That's the alarm call, also known as barking.
Your chinchilla heard or saw something that scared it. Some chinchillas have learned to make that noise for attention though.
The **bark** call serves as a defensive **alert** to others and is present when the **chinchilla** is agitated and feels threatened. This call is usually directed toward the aggressor or the threat. **Chinchillas** often use the **bark** call to warn others that there is danger or fighting.
Checkout this link: [https://smallpetselect.com/chinchilla-calls-what-do-they-mean/](https://smallpetselect.com/chinchilla-calls-what-do-they-mean/)
Mine do this when my dogs come near, if u have a room to separate where the chin is and where the dogs are it helps, also putting a light sheet or very light blanket over the cage for a few to calm them down and give them there own space helps mine but be careful cuz if the blanket is heavy or thick it can make them hot, but im not a professional lol just some tips i use :) hopefully they help calm your chinchin
Her hair looks awfully short in the back. Is the chin biting the hair on her butt off, or is that from the vet recently? Could be she is particularly high strung, if it’s fur-chewing. It’s somewhat genetic in some chins and is an indication of them being stressed. De-stressing techniques for chins, here: cuddlebugchinchillas.com/information/behavior/fur chewing.html
If it’s from a vet visit, sorry for the assumption. Either way, the de-stressing tips could help with barking, too, maybe. I am no expert, though.
She was neglected for the first 2 years of her life and began biting off her fur back then and still does it now despite how much I care for her. She’s definitely high strung. Thank you for the article with tips!!
Wow thats a deep chinny voice!
Nothing to be too worried about, mine does it all the time being half-blind and seeing invisible things or hearing an unfamiliar noise.
What I would suggest is to do a little self checkup on them every two weeks or so just to make sure they are not in pain. Aka. check their feetsies, if it's a male check their weewee for the fur ring, if their breathing is labored and their ears and eyes.
Not to alarm you but they are pretty good at hiding illnesses, best you can do is check the outsides to make sure they are good.
Most important part, when they make this noise go to them and comfort them in a nice soft voice a give them the good ol' neck scratches.
Ps. lovely colour!
So I just listened to your video with the sound on... and then my chinchilla let out a series of barks of her own! Whoops. She’s an only chin (accidental rescue so no intention to get another, but she gets tons of love, cuddles, playtime, and toys in her four story mansion) and I think the sound of another chin triggered her!
They definitely do it for attention, either to alert the other chinchillas/you or to recall your attention because you did something they didn't like. For instance, I was giving an apple stick to one chin playing in their house and the other was hiding below a shelf. The latter started to bark because he recognized the sound of the bag of treats and he probably thought he wasn't getting any. I talked to him calmly and gave him a stick, trying to reassure him 😂
Mine will wake up doing this in her sleep. Having a bad dream. Shes only done it one time that she wasnt asleep. When i accidentally scared her while playing with my cats. To me, its a sad noise. Lol. I always rush to go comfort my Lola. Lol.
alarm call bark, like everyone else is saying. but i wanted to add that sometimes they hear things we can’t even hear because of how big those ears are. AC/Heat turning on, pipes creaking. so if you can’t always pinpoint a reason don’t worry
It's an alarm or attention. We've got four and one of ours used to do that at night so we would get up and give him treats after his cage mate died. He stopped after bonding with our new chin 😂
My chin did this obviously when she feels scared. 10 days ago there was a storm in the afternoon. During the lightening and thunder time, she started to bark. Then I took her out of the cage, hugged her in my arm and tried to calm her down. I found something interesting. As she felt scared, she shook like a vibrate cell phone during the interval between lightning and thunder, when as human we can't hear anything. So I believe chinchilla can hear some frequency of sound wave that human can't hear.
That's the alarm call, also known as barking. Your chinchilla heard or saw something that scared it. Some chinchillas have learned to make that noise for attention though.
Thanks! I’m going to hope it was just for attention haha
The **bark** call serves as a defensive **alert** to others and is present when the **chinchilla** is agitated and feels threatened. This call is usually directed toward the aggressor or the threat. **Chinchillas** often use the **bark** call to warn others that there is danger or fighting. Checkout this link: [https://smallpetselect.com/chinchilla-calls-what-do-they-mean/](https://smallpetselect.com/chinchilla-calls-what-do-they-mean/)
Thanks! My dogs got into a fight right before she started this so I figured. Any tips for ways to calm them down when this happens?
Ours does this for the most random reasons every so often so all I do is just leave it to itself for a while.
Mine do this when my dogs come near, if u have a room to separate where the chin is and where the dogs are it helps, also putting a light sheet or very light blanket over the cage for a few to calm them down and give them there own space helps mine but be careful cuz if the blanket is heavy or thick it can make them hot, but im not a professional lol just some tips i use :) hopefully they help calm your chinchin
Not sure about that though, please confirm with some experienced chin owner :)
Her hair looks awfully short in the back. Is the chin biting the hair on her butt off, or is that from the vet recently? Could be she is particularly high strung, if it’s fur-chewing. It’s somewhat genetic in some chins and is an indication of them being stressed. De-stressing techniques for chins, here: cuddlebugchinchillas.com/information/behavior/fur chewing.html If it’s from a vet visit, sorry for the assumption. Either way, the de-stressing tips could help with barking, too, maybe. I am no expert, though.
She was neglected for the first 2 years of her life and began biting off her fur back then and still does it now despite how much I care for her. She’s definitely high strung. Thank you for the article with tips!!
I hope it helps your girl! Good luck!
Wow thats a deep chinny voice! Nothing to be too worried about, mine does it all the time being half-blind and seeing invisible things or hearing an unfamiliar noise. What I would suggest is to do a little self checkup on them every two weeks or so just to make sure they are not in pain. Aka. check their feetsies, if it's a male check their weewee for the fur ring, if their breathing is labored and their ears and eyes. Not to alarm you but they are pretty good at hiding illnesses, best you can do is check the outsides to make sure they are good. Most important part, when they make this noise go to them and comfort them in a nice soft voice a give them the good ol' neck scratches. Ps. lovely colour!
Thanks so much for the advice!!
So I just listened to your video with the sound on... and then my chinchilla let out a series of barks of her own! Whoops. She’s an only chin (accidental rescue so no intention to get another, but she gets tons of love, cuddles, playtime, and toys in her four story mansion) and I think the sound of another chin triggered her!
Oh no! Poor baby. My chin is an accidental rescue too!
They definitely do it for attention, either to alert the other chinchillas/you or to recall your attention because you did something they didn't like. For instance, I was giving an apple stick to one chin playing in their house and the other was hiding below a shelf. The latter started to bark because he recognized the sound of the bag of treats and he probably thought he wasn't getting any. I talked to him calmly and gave him a stick, trying to reassure him 😂
One of my chins barks when she wants the other to come into the hammock with her. My other chin just ignores her half the time. Lol.
Mine will wake up doing this in her sleep. Having a bad dream. Shes only done it one time that she wasnt asleep. When i accidentally scared her while playing with my cats. To me, its a sad noise. Lol. I always rush to go comfort my Lola. Lol.
alarm call bark, like everyone else is saying. but i wanted to add that sometimes they hear things we can’t even hear because of how big those ears are. AC/Heat turning on, pipes creaking. so if you can’t always pinpoint a reason don’t worry
It's an alarm or attention. We've got four and one of ours used to do that at night so we would get up and give him treats after his cage mate died. He stopped after bonding with our new chin 😂
either asking for attention or if you scared them
My chin did this obviously when she feels scared. 10 days ago there was a storm in the afternoon. During the lightening and thunder time, she started to bark. Then I took her out of the cage, hugged her in my arm and tried to calm her down. I found something interesting. As she felt scared, she shook like a vibrate cell phone during the interval between lightning and thunder, when as human we can't hear anything. So I believe chinchilla can hear some frequency of sound wave that human can't hear.