Wally tries to bite me, but only on one wooden ledge...?

[starrynight0621]

Wally has a new strange behavior.

Both tonight and the previous evening, I saw him sitting on a ledge out in the open near the TV. I tried to give him scritches, and each time he tried to bite me! He didn't break skin, but it was definitely a hard, "don't you mess with me" warning. Definitely not grooming or love-nibbling. It was very sudden too; he didn't even take much time to sniff my finger to determine if I was a threat or a treat.

There is another ledge he likes to spend time on. It's protected by a wall, is close to a ceiling, and probably makes him feel more "secure." Every time he sits there, he lets me give him scritches. Also, I pick him up out of his cage and put him in a carrier every other night without any issues.

My hands don't smell any different; I always wash them with the same soap before touching the chins.

So what is with this behavior? Is he protecting the ledge? Feeling vulnerable? Hating me at the time?

 

[kerri101]

I think he is "claiming" that ledge as his own hes up higher he maybe feels like he is the boss up there LOL...My chin gets nippy when she is out and I go near her "poo" spot in my room ( yup she has a place she loves to poo outside of the cage

 

[mistywaterwoman]

They can be finicky little boogers!! He's just saying "Don't mess with me while I am here!" so just leave him be. Obviously, he likes his privacy when he's watching something on TV.

 

[Vcchinchilla]

i bought a bed for mine and meimei will be the biggest __________ ever when he is on it

it's pretty scary he's not doing a kacking sound literally growling or something
and trying to bite you and will bite you

anywhere else he doesn't care

 

[smhluvsmh]

My sweet natured, lovable Sterling, unkindly told her sister, Micah, to get out of her view of the TV one night. Poor Micah was so startled and wasn't quite sure what to think! By the way, Micah is the dominant in the relationship.

 

[jess32247]

My chin gets like that too. When she's in one of her "spots" she won't let me touch her at all, not even for her scritches. She will either nip me lightly or step a few inches away. If I keep touching her, she'll go to a diffrent spot and day dream for a while. But if I call her, she'll come running just to be near me. Chins are very sassy fuzz balls!

 

[ChinnyMom]

my Rhino has a shelf where he doesn't like to be bothered by me. if i do go to pet him, he'll run across the other shelf at the back of the cage and go on top of his tube and glare at me! lol.

 

[tcraighenry]

My little one does this. There will be no scritches while she surveys her kingdom from the top ledge.

If she wants to be social she'll run down to me after giving me a nip.

 

[Lilune]

Amp does the same thing on one particular pillow in her play room. Its a super soft fleece penguin that she's decided is hers. Shes all about scritches and wall surfing until she flops down on that, then I get nothing but glares and her "Don't touch!" squeaks.

On a somewhat related note; you guys' chins watch tv too? xD Shes captain short attention span until we watch anime, then she perches and stares intently for half the night. We've caught our usually hyperactive gerbils standing and staring too, I like to pretend they're heckling Statler and Waldorf style.