We call Wilbur our Tiny White Boy. He came to live with us a few months after we took Hopi in. We were at the vet's office with Odin and another client asked what was in my cage. I told her a chinchilla. "Oh, we have one of those!" she exclaimed. The lady went on to describe how her husband hated the chinchilla, said it smelled all the time, called it a little poop machine and threatened to set it free in the woods. As with many unfortunate animals, the chinnie was a Christmas present to the kids, who had quickly lost interest and ceased taking care of it, hence the smell. We were still looking for a roommate for Odin, so I gave her my card and said if they decided he was too much to take care of, to give me a call.

About two months later she called and said she had convinced her son and daughter to give up the chinnie. She and the kids brought Wilbur, his cage, and a few belongings to our house. She complimented me on how peaceful the atmosphere was. Our little zoo impressed them, and the kids went around poking fingers at curious noses while their mother and I talked. At one point her son joined in saying he was worried that Wilbur would miss their playtime together. I asked what they did during playtime. He said he and his friends would hold a bedsheet out like a parachute in gym class, put Wilbur in the middle and toss him in the air. He was sure Wilbur was enjoying this because Wilbur would run up to the edge of the sheet as soon as he landed, wanting to be thrown again. I turned incredulous eyes to the mother, who didn't seem to have any argument for this.

I gently suggested that perhaps Wilbur was trying to get away because it frightened him to be thrown in the air like that. No, the boy was positive Wilbur was enjoying it, and still no comment or correction from the mother. This is a good example of why children should not have pets unless the parents are willing to be responsible and have an actual interest in keeping the animal themselves.

In the family's defense, the children were very polite and they did call a couple times after that to check up on Wilbur, and even came by once to visit him (he shrunk back into a corner and was terrified until they left). I'm glad they were sincerely concerned for his welfare, and I'm equally as glad they were concerned enough to be able to give him up. Again, heart in the right place, mind not following.

Wilbur slept lightly, with eyes wide open, for months after his relocation to our house. The slightest noise would make him jump and he didn't like to be picked up or even petted. After awhile, I noticed he started sleeping with his eyes closed, although still in the upright alert position. Then I started seeing him sprawled out on his side in his bathhouse, eyes tight shut, big feet stretched out in front of him, obviously enjoying a much more peaceful, deep rest than before. Wilbur barely acknowledges the vacuum when he's sleeping now, but he still doesn't like being held or petted. He will, however, come up to the open door cage and rub nosies with you if you wait patiently enough.

Even though Wilbur remains our tiniest chinnie, he gained 200 grams after coming to live with us. The lady estimated his age at a little over a year when we got him so I assumed he was full-grown. He went from ~300g to the neighborhood of 500g in the last few years, and he is not obese, just healthy. I attribute most of his growth to the change in his diet. He was getting regular pet store pellets and no hay at all. (We slowly switched him over to Mazuri pellets like everyone else of course.) Hay is a staple in any chinchilla's diet, and some chins prefer it over their pellets. The hay probably allowed his digestive tract to absorb more of the nutrients from the pellets and supplements, and added a little weight from the fat content. I think the oats are what really did it though. Wilbur had never had oats before. The first time we gave them to him he tried them tentatively, then quickly devoured everything in the bowl and never looked back. Now he's like a little oat crack addict waiting for his fix. When it's feeding time and we line all the bowls up on top of his cage, he runs back and forth on the top shelf, waiting for that small dish to get where he can reach it. (We give them the oats in a separate "treat" dish for no particular reason.) As soon as The Hand retreats, he runs over and his nose is buried in the dish until it is licked clean. He doesn't even look up when you put the other pellets or hay dish in, he's just going for broke on the oats and can't be bothered with interruptions.

Wilbur is all white with red eyes, and some freckles on his ears. The freckles indicate he has some hetero beige in his background, but except for them you'd think he was an albino or something. Since his ears are so light it's easy to see any increase in blood flow, and you can always tell when he's either been running in his wheel or something has upset him because his ears turn bright red.

He's the cleanest housekeeper of all our chinnies too. Cleaning his cage is a breeze compared to the others because there's hardly ever pee-soaked Carefresh stuck to the bottom, or a pile of wasted hay on the floor. Sometimes I wonder if Odin refused to live with Wilbur because he's gay or something.

Wilbur also shares the habit Zeus had of sitting in the corner of the cage and staring at you. I can never tell if he's sleeping with his eyes open or staring, but I think it's staring because if I look over at him and acknowledge him with a smile and comment, he'll jump from the shelf, run in the wheel and get on with other things for awhile.

Even though I don't think Wilbur will ever get over his mistrust of humans, I think he's much happier living with us and I'm glad I could provide him with a more peaceful home.

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