Minerealm Community Forums

Anyone who's on when I'm on knows I love my chinchillas. I have two chinchillas. Pikachu I've had for nearly a year now. The other, Moogle I got about two months ago. Both happy active little females. Currently integrating them, but very very slowly. I work at a pet store, and just instantly fell in love with Pikachu. She came a little younger than we're used to, and I played/handled her every day like I do all our chinchillas. so we just bonded immediately. Almost like I was her surrogate mother. I'd like to say I'm a fairly decent pet mom. I take them out for at least an hour each day, clean their cages once a week, water changed every two days, fresh hay and pellets every day, and then dust baths every other day. I check their ears, their teeth, fur health, skin under their feet, and their tails/bottom/genitals once a week.

Now, Pikachu has never been very vocal. The only time I hear her make noises is usually at night when she is lonely. Or when she is sleeping and having a bad dream. This noise is the typical barking noise that I (funnily enough) didn't expect at first. But I realize she was just trying to get me to give her attention, comfort her, and love her whenever she made this noise. It's like a high pitched vocal bark. Almost like a puppy whimpering. Sometimes Pikachu and Moogle bark angrily at eachother, which I've found typical of introducing them. Sometimes I hear them using that high pitched bark to vocalize and check if the other is around.

The issue I'm having: Pikachu had a sudden change of behavior a few days ago. She's become much more sleepy even at night. She bites at her fur, but I've not seen any spots missing so I think it might be intense grooming. Sometimes she sleeps huddled (she always has done this) but this seems more like curled over I suppose. The thing that worries me is that she's making these squeaking noises I've never heard her make before. And they're quite frequent! They're squeaks like a dog toy almost. She makes them a lot when she's awake not so much when she's sleeping. And I've become so scared that somethings wrong with my young girl that I've no idea where to turn.

Her stool is fine, not clumped, little oval-like black drops. She's been drinking and eating. She'll run around like she always has, take dust baths, let me pet her. And overall everything seems fine. but I just have this gut feeling whenever she makes this new noise that something may be wrong. And if I can't figure it out maybe someone can tell me more about it.

I don't know if these noises are typical and maybe she just picked them up or if something may actually be wrong with her. I've not found anything about this particular noise so it worries me. I'm hoping that someone who's heard/experienced these noises can help either calm my over-cautious nerves. OR tell me it's something serious and to seek vet help.

Luckily I have a video of her grooming herself and the noises she keeps making! So I hope it helps.

[youtube]93os-k4yaFk[/youtube]

Direct link:

If you don't feel like watching the whole 5-6 minute video, there are time stamps in the description that lead directly to the noises. 2:35 3:30-4:00 and 5:00 She's not usually in such a loud room *glares at rokkr* lol but I wanted to keep an eye on her and get some videos of the new behavior.

Thanks for reading! If you've had one before, know a lot about them, please let me know what you think.

Wanna see my chinchillas? http://instagram.com/pikachilla

I'd recommend asking a forum more focused on Chinchillas than minecraft.

http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/ind ... 6234d75996

Already posted on 3 separate forums, no one really has much to say so far so I figured I'd post here too because it can't hurt. I obviously don't expect people here to be chinchilla experts but you never know. lol I just wanted some other opinions before I dish out all the money I'd need for a vet visit. Don't want to spend money I can't afford right now just to find out she's fine. lol

Try going to a vet somewhere. They should be much more helpful than forums.

Hopefully it recovers.

Eetrab wrote:Try going to a vet somewhere. They should be much more helpful than forums.

Hopefully it recovers.

Like I said, don't expect to get expert advice. I just wanted a few opinions is all.

I'm sure your googling skills are equal to or greater than mine, but found this interesting:

http://www.chinchillachronicles.com/chi ... tures.html

may not be anything new for you or of help, but thought I'd paste it just in case.
Good luck, I hope you get some answers soon and that all is well.

Have you tried youtubing this type of scenario or just what the loud barking sounds may indicate for a female chinchilla? As Jeniansmom had provided through google, you can google what it may indicate too. Also, you could ask other at the pet store you work at. Maybe they may have some idea on what to do. (although you probably might have done that.)

I've done a LOT of asking around before resorting to forums/websites lol. I've asked coworkers at PetSmart, and vets at Banfield. I actually did find that site along with a few others that have samples of vocal noises. But thank you for looking. Unfortunately nothing really close to the squeaking I'm hearing. Which is strange to me. The only person so far that has heard something similar said something about her chinchilla making that noise when she does something he doesn't want her to do. I.e. petting too low on his stomach. But since she makes the noise all day when she's being interacted with and not I think it may be a different situation. The sudden change I found unusual, so that's really what worries me most of all. lol
Chinchillas by nature hide any ailments, pain, and stress they may have. So the noises being consistent all day is a bit concerning.
If anything I'll have to go to All Creatures and see if any of them have particular chinchilla expertise. Since they have the only exotic animal vets in the area, unfortunately. They'll do check ups and everything, but I'm not sure if any of them have a lot of experience with chinchillas vocal noises. (I did a lot of research/asking questions there before getting Pikachu)

It sounds sort of like a sneeze and she seemed to be rubbing her nose sometimes. I dunno if the rubbing is normal considering it's a chinchilla and I have a dog. Have you noticed any abnormal discharge from the nose or eyes? What age to chinchillas become sexually mature? Maybe she has and is doing her mating call thingy?

I'm not sure if the stool information gives you the hint that there is nothing stuck inside her, but perhaps the reason pikachu had an immediate change in voice might be because something got trapped in her throat or some part of her digestive system( not to sure what to call it)