My little buggers!

[peter01]

Have to agree my house runs on oil so my bedroom (the room the chips are in) no heating at all so they happily jump into their boxes haha

[Loopylou4266]

  Had to laugh yesterday, Max and Yuki were playing racetracks round the cage like they do, Smudge was on the floor of the cage doing his usual trick of burrowing under the hay, every so often Max was landing on Smudge and using him as a springboard to carry on his madcap race game.
When they finally did stop for a rest, Yuki was sat on the nest box, Max went for a wee, Smudge went over and it looked like he was boxing Max's earholes for being a little bugger, Yuki was making the hiccup churp, almost as if she was laughing at them..

By the way what does the mating call of a chipmunk sound like? is it like a high pitched bark? Many years ago when I walking (when I could) in our local woods, I heard and saw a grey squirrel making a sound like this, and as chipmunks are related to big squirrels is it the same?

[Nick]

That's how it sounds, but more like a chip rather than a bark, hense their name and it goes right through you after a while, quite funny to watch tho, it always makes my poor male jump every time she does it.

[Nate]

Hi Loopylou4266, I used to spend a lot of time filming grey squirrels throughout the year, and have seen them bark. I belive it is a warning of danger to the others. Danger was often a dog off a leash or a bird of prey in the area. I came to this conclusion because when one made the barking sound the younger grey squirrels would run for cover.

I have seen chipmunks also have warning sounds and postures, such as the drumming of the back legs, which seems to show caution not fear normally over a new object, and I have noticed a loud warning chirp. The warning chirp happended with mine mostly when a pigeon would land on the window sill. I found their mating call to be different in that it went on all day, and only by the females, whereas the warning chirp was done by both sexes. I also think the warning chirp is more of a rasping noise.

They have a fascinating range of sounds and movements, many of which seem so subtle. The 'happy sneeze' was the first noise I got worried about thinking they had a cold or an allergy to something. There's nothing like a cup of tea and some hobnobs and just watching them for me, who needs TV when you have chipmunks. 

[mik]

hi nat the noises are fasinating and people who have tv dont have chips lol

[Loopylou4266]

Nate:  Yeah Chipmunk TV is a damn site more interesting and educational than the rubbish that is on the tele too..
Max is insane in his wheel he goes so fast that his little bum goes round and round too. It's even more insane when both Max and Yuki try to both go in the wheel together, it usually ends up with one of them in it and the other on it, and them both running like the clappers.