KOKO BEAR [my sweetfaced sweetheart] AKA Koko, Ko, Ko-Bear, Fatty-Ko, RoKoko
Extra Dark Ebony, Born 06/28/2014, approximately 700 grams
Role in Playtime Kingdom? Lovely damsel in distress – desperately in need of a good scratching! She absolutely melts for scratches in any situation, and oftentimes needs mom to swoop in for a cuddle and scratch!
Favorite Hiding Place? Koko doesn’t have very adventurous playtimes, and couches are her haven. She’ll simply waddle her cute butt around under the periphery of the couches (most of the space beneath the couches have been blocked for playtime safety purposes) and pick a spot to prance around back and forth.
Physical Capability? Koko is cautious! She likes to take her time, and stick to the well-known spots. She also isn’t capable of jumping very high or wall-surfing (yet). As slow as Koko is in most environments, she’s also capable of being speedy in her home! She’ll dart around her cage with exact precision. Every time she receives a shredded wheatie in her cage, she’ll run all around her cage with the treat in her mouth for a good 3-4 minutes before choosing a corner to settle down in and get her munch on!
Vocal? Hardly! Koko is super quiet, except for little squeaks when you traverse onto her belly during scratch-time.
Human Cuddle Status? Yes, she will! Shocking, right? But Koko is a surprising little jellybean and a total joy to have. She’s the most recent chinchilla to join the family, and it has been a whole new experience! She’s unlike any of my other babies.
Favorite Way to Be Picked Up? This delicate fluffball enjoys being picked up by the torso and tail – she always starts head-shaking when she’s picked up, and it immediately ceases after she’s adjusted (thank goodness her shaking was proven to be an expression of nervousness, not a neurological problem)!
Intelligence? Low. But who needs it when you’re the sweetest chinchilla in all the land! Koko is the slowest to come to the cage door for treats, and when anyone talks sweetly to her, she looks all around in honest confusion! I’m glad she has the eating and drinking thing down, though 😛
Is She Compatible with Other Chinchillas? I personally believe she would be, if I had a sweet cage mate for her. But in the current state of events, no one likes Koko’s scent! It’s so unfortunate: the mosaic sisters have each other, and they look at her as a threat.. the boys don’t register that she’s female, even though they’ve all gone through a lengthy introduction process with her! Sometimes, things just don’t work out the way you’d hope. But it doesn’t detract from the happiness they experience and the joy they bring a dedicated owner separately!
Ready for a Photo Shoot? She’s the reigning queen of photo shoots! I have an endless arsenal of super-cute Koko photos, because she’s so darling and docile and happy to be there. No treats needed – this model is a pro!
Love to Dust? She dusts in sporadic energetic bursts, but I don’t think she enjoys it or dislikes it either way. Just another part of life for this little sootball.
Three Words/Phrases to Sum Up Her Personality? Docile Darling, A Pure Joy, Luckiest Find in All the Land
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My Bubbles does the head shaking when I pick her up too. I always assumed it was because she’s mad at me since she hates being caught and scooped up. She doesn’t mind jumping up onto my shoulder though.
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I know that some head shaking can be related to imbalances in the brain, or neurological issues. Thankfully it’s not that! It’s just a little bobble head thing when she gets nervous – always when she’s scooped up – just like Bubbles 🙂
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Also, it seems like either your chins are all big or mine is just small. Bubbles is almost 11 months old now and at 9 months at the vet she weighed only about 550 grams and she hasn’t grown much the past couple months as far as I can tell.
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That’s totally normal, chinchillas typically show steady growth until they’re around 18 months, or at least that’s when they’re considered ‘full-grown’ and won’t show too much weight variation (although some will surprise you and have growth spurts in later years). I have had Koko since she was about 2 months, and she has had months where she has stayed at the same weight (coincidentally, she was stuck around 500 grams for quite a while!). Either way, as long as Bubbles has a healthy diet, then there’s no reason to worry. All chins are different, and genetics have a lot to do with how big they’ll get 🙂
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OMW she is adorable! She looks like a little koala bear when she’s getting her scritches in the video 😀 What a sweetheart!
I’ve seen the head shaking thing, all of mine have done it at one time or another. Best translated as, “I’m not sure about this, nononononono!” Then there’s Zoey. I swear when the computer programs got booted up, Zoey’s got mixed up with a chihuahua’s. She does the full body shiver as soon as you look at her! It used to worry me but now I know that she has control over it and I suspect she just does it for extra cuddles 😛
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Thank you so much! Koko is literally the sweetest little thing – I only wish she had a sweet chin-friend to share her love with! Hahaha Zoey sounds like such a lovable girl – she knows just what to do to achieve maximal cuddle time 🙂 It’s always reassuring when they have control over their shakes.
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