Kirby Says Be Thankful

For raisins, boxes to hide in and play in, and sticks to chew on.

We are off for our annual post-Thanksgiving hike. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Kirby for Tuesday

Kirby has really come out of his shell lately. When I first got him, he wouldn't come anywhere near me. After a year of sitting with him every evening, he now hops all over me.

He hops into my lap if I am working on my puzzle, or on my back if I am reading on the floor. Last night, he put his paws on my head and started nibbling my hair!

Kirby gets a new house

Kirby, up close and personal

Kirby arrived fully set up in the way of housing: two plastic houses, plus a third for bathing (chinchillas have to take dust baths on a regular basis). One of the two houses in the cage had been subjected to Kirby's teeth, and the entire back end of it had been nibbled away. I left it in the cage at first, because he seemed comfortable with it, and I didn't want to stress him out too much.

Kirby takes a look at the nosy neighbor with a camera.

Last week, I noticed that he was starting to feel more at home with me, and (here's the important bit) he was starting to gnaw on everything in his cage again. (I presume he was still in a bit of shock before, because he was only attacking the cardboard tube up until last week, ignoring the wooden chew sticks I provided). This included his house. Now, I don't know about you, but if I avoiding plastic cooking utensils because they are bad for my health, should I really allow my chinchilla to eat it? No, of course not. So, this weekend, Kirby got a new, wooden house. As you can see, if you look closely at the roof, he has already started chewing on it. I left one of the plastic houses in because he hasn't shown any inclination to chew on it yet, and because I wasn't sure he'd like the new one. Since he does, that house may go next.

Kirby at home

Kirby seems to be settling in now, about 3 weeks after he arrived. He no longer barks at the cats when they come to investigate, and he doesn't always hide from me. The cats find him a little intimidating, I think. He isn't like any rodent they have seen before - Cleo and Oliver are used to hamsters, and I'm sure Creamsicle is accustomed to mice - he is big, and can make loud noises. Not dinner, that's for sure! Anyway, they mostly ignore him, except for occasional staring matches.

He loves raisins, and will try to force himself between the bars to reach them if I have them in my hand. I think they must be the chinchilla equivalent of crack. He also likes dried apples and his daily ration of Timothy hay. With the apples, he will take the piece in one paw (he is right pawed) and nibble on it. I haven't gotten a picture of that yet, but it is pretty cute.

He gets time out of the cage most evenings to hop around the computer room. He doesn't always want to come out though, and when he does, I still can't pet him. My attempts have sort of turned into a game - he will come so close he is almost touching me, I will reach out, and he will hop off. Repeat until he tires of exploring and goes back to his cage to eat or run on his wheel. I'd love to get him a larger, more interesting cage, but like many things these days, it will just have to wait until we have a house ourselves.

Kirby

Here is Kirby, the newest addition to my menagerie. He is a chinchilla - I adopted him from the son of a co-worker. This isn't a very good photo, but he is still pretty shy, so it is hard to catch him out of his little houses. The cats haven't shown much interest in him, apart from quick peeks. Kirby makes an alarming squeak-bark noise though, when he feels in danger, and it does the trick - the cats find it very alarming!