Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => General Chat => Topic started by: Joyce on September 15, 2006, 02:50:16 PM
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It has taken me a few days to recover from the exciting morning I had on Wednesday.
Well, first I wake up and find it very unusual not to have any cats in the bed with me! ::think:: Hmmm? I get out of bed and walk out into our living room where all 4 of our quite large cats race to greet me! And guess who was with the cats just running alongside them all like he was one of them? "OLIVER", one of Mia's 7 week old kits. ::Hairraising::
Yep! He was just prancing along side them like one of the big kitties,
::scaredspeachless:: I WAS HORRIFIED!!!!!!!!! He looked OK and seemed very happy! All three cats turned around and ran into the kitchen for their breakfast.........Oliver turned around too and ran with them. Our 2 Jack Russels just kind of sat and looked at me like "what's the fuss all about"? I ran for Mia's cage to find the door WIDE OPEN, Mia just siting by the door in a small panic! She was trying to tell me her sons had escaped. Yes, and the second kit Milo had not been located yet. I was a little sick at this point just praying he was OK. I could not find him. I calmly sat down in front of their cage and began calling the kits & filling a bowl with alfalfa hay......out pops Milo! He & Oliver were hungry. They both came right over to the bowl and I picked one up at a time to examine them. Both looked fine.
::tickedoff:: I gave them back to their momma who was very verbal, almost scolding them both for staying out all night! ::nono:: Apparently they opened the 2 fastener hooks on the cage and the babies let themselves out. Mia never left, I think she stayed home in case they ever returned. ::shrug:: Who knows. So we put 2 extra locks on the cage door now. We'll NEVER know how long they were out & running around, it is possible the whole night.
I am just so glad no body ate something harmful or chewed through a wire. We have been keeping a close eye out! These little escape artists are lucky! And I can laugh at the whole thing NOW! ;D
::silly:: Anyone else have any great escape stories to share?????????????
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WOW...I would have been horrified also! Not knowing if they were okay and where they had been all night. It is a good thing that your cats and dogs didn't think your babies were snacks ::puke:: ::) I am glad that you can laugh about it now, but I would still be double checking my locks on the cage doors at bed time.
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I would have been so scared!! ::Hairraising::
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Thats sooo funny :2funny: but also a little scary. :o thanks for sharing! :::grins::
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::silly::Sometimes our animals, even those who would be natural enemies, can teach us a thing or two. They were all willing to, and did, get along with each other. ::nod::
I would not suggest anyone 'test' their other pets to find out ... but, for those you do find that go against their natural instics, it makes them even more special to you. :blush2:
I hope you gave them all extra treats and a kiss!
::wave::
Jo Ann
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::) My laughter now is I think nervous laughter. And you are correct Janice. The past couple of nights I make Mike go after me and double check ALL cages to make sure they are all shut and latched. We are going to get safety latches for each cage now as a precaution. You know those metal ones that look like the ones at the end of your dog leashes that hook onto the collar? I'm picking up a bunch at Home Depot.
And yes Jo Ann, ALL got extra kisses, praise & treats!
Chins..........NEVER a dull moment!
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Poor Mia! She must have been so worried about her babies! and poor Joyce I would have panicked too! Well alls well that ends well. LOL. I'm glad everyone is safe and sound.
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Aww yes I have had a few rushes, I can laugh now too.
The panic at the time is ::pull hair::
From how could "I" to how could "they"
We are not perfect and do forget so triple checking is not out of the question.
The "they" chin can get anywhere they put their mind to, or drive us nuts trying.
My very first rush was when I had Pokie out in the car picking up my son from school.
I'd open the carrier and let him jump on my hands.
He jumped on the floor and under the seat. ::scaredspeachless::
My son walked up to the door with his hysterical mother screamming, don't open the door.
After he calmed me down by shouting back at me, and reassured me Pokie couldn't have gotten out, he jumps from under my seat. :blush2:
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Oh, I have had hundreds of escape stories!!! Most of them are pretty uneventful. I did have an adult male slide his pan out and get out of his cage that way. If you have seen my chinchilla building - it is just one huge room with a loft 8 feet in the air and just a little ladder going up there.
When I realized he was gone I spent 4 hours looking all over my chinchilla building floor. Finally I sat down in the middle of the floor, exhausted, and had to admit that he was no where! I have two doors going into my chinchilla building and those two doors are never open at the same time (so if a chinchilla were to escape out of the first door it would be locked in the office and not outside). I was trying to think if there was any time that the doors were left open together. My chinchilla was gone. I was about in tears! I laid down on the floor which had me looking up at the loft and guess what I saw. That silly little chinchilla had managed to climb an 8 foot ladder and was looking at me over the edge of the loft floor!!!
That became a favorite game of his and I had to retrieve him from that loft 5 more times before I found a chinchilla proof way to hook his cage pan so he couldn't get out.
:D
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I would have been terrified............ I can ony hope my dogs and cat would be so nice. But, I do hope that I never have to find out. ::nod::
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:2funny: Oh my gosh Jamie, I have heard lots of escape stories from lots of people including several of yours.......BUT........THIS STORY TOPS THEM ALL!!!!!!!!! This is by far the best chin story we have ever heard. I had to get Mike to come in from outside just to read this one. He & I were cracking up, I even rollled a few tears! rofl ;D
Just picturing you on the floor looking up into the loft and seeing this little head peering down is hillarious! :D
Not to mention a chinchilla climbimg an 8 ft. ladder! ::wow:: Now that's a bit scary. But the funny part is that he is a "chichilla" and they are capable of almost anything! They have such a drive don't they.
You should set a camera up and get this on film, you could win a prize I'm sure!
What is this particular chin's name? We need a name to put with the face!
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That was my Jeff! He is the chinchilla I use for the Chinchilla Breeders Org logo.
(http://www.chinchillabreeders.org/CBOlogo.jpg)
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You're a cutie Jeff!
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::gobananago:: Oh my gosh Jamie, the name "Jeff"!!! Now THAT is a great name and really fits his personality! ::banana::
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:2funny:
Oh my that was funny Jamie. :2funny:
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;D That is the funny funny stuff! :2funny:
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::silly::Jeff needs a bravery trophy ... I've seen that loft ... and I would not climb it!
::howdythere::
Jo Ann
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::scaredspeachless:: Well, they did it again last night! We ran out to do a few errands and when we returned I went to check on the chins. The 2 latches on Mia & the kit's cage door were undone! BUT...this time they could not escape because we had put two safety latches on the cage door. I was so relieved that I had done that or they would have gotten out again and may not have been so lucky this time.
:-\ If any of you have a Quality Cage you may want to put an extra latch or 2 on the door. This is the cage Mia & her kits are in, it's the Townhome. But the style would not matter the doors are all alike I think. The latches seem like they would be difficult to open for a chin, My chins can undo the latches and if they can any chin can! ::nod::
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I agree!!! Those dog leash type latches are the only way to go. If a chinchilla is determined enough it will find a way to open anything else!!! Its amazing how smart they are!
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::silly::We have one chin that is very defiant and I have to make sure I lock her extra locks on her cage door everytime it is opened for anything.
Bill & I were feeding and watering the chins one day and a cage door popped open and out comes Jamie! We put her back in and closed the door ... less than a minute later we hear the latch on the cage as it hit against the wire, turned around and the door was open again. I closed it again and told her she was a bad girl. Bill and I stood and watched her as she very quickly grabbed the latch with her teeth, pulled back and popped it open again ... then looked at us, apparently very satisfied with herself, like "Can't keep me in, can ya?!?!" rofl
We just looked at each other and laughed. :D Bill quickly hunted down some extra "dogie" latches, then she got so mad, she just grabbed the door with all fours and rattled the whole cage. It scared some of the other chins ... warning sounds came from every direction! :o We took her out and put her in the "time-out" carry cage for about 10 minutes, then put her back and told her if she was good, she could get out to play after we finished.
She did get to get out and play ... about 30 minutes later. ::)
I'll put the picture of her in my album. ::nod::
::wave::
Jo Ann
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Too funny Jo Ann,
Great pic.
I had one last night that got so mad when I did not let him out he recked his cage.
I filled up his dishes and gave him his treat, and he proceeded to flick the treats all over the place. Then he dragged his hay all over his cage, and emptied his food dish onto the floor.He would claw at the glass door then go do more damage. A real tempertantrum he threw, it was hilarious. :2funny:
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those are such funny stories my chins are pretty mad at me cause since we moved I haven't had time to play with them as much they still love me and greet me and stuff I am still getting around to putting everything in it's place and find new homes for my junk and throwing more out when hubby is away cause he is a pack rat ::tickedoff::
my chinnies haven't figured that trick out yet but I am waiting for it but before they do I am going to get a lock on both my doors so they don't cause we have lots of cords everywhere and that wowuldn't be good :2funny:
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:blush2: I think accidental didn't latch the door to one or the cage's, and My Husband woke up with a chin on his head. My white ebony. I don't know how she didn't end up on the ground, since the cage was on the dresser and the door open's to nothing.Our bed is off to right of the dresser. ::shrug::
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;D They never stop amazing us do they!!!!! rofl
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Nope It is always some thing new. ::silly::
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I tell you it's a real rush when they brake out around here, they head right for the store.
We call it chinchilla heaven.
800 square feet of wood furniture, mostly antiques, so funny to hear Hubby gasp. :D
He made a half a door, so their little room could have good air flow, and still keep them in there. Just in case I for got or they get smarter, and they do. ::nod::
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::silly::Be careful, Debbie, that 1/2 door may not keep them in ... some can really get some height to their jumps!
Yesterday,We Lady, our Great Dane, finally found the two chins, again, that were loose for 5 days, and this time Bill was able to catch them. She found them 4 or 5 times in the first 3 days, but they would suddenly vanish before we could catch them. (This is a pair of breeders and they are not use to being played with on a daily basis). I think am sure they must have been laughing their little heads off at us while pearing out from some nice little cubby hole while we searched for them franticly, during the whole 5 days. I had water and food set out for them (in a trap cage), but the little Einsteins avoided it. The other chins kept them supplied with pellets and hay they would pitch to them from their cages when we were not there. A bottle of water (that I did not see) had been turned over on the shelf gave them enough water, since they avoided the water bottle in the trap cage. The dust bath dust was clearly being used ... as a matter of fact, they were not the least bit harmed by their adventure ... one even gained weight!!!
Never a dull moment around chinchillas!
::wave::
Jo Ann
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That's helarious Jo Ann,
The little darlings. :D
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::silly:: ::howdythere:: Little Houdini s everywhere! Night before last, Lady, would not get in bed with us to sleep like she usually did and insisted on sleeping on the floor next to the bed. She was two years old in June and this was a first for her.
Yesterday, several times she would set outside the computer room door grumbling words at me ... ::think:: I do wish I was as smart as she and could under stand her as she does us.
Well, to make a long story shore, as you have probably guessed by now ... another chin was loose! This time up stairs and ... you guessed it ... under our bed where Lady was keeping an eye on her all night instead of sleeping in the nice soft bed. All I can say (and proudly) is "That's my Lady!"
She helped us coax the little one out ... this time it was Jewel, our tri-pod chin.
Hopefully this will be the last evasive chin for a little while! :D
::wave::
Jo Ann
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Those escape stories are hilarious rofl
One of my chins got out once & jumped straight on top of my pekingese...The startled dog bolted down the passage at high speed with the chin riding on his back & me in hot pursuit. :2funny:
All ended well and I think it is funny now but at the time I was horrifed :2funny:
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::silly::Y'all have been hearing all the stories how my Great Dane, Lady, gets chinnie kisses and helps me by standing watch at the doors while I clean each cage and how she has been letting us know when a chin is loose and helps us find it.
Well, two more chins got loose Tuesday ... again, Lady helped, as usual ... not only to find and help catch them ... but, guess how they've been getting out ...
That's right ... Lady's been letting them out to play with her while we've been gone! :D They must be playing hide-n-seek. ::) We caught her trying to open a cage door with her nose ... now we know why they all give her kisses! I couldn't really fuss at her ... Buster, the pom, will not play with her, so ... hello chinnies! :blush2:
Now we have to close the door to the basement when we leave the house. ::glare::
::wave::
Jo Ann
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Oh my gosh Jo Ann,
;D ::clapp:: Now THAT is a wonderful story!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it and cannot wait to share that one with friends! ::fruit::
::beeker:: If you were to leave the basement door open by accident..... when you got home one day your house would look like that chinchilla commercial by H&R Block!!!!!!!!!! rofl :2funny:
::thumbsup:: Animals are truly amazing aren't they though!
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::silly::Possibly, but hopefully not. She usually only opens only one cage ... thank-goodness ... so far anyway.
We were out of town Friday and Saturday and she did not open any ... we are so proud of her! ... maybe not getting to go down to visit them the previous several times we were out shopping let her know it was a "no-no" to let them out when we were gone. ::)
::wave::
Jo Ann