new chipmunk owner - male 8 months old sounds like a car alarm

[Yossarian]

hi everyone,

have been looking for some info on chipmunks for a while. i have had yossarian since last year born april and separated from mother after 8 weeks. he is currently my only chipmunk and he has had some but very little socialisation with only his mother as she lives only a hundred metres or so away. he is kept indoors as a live in a flat. he seems to have been through his temper tantrum stage, the sound of the keyboard or mouse tapping was enough to attract him from the other side of the room run over me to my hand and bite the fingers before running away as fast as possible. i'm sure they all have their little foybles and he's rarely broken the skin so nothing really worried about. he has been active during hibernation being allowed out for as long as he wants generally but i have noticed he does now seem more active. now i've read the info on the mating calls of the female. is it normal for the male to chirp constantly from dawn to dusk or is it just time of year and he just wants to sow his oats as it were? it's only been 2 days so far and said in the kindest of manners sounds like my wake up alarm but i can switch that off. but i got a long tether it'll take me a few years to get to the end of that with him.

cheers

[tarcus/Kevin]

you sure he is a boy?
 
Has his undercarriage dropped?
he may very well just be eager for  but then again he could be sniffing out the fact that his neighbours are getting ready, yes even his mum when the wind is in the right direction

I wouldn't worry too much about him/her as you will get used to the moise(like living next to a motorway it fades into the back ground)

Unless of course you have introduced competition into his/her life by taking some stranger to your abode it doesn't take much to upset the little souls if they think you may have someone new in your life take care and welcome to this place of madness run in honour of all chippies young and old 

[sarah-J]

Hi, And welcome to the site.

My question would also be is he definitely a male? Only my females made the noise when it was breeding time. And when snowey was ready the first time,  his undercarriage swelled so much that he dragged them on the ground etc. Vet said it was normal and not to worry, but boy did they look sore.

They can make a noise when they think there is danger, but as he is indoors, I can't think that the case.

I hope that he quietens down, maybe he just wants your attention!

Sarah

[Nate]

Hi Yossarian , and welcome to the forum. Great name for a chipmunk Yossarian . 
He does sound like he's behaving like a female, as the only time my males make a noise is if they are frightened by something or they are communicating with another from another room. But although loud and a bit like a bird, the alarm call is repeated quicker than the mating call and does not go on all day. Mine like looking out the window, and we had a male bird of pray roosting on the telecome tower. My chipmunks knew it was a threat, or thought it was, so off would go the alarm call, then some of the others would join in.

I think they can communicate over long distances, bit like whales, as part of the sound they make is on a frequency we can't hear. So as mum is only 100mtrs away perhaps they are just chatting.

There is one other sound I hear them make, it's a very soft plaintive call, like they are whimpering. When I first heard that sound i thought one of them was trapped or in pain. It's so soft that it's hard to know quite where the sound is coming from, unlike their alarm sound.

[jennyb]

Hi Yossarian, my male Dilute chirps but its nowhere near as loud as a female and lasts at longest about 5 minutes. There doesn't seem to be a reason he usually does it when he's sitting quietly on his own, he makes quiet little chirps. It is different to an alarm call which any one of them can make if something suddenly startles them.