"ME" is Eugene. He's a Lanigera (one of three breed types) Chinchilla. I am Molly, Eugene's mom. I do most of his typing for him because I really don't like him pooping all over my keyboard.
Eugene was my "Easter basket" in April of 2004. The house he'd been living in was noisy, kind of dirty, and not all all healthy for him. He was up all day and sleeping at night (not a chinchilla's schedule at all!) His diet wasn't healthy, he was given dust baths constantly, he just wasn't looked after the way a chinchilla should be. As a result, he's not into being held, and I don't believe he's as socially adjusted as he could be.
Not that I was the best mom to begin with. No. I took off part of his tail - by accident of course. Don't ever do that, it's very expensive to take a chinchilla to an emergency vet in the middle of the night. I helped exaberate a hernia by over feeding him. Another very expensive lesson. But, we get by and I think we do OK.
I should note, Eugene is not French. I have told him a thousand times he is not French. In one chin ear and out the other. You may notice when he gets to the keyboard he types with his "accent." It's just become easier to let him believe. He also refers to me as "The Woman" or "The American." I'm fine with that. As the keeper of the raisins, I hold some power in this relationship.
In the real world, Eugene makes 27 sounds! All unique. I know what some of them mean, others I think he just likes to hear himself chitter. He knows a few simple commands, "no", "go to your house", and "want a raison?" He'll be 5 in June. Also, if you get your butt too close to his cage, he'll reach out and paw it. If you're really lucky you'll get a butt nibble.
As for the rest of this, I'll just let Eugene fill it out. I apologize for his "accent" in advance, it's kind of hard to understand sometimes.
Molly
