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[glafond]

Hey everyone:

I have two chins who are perfect angels and come to me and let me scoop them up and anything you could imagine.

I have two others that are not coming along at the same pace (which i know is normal). But I am concerned about one of them, he is just too odd for me lol.

He sits in the same spot for hours with a blank stare on his face. Unless you try to pick him up he does not move, you can touch his head, whiskers, or back and he does not move. At certain points he wont even take a treat when you put it right infront of him. He is also a little skiddish still, but I can scoop him up (with a little bit of fight), and for the most part he is good when I am holding him.

He is active when they go out for playtime, but most of the time he is in his stone wall state (in the cage).

Is this semi-normal behavior?

My other chin who is still coming along a little slow runs to the cage door as soon as I shake the treat bag and will take just about any treat from me and sit there and eat it infront of me. But, if I try to pick him  up he couldnt be gone faster. Although, he sort of lets me pet him most of the time. When I do hold him I have to secure him by the tail and then pick his body up with my other hand, he is not scoopable at all, but my other 3 boys are. Another thing, I can always see veins in his ears (they are real red), even when I know for a fact he is not hot at all. He is a brown velvet, and has light colored ears.

Does anyone have any suggestions aside from just waiting longer that could help them along a little bit?

I've had them going on 2 months. They are all 5-6 months old.

Thanks!

[chinclub]

Is he like that at night too or just during the day?  I would be curious what he is like when the lights go out and you peek around the corner after he thinks you are gone.  Some chinchillas are just more nocturnal than others and like to sleep during the day.  Does he have a house he can go in during the day to hide and sleep?

[glafond]

They have a blue fleece tube, a fleece hide-away hammock, a large pvc pipe (one of the $17 ones), and a metal and wood box thing from quality cage company.

I will spy on him when lights are off.

Now that you mention it, when I fall asleep watching TV then get up at like 2-3 AM and  change their hay and let them out he is a lot more active in the cage at that time while I am changing the hay, opposed to doing the same thing at 9-11 PM.

But, when he is in his stone wall mode, he does not come when I shake the treat bag like the other 3 do lol.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Is it possible that he is blind or deaf and therefore feels too scared to move?

[glafond]

Is it possible that he is blind or deaf and therefore feels too scared to move?

He runs around really well and appears to listen when he isnt stone walling. He doesnt fall a lot or run into things either.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Is he gaining weight?

[glafond]

Is he gaining weight?

They all have grown since I brought them home. Two are definatly bigger than stone wall and milk dud though. I will have to weigh them. But, all chins grow at different paces, just like humans.

I will weigh him though. I have a postal scale, but in order to be able to actually weigh him i am going to buy a kitchen scale that has a little basket thing so i can sit him in it with a treat.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Keep in mind that an inactive chinchilla is usually assign of danger. However, it seems to me like this is his personality. Watch out for danger signs, like runny nose, panting, seizures, etc. you seem knowledgeable so you know what to search for 
Also... Is his name stonewall?

[glafond]

His name is Ratatouille, but his nickname is stonewall lol.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

So you call him stonewall? Lol

[GrayRodent]

Having owned many kinds of animals I've observed that some animals are just not right in the head. This may be one of those times. I do agree with Snickerdoodlesmom to watch for health problems. Considering this one is most active at 2-3AM it is kind of a strange sleep clock and points to a nocturnal pattern compared to the others.

[glafond]

So you call him stonewall? Lol

About half of the time lol.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Does he know his name?

[glafond]

Does he know his name?

They are getting to the point where they look at me when i talk and come over to the cage bars when i come near the cage, but i think with 4 of them always being together it will be hard for me to get each of them to respond to their name individually.

[glafond]

I am starting to think Ratatoullie is mildly mentaly impaired.

What are normal symptoms of a mentaly impaired chin?