It’s Monty’s Birthday!

Monty is 11 years old today He celebrated this auspicious occasion with an extra raisin, an extra shredded wheat, and a locust bean (I have absolutely no idea why chinchillas like those things – they stink – but they must taste ok I guess). He’s very happy now his tummy is full

It’s a hard life being a Montague – not! All that snoozing on your shelf with added carpet for comfortable feet, all that on-demand room service, and all those chin tickles and grooming – yes, it’s definitely a hard life.

Of all my chinchillas I know Monty the best. He was with me on his own for 3 years (before I got my first rescue chinchillas) and in that time we spent many happy hours together. He would be out most of the evening with me and would follow me around. He never over-exerted himself and would potter around for a while before hopping onto the arm of the sofa to watch TV with me.

He also got himself into mischief – like the day he decided to play at being a telephone engineer. I turned around from working on my PC to find Monty sitting in the middle of the lounge with a piece of telephone wire in one paw and another bit of telephone wire in the other paw. He looked very pleased with himself and was contentedly nibbling each piece alternately. Needless to say I was spluttering and muttering while I fixed my phone line. He did make me laugh though and he was not hurt in the incident. I learned very quickly that no matter how “chinchilla proof” you think a room is, one of the little furry creatures will prove you wrong!