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[Angelia]

I've had Wookie for over a month now and she is very sweet, and entertaining, but I'm concerned that she is an idiot. She may be only 6 months old or so. She runs into things all the time, or misses her target when jumping from one place to the next, and it scares her. She usually does this, runs to her cage, and carefully comes back out to repeat the same mistakes... she has run into a pole, my knee, my hand, the side of her cage, walls, and other objects... and she has fallen from the toilet seat, the top of her cage, my desk, my piano, my computer, and my computer chair... she's a total spaz and it's funny to watch but I'm still a little worried. Sometimes when I pet her she acts like she didn't see it coming and she is surprised by my touch... this is why I thought she might actually have some blindness, or maybe very poor depth perception. Is any of this normal chin behavior? She has been this way since I've had her.

She seems to be improving on particular maneuvers that she has done a few times... is it possible she is just young and not well coordinated yet?

[lilchinchilla]

If you feel she is blind, you can take her to a vet and let them know of your suspicions. They can check her eyes for you and see if she is indeed blind or not.

I had a chin once I got from a breeder, that acted perfectly normal. He never fell down off anything, never had a problem hopping up or finding toys to chew and nibble on... When I took him to the vet however, the vet was shocked to find he was completely blind in both eyes. So he did tests with the lighting to figure this out. Basically he found that my boy was acting normal because he used his whiskers to feel what was before him. That was how come he never fell off the counter or into the sink (we tested him there on the counter in the clinic....- he would use his whiskers to feel what was in front of him.). He looked like a normal chin, acted like a normal chin but completely 100% blind as a bat.

[chinclub]

Hi Angela,
Since chinchillas are nocturnal but do not have night vision they run on 100% instinct.  They remember a path and follow it from memory not from site.  Especially when they are out of the cage where they feel less secure.  I see it in my own herd whenever I open a cage door.  Many or my girls like to do flips off of the front door of their cage.  When I open the door I have to block it with my chest because 8 out of 10 girls will still try to jump off of the door.  They know it should be there so they don't use their eyes.  I tell new chin owners not to move furniture or set things down in the normal play path of a chins outside play area.  They WILL run right into it every time.

So, running into things is very normal.  However, you also said that your chinchilla falls off things and doesn't always hit the area he is going for.  This could be a sign of blindness but it could be more a young silly chinchilla learning its limits.  Chinchillas are able to jump 7 feet but because they are kept in cages it can take time for them to develop this skill.  If your chinchilla is jumping onto a chair he can't reach the top of it sounds like he can see the chair.  I don't think a blind chinchilla would jump at nothing hoping for a ledge of some sort.  The same thing with the toilet.  Young chinchillas, especially those raised in one story cages, can be very slow to the concept of edges, drops, and jumps. 

If it does turn out he is blind do not worry.  I had a chinchilla years ago with glaucoma.  She became blind in both eyes.  She lived in a huge 3 story cage with all sorts of ledges.  You would never know she was blind because she had the whole cage memorized.  I just had to be sure not to move anything in her cage.

[Angelia]

Oh thank you both very much! I feel better now. I'm going with the not blind thing too based on the chinclub reply. So glad she's not retarded either... but  I would still love her just as much if she was ^_^