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[RENEE~DASH]

Hello,

I have had my Chinchilla for 7 months now...

She loves to get on my arm and force her head under my arm pit and lay there.  When I start petting or scratching her tail/butt, she makes this cute little noise and then there is this smell.  What is that?

Also, she has these plastic igloo houses where she loves to go in and sleep all the time and a plastic corner piece in the cage for her Timothy Hay that she loves to sit in and poop and eat her hay.  She now all of a sudden chews the crap out of them when I go to bed.  She used to be so quiet at night and now I keep hearing her chew all the plastic in the cage.  Is there something wrong with her and why all of a sudden she is into plastic?  I warn her a couple times and then if I have to get out of bed the third time I take the plastic out of her cage and then she crys. 

Thanks in advance for your help!
 

[dianah]

they produce the smell when they're scared. it's this white substance that comes out of their bum - you cannot normally see it but i have a chin who had a lot of gut problems and i had to squeeze poo out of her on numerous occasions, hence... so perhaps she's not that happy that you're doing in and the cute little noises are meant to tell you to stop?

plastic, definitely take it out if she's chewing it. if she ingests it, it can get stuck in her gut and this could be fatal. if she cries when you take it out, can you replace it with something similar made of wood? it's generally advised that chin cages shouldn't have any plastic in them as it is dangerous and as in your experience, they can suddenly become interested in it even though they showed no interest before.
they are not keen on changes in their home and they like it their way but you are the 'parent' and you know better if they throw a strop, they throw a strop. they will get over it, just like kids. try distracting them with additional toys etc

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I call them chinnie farts though I have never seen a substance, just a fowl smell. It helps when pray comes handy. Who wants to eat anything that smells that bad 
And yes replace the plastic, she started chewing now cause she's bored and realizes she can chew them. Get some toys for her too.

[Jo Ann]

    Definitely remove all plastic!  Their little systems can not digest plastic and it can cause havoc with their tummies and intestines.  It can kill.
Also, remove any and all aluminum parts before putting a toy or a holder in their cage.  Aluminum is a soft metal and the chinchillas will chew it, with the same results as plastic ... trouble, with a capitol "T".  We decided to purchase very expensive aluminum trays, because they would not rust, only to find out they would chew the edges, leaving what looked like a serrated knife edge.  [Photo below.]  The damage in the picture was done in one night.

If you can't find a wooden hut fairly quickly ... oatmeal  or tissue boxes work great ... they are chewable and disposable!  I usually peel off the outer layer if it has allot of color on it ... not fond of the idea of them eating ink.

Toilet tissue rolls,   http://www.luvnchins.com/VideoSimpleChinchillaToys.html  (especially the large ones), empty paper towel rolls, a paper bag anything that they can chew on safely, climb on or in safely, and/or drag around is usually enjoyed by the chinchillas.  

Except for the long term sturdy ones, like the flying sauser wheel, expensive toys are generally for our bragging benefit only.  (Except for the long term sturdy ones, like the flying sauser wheel.)
Check out the pages in this section:  
http://luvnchins.com/ChinchillaSupplies.html  Take a look at the expensive huts that lasted less than a month.

   Jo Ann