...about a week or so ago I was cleaning the chinchilla's cage and he jumped out, eventually running into the kitchen, where I was able to section off the room. He can move pretty fast, half hopping and half running, a very agile little critter. Soon he wedged himself along the floorboard under the cabinet sink. Having my various brood and needing at one time or another to catch someone when they didn't want to be caught, I found that in cases like this it's easiest to grab a tail, thus ending the little hide and go seek game.
...did you know that when a chinchilla is caught by its tail, for example, in the wild, by a predator, that it comes off......skin and fur....like a little glove...with bone protruding...
...imagine my shock...thinking I had him...when all I had was a bristley clump of a tail...no sound from him...obviously he wasn't happy, but he never squealed or "barked" like he does when he's pissed...I picked him up and held him, afraid he would soon go into shock and probably die...he seemed his usual self...and after he was back in his cage for a few minutes he was eating. The vet said it happens in the wild...nothing to get worked up over. Thankfully it's almost completely grown back.

I'd sooooo suck as a mother....
posted by Wanting at 9:08 PM