrier when I clean his cage. Is it possible that he's already chewing the bars because he wants out?
2 & 3 just have me concerned that he has a tooth issue, but when I pet under his chin I don't immediately see anything. Should I try to get him to let me open up his mouth? Or is everything probably fine and he's just a little odd/outgoing?
As I say this, he's doing laps around his cage.
Thank you!
He's extremely friendly and warmed up to me much quicker than I would have expected. He let me scoop him up no problem today. But I have a couple of questions!
1. How much timothy hay should he be consuming? When I handfeed him pieces, he'll eat them (unless he drops them). He is drinking plenty of water and I see him eat his alfalfa pellets frequently. I refill both of these things at least every other day (the water to avoid contamination), but I haven't had to resupply the hay just yet. Is it because he's so young? I placed loose hay in the cage in case he was having difficulty accessing it from the hay box (but I doubt that, since he jumps on top of it all the time), and he seemed to mostly just burrow with it.
2. Should I be worried about him pawing at his mouth? He's done this since he's got here and at first I thought he had a skin tag on his lip area, but I don't see it anymore. He does not act in any way to be sick -- he bounces around like crazy, his eyes appear normal, his fur is fine, his noises are fine. Is it a weird tick of his?
3. Is it normal for him to chew the bars of his cage? Vyxxin gave me a grapewood toy when I picked him up and most of the bark is gone from one of the big pieces, he's chewed through a stick of pine, and more. Does he just want out? He is an extremely eager, adventurous little fellow and *has* jumped over my arm and out of his cage before I immediately placed him back. He always is looking to get out and cannot stand being put in his carrier when I clean his cage. Is it possible that he's already chewing the bars because he wants out?
2 & 3 just have me concerned that he has a tooth issue, but when I pet under his chin I don't immediately see anything. Should I try to get him to let me open up his mouth? Or is everything probably fine and he's just a little odd/outgoing?
As I say this, he's doing laps around his cage.
Thank you!