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[tophatchin]

I have a single chinchilla, about 3 years old and I've been concerned about her behavior as of late. When I'm gone she never seems to do a whole lot in her cage. She does eat and drink, I always make sure she has adequate amounts of food, water, and hay, but she always seems so unstimulated. Almost whenever I walk into the room she perks up immediately wants to come out, even if it isn't time for it. Sometimes I just want to cuddle with her a little bit in her cage door but when I block her from exiting, she bites at me and scratches at the floor of her cage. Just now when I came into her room I found her sleeping in her hammock and it's 10:30 at night.

What should I do?

EDIT: I'm also afraid she doesn't trust me. Are there any ways I can regain her trust?

EDIT2: She's also very insistent on getting under the bed. She knows she's not supposed to get under, but more often than not she finds a way even when I have everything blocked off. She claws and scratches at spots to try and burrow her way under and it worries me.

[GrayRodent]

How big is the cage?
Are you doing anything that has scared or traumatized her? It is unusual for a chinchilla to bite.
Yes you can re-tame her if you know what is causing this.
What kind of toys do you keep in the cage?
How often does she get let out?
What is her sleep schedule like? Does she get natural lighting? Is there a lot of artificial lighting around at strange hours?
It sounds like your chinchilla is scared of something and trying to find a dark place to hide. It could be trying to find a dark place to sleep. Does she have a hutch or a dark place to go otherwise?

[tophatchin]

>How big is the cage?
Fairly large. It was intended for adult ferrets and she has it all to herself.

>Are you doing anything that has scared or traumatized her? It is unusual for a chinchilla to bite.
Not to my knowledge! Most of the time I just let her run around and crawl on me. I'll pet her very gently at times, just grazing my finger over her head and back, hardly touching her spine.

>What kind of toys do you keep in the cage?
Right now she has a stuffed animal as a kind of cuddle buddy. She also has nibblers, wood chews, and a wheel, but it doesn't seem like enough most of the time. What would you recommend?

>How often does she get let out?
At least once a day, for an hour or so. I always feel like she isn't getting enough but I also can't be home all day to take care of her.

>What is her sleep schedule like? Does she get natural lighting? Is there a lot of artificial lighting around at strange hours?
As far as I know her sleep schedule should somewhere between early morning (around 1 or 2 maybe?) to at least 5 in the evening. I know chinchillas are nocturnal so I always try to let her sleep during the day.

>It sounds like your chinchilla is scared of something and trying to find a dark place to hide. It could be trying to find a dark place to sleep. Does she have a hutch or a dark place to go otherwise?
No, she doesn't. Her cage is right up against a full window. Her igloo she climbs into most times to sleep is just a plastic pink one, does she need a carved out wooden home?

Once when she found her way under the bed she was just sitting in the corner, looking like she was sleeping. It did raise some red flags.

EDIT: Now that I think about it I'm not even sure she uses her wheel a whole lot. She's always had some kind of problem with them. I've tried using the usual circular ones like hamsters and other rodents have but she would run too fast in them and cause them to break or fall apart. I've also tried using a saucer like wheel but she couldn't run very fast in that either.

[GrayRodent]

Sounds like you're doing a lot of things right. The big thing that I'm concerned about is the fact your chin is right up against a big window. As you know they are sensitive to drafts and heat. If it gets over 75F it could cause brain and organ damage in a chinchilla. Sometimes at lower temperatures if the chin is active. The igloo which is made of translucent plastic probably gets hotter on the inside in direct sunlight. It is possible the stress from the heat and light is preventing her from sleeping during the day and causing extreme irritability and sleepiness that may explain the behavior.

These symptoms could be of other potentially serious health problems too. Especially if she is having trouble running on her wheel as opposed to not running on it (not all chins like wheels). I recommend a vet checkup by an exotic pet vet that specifically treats chinchillas. It may be time for a tooth exam too especially if she is not chewing on her toys and biting you which may indicate there is pain somewhere.

I also recommend getting a wooden hutch that allows good shade for sleeping and highly recommend positioning the cage away from the window and out of any place where direct sunlight can fall.
Other things your chin might like would be wooden shelves in the cage to jump on and hanging wooden toys to add interest. You can try different shapes of wood toys as well.

How is her food and water intake? You can tell if they are backing off their food if you notice decreased fecal output with unusually small and hard feces.

[tophatchin]

Sounds like you're doing a lot of things right. The big thing that I'm concerned about is the fact your chin is right up against a big window. As you know they are sensitive to drafts and heat. If it gets over 75F it could cause brain and organ damage in a chinchilla. Sometimes at lower temperatures if the chin is active. The igloo which is made of translucent plastic probably gets hotter on the inside in direct sunlight. It is possible the stress from the heat and light is preventing her from sleeping during the day and causing extreme irritability and sleepiness that may explain the behavior.

These symptoms could be of other potentially serious health problems too. Especially if she is having trouble running on her wheel as opposed to not running on it (not all chins like wheels). I recommend a vet checkup by an exotic pet vet that specifically treats chinchillas. It may be time for a tooth exam too especially if she is not chewing on her toys and biting you which may indicate there is pain somewhere.

I also recommend getting a wooden hutch that allows good shade for sleeping and highly recommend positioning the cage away from the window and out of any place where direct sunlight can fall.
Other things your chin might like would be wooden shelves in the cage to jump on and hanging wooden toys to add interest. You can try different shapes of wood toys as well.

How is her food and water intake? You can tell if they are backing off their food if you notice decreased fecal output with unusually small and hard feces.

I've been looking around for wooden hutches to solve that lighting issue. Unfortunately there aren't many places in the room where she can be without sunlight so perhaps blocking out the windows with blankets and other such things will help?
 Her food and water intake in takes looks fine, I see her eating and drinking fairly often(especially after play time) and her poops don't look any bigger or smaller than usual. A few months ago though she was having some big poops so she was eating much more those days, but they've gone back to the tiny ones.

That sleep thing is what I'm most concerned with now that I know. I'm going to get right on it.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

I also think it could be heat. I personally get exhausted during hot weather, and I'm sure many other creatures feel the same. As for the behavior, I am confused too.

[tophatchin]

I also think it could be heat. I personally get exhausted during hot weather, and I'm sure many other creatures feel the same. As for the behavior, I am confused too.

I'm pretty sure she isn't getting overheated. Even with her cage by the window, the AC in that room is always on just for that purpose.

[GrayRodent]

The temperatures in direct sunlight will be way warmer than air temperature. I recommend monitoring with a digital thermometer by the cage. It can certainly help to block out the window with thick curtains or blackout blinds during the day. These are not too difficult to install. Foam board or foil backed insulation is fairly inexpensive if you don't have that option but it's kind of crumbly.