Chinchillas make a variety of sounds. The most common is a "barking" sound that they make to indicate that they're scared and to warn other chinchillas of danger. On occasion, our chinchillas will bark if there's a particularly loud car going by the house or if there's an unusual noise outside.
Other sounds include a soft cooing that might indicate playfulness and comfort. A very quiet chirping can be heard while the chinchilla is exploring a new place. Some sounds will originate from the grinding of teeth, which they will sometimes do after eating. They also sometimes sneeze audibly, sometimes from the fine dust in their bath.
For a better understanding of the sounds that chinchillas make, check out Michael's collection of chinchilla recordings.
Contact and Communication Sounds
Mating Sounds
Baby Sounds
Protest and Defence Sounds
Rage and Anger
Warning and Alarm Calls (barking chins)
Chewing and Gnawing
Sources:
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Entries (RSS)
November 14th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
My chinchillas "laughs". He has not done it in a long time, but he did it today. One time I noticed it while it looked like he was sleeping. Is this a happy or distressed sound? He does it when he is alone (he has his own room in our house) and it is always during the daytime. It is very loud, I have heard from downstairs. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Oh, my sister's chin does it also, but a lot more often.
What does the laughing sound mean?
Thanks so much!
September 18th, 2006 at 9:17 pm
Andrea,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We were on vacation last week and only returned yesterday.
The sound you're describing isn't one we're familiar with. Every sound we've heard was one we could identify via records on the web.
Not being interested in the dust bath does seem worth of concern. Besides raisins, there's nothing that our chinchillas are interested in more than their dust bath.
September 13th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
I've had my chinchilla for 2+ years now, and she (today) started making these sad chinchilla sounds - they seem like reverse hiccups or something, where she will do a quick cough/sneeze out and then make the "sad sound" on the inhale. She doesn't do it with every breath, but maybe ~1 every 30 min. I thought that maybe she was upset at me for ignoring her (I haven't paid as much attention to her for the past few weeks on account of a new job), but then she didn't show much interest in her dust bath either which she usually loves. This isn't indicative of a more serious condition, is it? I've checked sound boards, and I can't seem to find her "sad sound" anywhere, though it sounds closest to the "protest sound" but I'm not bothering her!