Surprising 'tricks' and talents.

[3CsMommy]

Tonight Crash got weighed again (still maintaining 590g on the bean, but that's still way down from this time last year :wacko, which I do by shaking the oats container to get him to the scale during playtime. Once he realizes I had oats in my hand, he grabs my fingers to munch and I coax him onto the scale. Got the reading, took my hand away, and he hopped down, but then he realized the oats were still out.

So, he tried to steal the container, which is bigger than him and, of course didn't work. After a pause to either think or give me the stink eye, he hopped back onto the scale all by himself and stood there staring at me expectantly. Apparently he's put together "Stand on the black thing, get oats" after 3 repetitions in the past 3 weeks. So of course, he got another couple of oaties. (Gotta reinforce the desired behavior! :thumbsup: )

What have your chins surprised you by learning or suddenly doing for a reward/response? Do they come when called, 'answer' the phone when it rings, sing with the radio?

Did you intentionally teach these behaviors, or did they come up with them independent of your influence?

 

[Laurie]

I'm actually impressed with my whole crew as I never give the same treats out daily. All I have to do is say treats and all chins are pressed against the bars noses sticking out for whatever may come there way: oats, dried rosehip, shreddie, noodle, cheerio.

The all also know the word Bath. Some of them starting rolling around on their cage bottom before the dust bath gets to them! LOL!

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

2 of mine know the sound of the dust being poured into their baths! They start jumping around the cage and twitching their tails! And I have one that knows when someone is at the door because she always goes to this one particular shelf on her cage when she hears them knock.

 

[addictedtochins]

They have learned to stay away from certain places when out for playtime. Places where they are easily caught, like the hallway where all the doors are closed

 

[Ash]

My guys automatically start pressing noses through the cage bars whenever they hear/smell Keith enter the attic. The first thing he does (yes, VERY first thing he does) is go for the treats and start passing them out.

 

[Mishkavi]

My girl knows her name but she's pretty stubborn. She looks up when you say "Tonks here" or "Tonks home" but doesn't always do what i say on the first call. She does know the sound of her treat tote and chin bath being pulled down (I have to hide this otherwise she will help herself). I trained her on her name which makes it so easy when we go on vacation because she listens to other people too, but I did not train her to open her dust bath,haha. She has one of those old penny candy jars with a metal lid and she grabs on to the little handle and tugs it right off. She also moves around her heavy wood houses and chin chillers which sort of frightens me because she then stands on the house and stares at me as if to say "if you move this I will kill you in your sleep" lol. Who ever said rodents were dumb never had a chinchilla. They definitely adapt and learn pretty darn quickly.

 

[firestar]

mallo cup has learned that the tower fan in the living room ruffles her fur, so she always comes running when it gets turned on. for whatever reason, she loves having the fan blow on her belly - even when it's cold. she gives the stink eye if we walk in front of it, as if to say 'how dare you block my fan!' it's now mallo cup's fan, nobody else gets to use it.

 

[Dustbunnies]

My chin Bunny is always ricocheting in her cage. Pepper however, is less bouncy....but one day she wanted back out after we put her up and she hopped from the lava ledges on her door and did a wall jump off the middle (wooden back) of her chinspin up onto her house, then her shelf and into her tube. I thought is was adorable and a good jump and then she did it again...the exact thing. I opened the door and let her back out. Now I can get her to do it when she wants back out. I say "show me your trick." It is adorable and I am a sucker for it.

Bunny learns sounds and smells very easily and I can pat my hand on the dust bath or tap my finger on the treat dish and she will pop into sight. She also loves the guitar and will hop around and listen to it. It was really funny the first time I discovered it. She hasn't acted quite as funny now that she is more used to it.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Most of mine come when I call them and tap on the shelf. they come and sit right where I tap and wait for me to pick them up. It's really cute when the 6 week old litter of quads all rush to that one spot.