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[Debbie.nl.ca]

That's what Chris said.
She told him the yard was fenced, but the dog had dug a hole so she figured that was how she got out.
I do know folks who play in the garden with their chins, and some I know would just flop around, but some would be gone in a flash.

Ya know it's funny, I take my chins out all the time, and yes sometimes out on the deck in my arms with no harness.
The other night a neighbor and her son dropped over and he had one of his chins in his shirt. Something I do all the time, but I got nervous with him doing it.It was only from the car to the house but I still got nervous.
I trust me and my chins, I guess he knows his now too, because the little critter wouldn't come out of his shirt until I took him and when I passed him back he dove head first back inside the shirt.
So much has to do with owners , chins and their level of trust with each other.

But let one out in the garden, alone has to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

[mikasauntie]

I just stopped in to say hello to our new girl Ari on the way to work this morning...no chinchilla, and the cage was shut up tight.  I found her happily sitting in her dustbath box (lid down, of course).  It is what I THOUGHT was chinproof, it sits in the cage with a hook extending from the lid to the cage bars to keep it in the closed position.  The breeder makes them and has been in the business forever.  I guess we're going to shopping for a new dustbath today.     

Between that surprise and this thread, I'm thinking her next trick will be the cage door.  Our previous adult Mika never did anything like this.  Kids these days!       

[Jo Ann]

   The little snap hooks used to attach something to a key ring or belt loop works wonders on cage doors ... that's about the only thing that keeps some of our chins in the cages!  I have only had one to get a snap hook loose/open and I think that was sheer luck ... it hasn't happened since.  (knock on wood) 

Once they learn to open the doors, there is no keeping them in the cage without extra locks ... they love to go exploring!   

Any hole/opening that is 1" square or larger ... most kits up to 6 weeks old and sometimes older can get through them and larger chins can get stuck in them. 

They can squeeze under the front of a dresser and spider-climb all the way up the back sides of the drawers to the top one. 

I have even heard of chinchillas squeezing under the clearance at the bottom of a door made to clear the carpet in the room. 

Getting under/behind a stove or refrigerator is no problem for them ... between cabinents, furniture and a wall, couches, chairs and beds ... they can hide in any of these places. 

As long as they come out, you are fine, but, some will get into a place that is to small to turn around in and get out of ... such as a central air/heating unit and become stuck ... when this happens, you may get bit getting it out ... it is already scared and maybe even hurt and will not be itself ... thick gloves are good to keep handy.  I had this happen once ... the chin could not get itself out and let me know, in no uncertain terms, it hurt to get it out.  I knew I was going to get bit and did, but I could not be mad at the chin ... all it knew was that it was hurt and scared and my haveing to wedge it back out didn't help the pain any.  But, he was sore for less time than I was and all is well that ends well.   

   Jo Ann

[BrightEyed]

Our Oswald managed to climb up into the bottom of the cabnets in our guest bathroom. The bottom of the cabnets and drawers was solid so I couldn't just take out the bottom drawer to get him out. We actually pulled the front peice of wood off the very bottom where he had gotten in and got him out. I didn't know what in the world was under there.. all I could think of was poison for bugs or other critters so I wanted him out ASAP. Oz remembers his little spot and tried to do it again so that bathroom is no longer a place his is allowed, even if I'm sitting right by the sink b/c I almost didn't get him the second time!

They sure are tricky little animals!

[Jenova]

I didn't realise how strong Chinchillas are. Cheech still tries to pull off the huge plank of wood that covers the gap under the bed and she can manage it too, so we have sit in front of it when she's out.
Aren't their memories great? 

[shadowborne]

Alright, here is something new. Chinchilla has an expanded area to play in, mainly the two downstairs rooms after we chin proofed them. Everything has been fine for 2 weeks, we blocked off the stairs with a high gate she can't fit through, and today we didn't watch her 100% and she has gone missing. We went to her usual hiding places, under a cabinet and a few hiding places we made for her that she loved and nothing. Her treat container, which usually draws her out, hasn't worked, tapping on her bath hasn't worked, and the carrier she loves normally hasn't brought her out. I am starting to get very worried about her as it's been about 30 minutes since we let her out and she went missing. I looked through at the suggestions and have used a number of them, any others? Right now she normally puts herself in the cage so we left it up with the normal ways to get in but anything that might draw them out or maybe a way to find them would be appreciated. Thank you.

Yes, I started this message before and once again she has gone missing.

[Abby W.]

How high is the gate?  Chins can jump as high as six feet.  Is it possible she jumped over the gate and is elsewhere in the house?

[shadowborne]

It's about 5 and a half feet tall, she actually hasn't been able to jump that high yet. She has tried many times but always fails to get above about 3 feet, 4 when she really really tries.

[shadowborne]

~sigh~ I can blame my father this time. He left the utility door open and "forgot" he had done so. We found her hiding behind the heater and had to drag her out and clean her up. I am in the process of putting up signs that hopefully people will read.

[Abby W.]

Behind the heater!     Well, all's well that ends well, I guess.  Glad she is ok.

[Jo Ann]

   I had one get stuck under the central air unit once ... he could not get himself out ... I got him out and got bit in the process, but he was OK.  That's all that matters ... that they are OK and we be more careful the next time.

You were wanting other places a chin might hide ... here are a few places I have found loose chins or that have been told to me:

Inside shoes/boots and shoe boxes are always a good place to look.   

Sewing kits, hat, picture boxes, storage boxes ... most anywhere or anything that will open and close.  They are smart enough to get them open.  Even if it looks closed, check it out ... it may have closed properly AFTER the chin got in it. 

Beside, behind, under, in and on top of most appliances and furniture are favorite places for a chin to hide.   

Holes in and around plumbing should always be sealed completely ... these are not only a place to hide, but also place to get outside (or have mice get inside). 

Showers and bathtubs are also a good place to hide ... until the human turns the water on!   

Perched on plumbing pipes or anything that provides a resting place that is pretty much out of site.   

   Jo Ann

Anyone else have an unusual place they have found a chin or heard of someone else finding a loose chin?

[Jenova]

At 4am I woke up to go to the toilet. I was cold so I turned off the air conditioner. I got back into bed and was just about to fall asleep when I heard patter patter patter going from the chinchilla cages all the way along to the opposite side of the room and back again. Because I was half asleep I thought the walls were falling down! I woke my boyfriend up and turned on the light and my first thought was to check the chinchillas. Cheech was sitting up looking at me but Chong wasn't there.

I mustn't have fastened his door and he'd managed to pull it open and get out. I don't even know how long he'd been out. I had to pull the draws of a cabinet to get him out in the end because he was adamant he didn't want to go back in his cage. Luckily he's very tame. 

Now I double check all the chin doors before I go to sleep.

[Sillychinchilly]

I was a pirate last year for Halloween, and the boots that I wore sit in my room... It seems like almost every time Pixel gets out of her cage, she heads for those boots. We put a small lock on it this morning, so she can't get out, and she's not happy. She sat there rattling the door for almost an hour this afternoon.
When she gets out of the cage, she hides in the most obvious places. she goes in those boots and we can see her tail sticking out... once she hid inside of a gray shirt that was laying on the floor... which she apparently thought her tail (once again sticking out) blended into, because she was pretty adamant that we couldn't see her. She'll hide between two books on the bookshelves, or under the desk... She's not a good hider... thankfully, lol.
Our room is also thankfully completely chinproofed. No wires, no really small spaces she can get into (except shoes, which I have a ton of...) Nothing poisonous, and no water she can get into... Nothing she can chew on that would hurt her, that I've noticed, and she can't get under the bed... We had a little disaster once where she crawled behind our water bed just after we put it up (I had yet to stuff the holes) and we had to have eight people in there to move it so i could crawl under it to get her... O.o
She's an escape artist, but she's no master of disguise. hehehe

[Jenova]

She probably wants you to find her, so you know she was clever enough to escape.