Weird chinchilla behavior or normal?

[kittypoop]

My chin wont drink from a bottle ive tried rubbing a raisin on the end but he just licks it off. so i have a bowl for him is okay to just have a bowl? or does he need to be on the bottle?

My chins one ear is floppy sometimes does this mean anything?

He also throws his food dish (which is heavy) off his shelf and doesnt like the new pellets i gave him he prefers the cheap ones i used to have. is he just picky? or being a brat?

when me and my chin bond i tickle him and scratch him and he loves it he jumps and makes chirps and wags his tail then i realized this is mating...:err:
but he lets off a weird smell. is he tooting? or what? its strange. ahah

Also last thing. my chin goes by the door where my cat tried to swat at him from the other side. and he used to get scared and run and id spray my cat with a water bottle xD
but now he lingers and chirps and tries to dig by the door. so it was annoying me so i said "You wanna see whos over there?!" to teach him a little lesson and i opened the door and help my chin to my cat and of course my cat got the wild look in his eye and batted my chin O_O i felt bad to i brought him back in and he ran to the door and chirped even more and was like begging to go out again....what does this mean? its frustrating. is it males kinda sayin "Come at me bro" ? or what?

 

[kerri101]

Chin should have a bottle...the ball thing at the end can get stuck depends on the different bottles sometimes if you screw the cap to tight on some it can be hard for the water to get out..if the bottle is on the outside of the cage take an elastic and mark the water level that was you can monitor the water intake with the blow even a heavy one can get tipped chins should not get wet also if you have cats ...which I do depending on your cage type and bar spacing it may be a good idea to wire the cage....I did this on personal preference and safety I didnt want my cats swiping at chin or poking noses through the bars cats carry a lot of germs chins can catch ....chins and cats should not have any contact with each other because of this one swipe and chin could be hurt ....
chin may be making noise barking or kacking because cat is near there territory

 

[Shooper]

I would keep the heavy bowl on the floor of the cage instead of a shelf. Chins dont drink much so maybe you just arent seeing him drink from the bottle?? My chins always try to get under the door too...sometimes I think they just want to go anywhere that they aren't suppose to! I surely wouldnt try to teach him a lesson by letting your cat swipe at him!!

 

[kittypoop]

no its the fact all he does is sit there he doesnt escape its just annoying him talking to my cat. and hes always closed in my room the cat never met him till the other day.

what about the other questions?

 

[dragsil]

He sounds a lot like my Sid, who does the tail wagging, mounting and smell from his scent glads as well.....Sid releases the smell several times a day (usually when he is trying to mate with my hand) but the others never do. Maybe get him a cuddle buddy to take out his frustrations on? I got one for Sid and he has quietened down a lot!

and yeah, I agree with the others......chins and cats are not a good mix, no matter how much confidence you might have in the cat things can (and do) go wrong all the time, so best if they are allowed no contact at all

 

[Khammy]

Hah... New parenting anxieties. I remember them well...

I would suggest the bottle and just test the ball bearing every once in a while to make sure that it's not stuck. bowls work ok but they get contaminated quickly. Mine used to poo in their water then drink it. Maybe it was extra flavoring.. just kidding.

Floppy ears and throwing stuff is normal. They all have their quirks and personalities but yeah, I'd suggest putting it on solid ground instead of a shelf. I would also suggest sticking with the healthier stuff if you can. They'll get used to it when they're hungry enough.

I can't comment on the hand mating thing since none of mine do it but sounds funny. Oh and yeah, I also agree about the cat/chin no-no thing. Better safe than sorry right?

Hopefully your blood pressure can go down a little now.

 

[becky12883]

When Rufus was young he tried to mate with everything he could. We got him a stuffed animal from the pet store, it was a round little rabbit stuffed animal that was actually a dog toy. It worked and he eventually grew out of that stage. I washed the rabbit at least once a week though because it would smell terrible if left for any longer than that. I think if you check the Supplies For Sale topic there is a list of sellers at the top and some of them make "cuddle buddies". Good luck!