First male (became father) Chico: Brother showed up at the door one day asking me to watch him for a while. He was already named, so i wasn't going to change it.
First Female (playmate for chico, became mother) Sophie: I had also taken her in from another owner then had to give her up. She was already named as well and i wasn't going to change it. HOWEVER due to playing a a game called Star Ocean: The last hope, it was a difficult name. One of the cute girl characters was named Sophia. So for a long time i called her Sophia instead of Sophie. Took me along time to break that habit. Turned out to be a good thing i did to.
Second Male (Chico and Sophie's first son) Houdini: Definitely the most interesting name. And the most horrifying story. I wasn't familiar with chinchilla breeding habits when i introduced chico and Sophie. Made the mistake of assuming it would be similar to other animals i had had.
For months i watched them closely (once they were face to face and after that living together) Sophie NEVER let chico try to hop on her. He tried, and she would chase him away fast as can be. (got along fine tho don't get me wrong). And Sophie never showed any signs of pregnancy.
After so many months the thought of a bay slipped to the back of my head. Until one day, i had my ferrets out running for their play time, when i heard a light screaming noise from under my fridge. (bottom wasn't covered anymore so they could slip under) I ran out, hit the breaker to shut the power off. and as i approached the fridge my ferret came walking out, completely fine. Which gave me that split second moment of relief.
But then i decided, I'm already right here, i mine as well look under and check. And as i got down and tried to look under the fridge (very dark) i could just barley make out a little face in the far back. At first i assumed it was a mouse. (not the first time) But mice run, this was staying still. So i sat their for a min starring at it. Trying to focus better to see what it was. And i start to notice a chin like nose... and whiskers. And i started to wonder, could it actually be?
Then all of a sudden, he did the chin classic move. The hand across the nose motion that Sophie was so fond of. And i was sent into a complete panic.
Grabbed my ferrets and put them back in their cage immediately. And my two chins suddenly became very interested in what i was doing. (Even more then usual) Their eyes didn't blink lol.
The kit was to far back to get out. I'm physical disabled so i cant move the fridge. Its like 9pm, no-one is home. And i am completely outa my league. Fortunately i was able to get ahold of on friend. He came over and was able to move the fridge out a little. Then look like a half hour to coax him out from underneath.
Having no preparation time, i put him in a box i had. While their was only one real option, i wasn't completely sure where he came from. And i was wary about putting him in the cage with my two. But i realized that he wouldn't survive the night alone. His only chance was my two chins. So i carefully put him into the cage with mommy and daddy. They both treated him fine. And the kit ran for a drink from mommy immediately.
The next morning i took the kit and Sophie to the vet to get him checked out. Vet said he was fine. Which was amazing. I asked him how old he though the kit was. And he estimated 9 days old... what!? 0.0
That was like getting hit in the head with a brick. 9 days!? I had a kit around for 9 days and didn't notice?? (considering i watch them closely and feed them every day) I found that hard to accept. I told it to the breeder i was talking to at the time, who agreed that 9 days seemed a bit off. So as a slight help, she sent me some old pics of some of her kits showing a day by day progression. And i have to say.. he most closely resembled the kit that was 9 days old. I was completely baffled. It couldn't be...
Side note: once mommy and daddy were separated in anticipation of her second litter, counting 111 from a date assuming the kit was 9days, lead her being past 111 by about 7 days. Which makes me think maybe the kit actually wasn't 9 days old. Which seemed more logical.
But having that future information at the time, i was left with the idea that this kit was born inside my Ferret Nation cage. Most likely in the large hut that is on the top shelf of the top floor of the cage. (and i still had FN ladders at the time, didn't no they were bad). So he had to have gotten from inside that hut, to the floor many feet below him, out side the cage. Their was no pleasant way to think about that. Then survived without mommy for who knows how long... It was terrifying. I wasn't prepared and the kit almost paid for it. (I know better now)
He was also incredible at escaping his cage that first day or two. So considering his story.. Houdini seemed fitting.
Moving on from that horror story!
Since i didn't no about Houdini when he was born, i had to assume my chin was pregnant again. Since Houdini was male and staying with daddy Chico, i separated Sophie to another cage as she came close to her date.
Second and Third Female (litter of two) Sophia and Ameena. It took several weeks to name these girls. The fridge that Houdini was under was an Amana fridge. I was going to name him Amana in honner of the fridge that died saving him... But he turned out to be a guy, so Amana wasn't going to work.
Ameena however was female, and looked exactly like Houdini. 100% (aside from some equipment differences) So i thought id name here Amana in honor of her brother.
Which left me with the other kit. She was a carbon copy of her mother. And as i was talking with the breeder that help me with Houdini, she mentioned that if she looks just like her, why not Sophia?
Which made me laugh so hard. Remembering the character form the game, and how i used to always call her mother that because of habit. (Which i broke by this point) It seemed so fitting and so perfect. So i named here Sophia
Which leaves the last kit. Ameena. If anyone happened to notice the ending of that saying Amana instead of Ameena.
In the game, their was a character Name Ameena, cute and innocent, that looked just like Sophia. Practical twins. (aside form being a few Galaxy's apart) Since i was thinking Amana for the kit, Ameena seemed very close, and also went along well with the other names. So i decided on Ameena of her
... Took an hour to type all that lol. Ill be surprised if anyone actually reads this wall of text lol. But its their if ya want to'
Note: I tried using spell check best i could, but my mouse likes to randomly double click and change a word without me seeing what it was. So if you come across a word thats completely outa place.. thats why.
