LOST AND FOUND - FURRY ESCAPEES
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written by Linda Rolfe

It's amazing where our furballs hide - give them an inch gap and they will try squeeze through it!

I'VE LOST MY CHINCHILLA!!...HELP!!

Losing your furball for the first time - in the house is daunting
But losing them outside is frightening!

In the house, chinchillas can hide in the most difficult places to reach, the smallest gap they can squeeze through - and more disturbing of all, they ALWAYS find those little 'corner places' that you tuck your cable/TV wires safely in !
Nothing to a furball - is 'out of reach'
Zeebee my black velvet (shown here on the left) was found squeezing her fat furry body 
6 feet high up our side wardrobe after escaping from the 'chin room' into forbidden territory
 - note the very tempting wiring above her - a perfect chin chew!
Chinchillas look fat and furry - but take away their fur coat and you have a fast, lean bony little body that can distort it's ribcage to unearthly flat levels, chinchillas have a very fine and delicate 'bendy' rib cage that lets them do this - the only thing that stops them from going into a very minute gap is their skull - therefore - one part of the body that can get dangerously 'stuck' and cause distress to them if not careful

IS THERE A FURBALL IN THE HOUSE?

Firstly, if you have lost your chinchilla in the house, and you KNOW they could not have escaped outside, there is no need to panic..
...so stop panicking
On the other hand, if you KNOW they are in the house, and you have no idea which room they escaped in - and you have plenty of PC, TV, cable TV, Music system...you name it...lovely chewable wires lying around the place......then start panicking!
One thing you have to keep in mind with chinchillas is that they will not travel far in the house from their cage to new territory until they have fully sniffed it out - especially to areas they know little about
So if you have a small one bed roomed flat - then you'll find them easy - if you have a stately mansion - then it's more likely your chinchilla will be in the first 2-3 rooms connected to their cage room - unless they have had full run of the area and know it well - then look in room101
To find a chinchilla you have to 'think' like one, see the house from their eye level - they are not very good with their eyesight - but they surely can sniff a good inch gap out

Work from the floor upwards - first of all, take note of the gaps you have in your room (under sofas and beds) - then work up to the higher gaps 
(under wardrobes up and behind) they can climb as high as the wardrobe if there is a good 2-4" gap at the back -you may fine chinnie looking at you above with a big grin on it's face as you scramble around the room below frantically searching for him!
In ALL cases they will stay perfectly still when they sense you, it's only natural really, they have to be aware of their predators
If  you start 'hallowing and cooing' their name around the room - they are not going to shout 'I'm here mummy!'
Sometimes if you stay quiet and 'think' in the room you feel they have escaped to - you just might hear a slight shuffling
My own Chubbs gives himself away as he tends to 'chuckle' and squeak to himself when he's found a good hiding place

Here are a few suggestions that chinchilla owners have come up with - that should be useful
 
Under any wardrobes or cupboards
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Under the bed
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At the back of wardrobes - if they are high - then look high too
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Behind the fridge - if there is a gap - expect them to be at the back
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Inside draws - if they can get in one draw they can climb up behind to the top draw if there is a gap - be careful opening draws - you could easily trap their paws, legs, feet sliding them out
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If you open a door - they can easily sneak past you without noticing
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Behind sofas are a good bet!
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Inside open containers and bags
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Behind the curtains
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They can run very quickly upstairs - make sure all doors are closed - open staircases are dangerous
if you make a sudden move and they are on the top floor - they can easily run in the wrong direction
 and way down from the top banister to a fatal injury or death below
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anything that has around 2" gap !
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Inside the washing machine (oh yes!)
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In the fridge (Has been known)
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Inside cupboards and even the waste bins
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The 'OUTSIDER'

A chinchilla that's managed to run away outside the house is quite a different thing
Some people tend to think that once a chinchilla has escaped outside - that it - they just run and run
until you can see nothing but a black dot in the far distance way down the road!
Chinchillas are not like that - sure - they WILL run off once they are outside, but not far
Creatures of territory in the wild - they will keep in the surrounding distance from where they ran away
If they escaped through the door of the house, they will keep returning to that door
That's why it is a good idea to have a cage or some kind of 'luring' box for chinnie to return to
They ONLY travel away from your house IF they are in search of food, and then further when really hungry
I would say in general, most chinchilla escaping from a house will stay in the surrounding territory for about a week, then will travel a few yards further each day and returning back to the house until eventually it finds a new 'home' somewhere else nearer food perhaps
for example - here's a true event that happened a while back:

A lady rang me saying that she had 'lost' her chinchilla and would it be okay if she bought another chin the same sex (both were boys) for the 'lonely' one that was left - i thought at first when she said 'lost' it had died - but then she explained that she used to let them have the full run of the house at playtime and she owned cats, the cat flap wasn't that strong so anything as small as a chin could knock' it open and escape, therefore, this is what one of her chins had done, fearing the worse, she thought a cat or dog had by now got it, or it had run off never to be found again, I asked how long he had gone - 'FIVE DAYS' was the answer, she had resigned herself that it would never be found - i asked her a few things, like had she a hut? how big was her garden? was there anything that it could of 'made a bed' in the surrounding area of her house for a few days? I mentioned that chinchillas are quite territorial and will not move from their familiar surroundings until they were absolutely desperate to find food, if they find a nearby place that's dry and warm, they will stay for quite some days there. I suggested that she look in her hut (she actually leaves the door open) and even 'under' the hut as a good gap under could be ideal, after putting the phone down it rang 10 minutes later with an exited and very relieved voice at the other end saying that she had just gone in the hut and picked a brush up to move some boxes and found him! - well, sure to say the chinchilla was happy and hungry enough to go back in his nice familiar cage with his lonely companion that day!

Not all stories end happy - but there is a good possibility that a chinchilla escaping outside the house will more than likely be around the area for quite some days - and so if you've lost one outside,  then keep looking as you never know
Even leaving their cage or similar cage with food outside the areas - especially outside where you feel they may have escaped - if they went through a cat flap - then leave the cage near the cat flap - for all you know, your chinchilla was trying to 'get back home' where his food is when hungry
The best time to go looking for them is daytime when they are generally asleep - they will of made 'a bed' for themselves nearby - under a dry spot - even a bush or behind the dustbins - anywhere that's 'perfect' to hide
Unfortunately some can go missing for weeks and even months, eating nothing but the wrong food, grass is popular - but dangerous, and can cause all sorts of internal problems later in life

So never give up if they haven't been seen for a few days - keep it in mind that they are still there in your garden or in a similar area just a few yards away from your home - keep looking!