our girl is acting weird... worried

[Jooolie8]

Hi,
When we had Cookie out for playtime tonight she was acting so different from usual. She spent almost all of the time behind the toilet, barely came out. When she did come out and venture halfway across the room, she'd act suddenly spooked and run back and hide. Also (and maybe unrelated) she pooped an incredibly huge amount while back there. More than I've ever seen her poop. Also, she kept eating her poop and then spitting half of it out. I just read on here a couple of days ago that eating their poop is not only normal, it's healthy, (and gross I might add) but she doesn't usually do it, or at least not this much. We brought in her dish of pellets and she looked at them a couple of times and then went back to poop eating. I guess I'm much more concerned about her skittishness tonight then the poop part, unless they are related. And, finally, she has been chewing way more lately than usual.

I should say that her usual playtime involves running and jumping all over the bathroom nonstop. Also, I should add that during yesterday's playtime, she was on top of the toilet lid and tried to jump up the wall next to it (I think she thought the medicine cabinet door was actually something she could land on but it is just flush with the wall). Anyway, she fell, but landed on her feet and continued to play normally yesterday. Could that have caused her to be skittish in the bathroom today because it was the scene of the crime?

Thanks for your help. :i:

[foxbite2]

I wouldn't worry about her behavior... it's normal for them to act a little different from day to day on occassion. Hiding behind a toilet is classic chinnie behavior. How long have you had her now? My 9 month old still hides behind the toilet...

[dawn]

They can just do that-they get spooked at something and that's that. Some play times I won't see a chin-they hide the entire time so its normal.

[Chinch]

yea, i probably would worry, some days Andey is absolutley crazy bouncing off the walls until the wee hours of the night, but yesterday, he didnt do too much, just kinda sat there, and ran a little bit, then sat there, and was ready for bed at 10:30pm. so i think it's ok, maybe the have little mood swings like us, ya know, when sometimes you just dont wanna? hehe, and Andey has his poop days too, first off he wasnt pooping too much, but the past few weeks, my god, THIS BOY IS A POOP FACTORY!!!!

[Chinch]

oops sorry, i meant i probably WOULDNT WORRY. sorry!

[Karin]

i would have to agree with dawn and foxbite.. chins are easily spooked, and there demeanor changes..

dusty is usually very outgoing, being his hyperself.. i've noticed the change in weather affects his moods.. if its been decently mild outside all day, he is way more active that evening.. if we had a 95+ day, then he doesnt become very active that evening.. and yes!!! he is kept comfortably cool 24/7..
he also has days of constant glee, then a day or so that he seems to want left alone...
he loves playing "mole" under the covers.. see the cover moving till he pops out the other side... hehe.. then back again..
if he hears pooh (hamster) hit a door or wall in her ball, he is gone like a streak of lightning... lmao.. its cute..
any sudden noises, movements from others, he is outta there.. its just there personality..

[Jooolie8]

Hi, thanks for your replies. I tried playtime again this morning and she was genuinely spooked! It was so weird... she hid behind the toilet again and was very skittish. Then, she started chewing her fur... so I thought ok, enough, whatever is bothering heris really stressing her, so I tried the other bathroom and she was her playful self as soon as we got in there. SO WEIRD... She is all of a sudden afraid of one of the bathrooms. Unfortunately, it is the bigger one with much more play and climbing space.

Question... last night I noticed a tiny little gnat flying around in there. Would that spook her?

I'm stumped.

[foxbite2]

Who knows what spooked her... chins have exceptional hearing, so she could have heard something that didn't even register to you as a threat.. my chins will take off if they hear a noise in another room that bothers them...and my 9 month old is just finally losing her skittishness... she still isn't the friendliest chin in the world, but she doesn't spray me as much and doesn't feel the need to hide behind the toilet EVERY time I have her in the bathroom now.