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[vcchinchilla]

I'm starting to notice Mei Mei is getting to be worst and worst behavior

Kinda of untrusting and when on his run, he won't focus on exploring but instead biting everything like the corner of the wall/cabinet door/ bathtub

I push him slightly away he rush over attempt to I think bite me

I'm not doing ne thing and he'll come up to my arm, do this kind of digging scratching thing on me and nip me

sometimes im giving him a nice scratch suddenly he doesn't like it and tries to bite me

I'm wondering if he's like this because I check his teeth often or have a look at his genitals (hair rings)
He puts up quite a struggle

Could all this be because of me checking on him

[dianah]

eating corners etc is pretty much normal behaviour. sorry the room where you chin runs around will be nibbled on.

i think you're right, he bites you - is it a warning bite or do you end up bleeding? - because he doesn't want you to go near him because he knows what you may do! how often do you check his teeth/hair rings? it is of course a good idea to do these checks, however, checking things like teeth too often will prevent you from noticing changes accurately (sort of like seeing someone on a daily basis and not noticing they've put on weight whereas if you saw them once every six months, you would do).

however, i have not experienced this running up the arm and nipping thing. does he do that and then run away again?

remember they express affection by grooming their mates and i have noticed with some of mine (the young ones!) that their bite needs to be 'calibrated' as they don't realise that i don't have thick fur and their bites hurt! they eventually learn to nibble more gently. but the amount of times i had tears in my eyes after they bit my nostrils 

[chinclub]

How does he act when he is in the cage and you stick your arm in?

[jmdebb]

for the chewing part, dineah, is correct, this is what they do,,, chew chew chew. they don't care what it is, all the want to do is chew.

what i did was put cardboard around my whole room, so they can't get to the walls, then i push the cages up against them to hold them in place. maybe you can do this.. 

jean

[vcchinchilla]

i'm not so worried of him biting the corners of the  bathroom i'm more afraid the fact he's eating some sort of wood paint plaster? hope it wont effect his health??

when I stick my arm in his cage, he jumps on it

his pawing digging thing sometimes makes me wonder if he's trying to hump my hand or something... dont they usually mount kind of grabing at the risk or something?

i notice today when he does the pawing digging thing on the towel and biting it he makes this kind of laughing noise @_@.... going mental?

we play this game where i shake the towel and charges at it and jumps around it, he gets reallly into it sometimes and makes this kind of laughing sound...

would this be a bad game ... meaning is he actually attacking the towel and its makes him more aggressive?

sometimes we play chase the towel or towel chasing him ..

[dianah]

it's not a good idea for them to eat anything they're not supposed to be eating. mine had their fair share of wallpaper and paint, thankfully they're ok. you try to prevent it as much as you can but you know.. the amount of time i had to wrestle a piece of wallpaper out of a chinchilla hand (they are SO strong!) - there's no wallpaper in their room now but they eat the skirting boards now. i tell them off and they usually stop when i get near them.

i don't know about the digging etc, i've never had any of mine doing that.. sorry! hopefully someone else will know.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I find the digging is an at temp to tell me they want something.Mine will dig at my hand trying to get out.I'm thinking he's not fond over the game,or he's trying to be dominant over the game.Try stopping it for awhile and see how he behaves.

[chickiewawa]

This is probably a dumb question, but what are hair ring? And why do you check them?

[dianah]

boys can get hair rings - bits of hair can get stuck inside of the sheath and wrap around the penis to form a ring which gets tighter. it's a dangerous condition and so it's a good idea to check for them. there are some videos on youtube on how to do it but basically i take a boy, stick him on my lap with his back facing my tummy, gently roll the sheath down to check that the penis is free and then let go. they're not keen.