Two days ago, I developed a horrible cough to where my lungs are hurting in a matter of minutes when I wake up (that's if I'm getting any sleep at all) from coughing and hacking so hard. In our college town, we have something known as The Cullowhee Crud. Any sneezing, coughing, hacking, sniffling, nose blowing, head spinning, nasty feeling sickness is referred to as The Cullowhee Crud, which includes (but is not limited to) a hardcore common cold, bronchitis and the regular flu. There's also an illness known as the Catamount Flu, which is a completely different scenario. It refers to the middle of the college semester when everyone is sick of their classes and is exhausted of their professors. Usually, it hits two weeks before Spring Break. I discovered that my version of The Cullowhee Crud is an upper respiratory infection. I feel horrible, unable to catch my breath during coughing fits, swimming in throes of nausea and sleeping about 1-2 hours a night as I battle my coughing. Thankfully, the doctor I saw today gave me several suggestions to help me heal, which couldn't come at a better time. I have a Skype job interview on Monday and another interview on Thursday, one that involves 2 and a half hours of driving one way. But, all of this means, I'm not allowed near Nimbus until I'm better.
My poor roommate/on-and-off-again boyfriend is now forced to take over chinchilla duties - something I'm not happy about. But, not because Chris can't take care of Nimbus. I'm scared that Nimbus and I will take huge steps backward because our bond will lessen. Chris will become his provider by feeding him, interacting with him and cleaning up after him. I, meanwhile, have to sit on the sidelines and watch from a distance because I don't want my cold transmitting to Nimbus's little lungs. You should never breathe directly on your chinchilla because they find human breath "offensive." I'm not kidding! But when you have a cold or the flu, this can be extremely dangerous because chinchillas can catch a respiratory infection from you.
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| Chris at Crane Beach, MA. He's a brilliant photographer and computer science major. |
For Nimbus's safety, I am no longer handling the food he eats, the bowls he eats it from or providing direct contact. It means I can't pick him up and hold him like he's used to. This really upsets me because I don't want Nimbus to replace me as his primary owner with Chris, who is now doing the majority of the interacting.
Now, Chris would rather play with the cats than with Nimbus. I think he finds Nimbus very frustrating because he can be very stubborn and has destroyed some of Chris's belongings like his cell phone case and a few chargers. Although Chris should know better than to leave such objects within Nimbus's reach (nudge, nudge), he's still learning just how many places Nimbus can get to and how important it is to pick up around the house. I've lived with Nimbus since last February, and Chris moved in last October. He's a 21-year-old guy and isn't used to constantly picking up his stuff, particularly in a timely manner. I don't have to go after and pick up the house, but his room is an utter disaster!! It's gotten better, but still... it's a mess, and sometimes he leaves chewable items around in the living room. It's even more frustrating now because I can barely leave the couch, and Chris is responsible for getting up every time Nimbus gets in trouble like gnawing on a hidden cat toy or sneaking his way behind the couch. It only takes a few times before caring for Nimbus during play time is exhausting! In fact, Chris usually puts Nimbus away when I feel the chinchilla deserves more play time, and I think it's because he's frustrated about how much he has to correct Nimbus's behavior. I know it's frustrating. I've been there. From April to October, I lived with Nimbus on my own, and it was my job to watch after him alone. Yes, it's extremely frustrating. You would think that he'd learn which objects are off limits, because they're the same ones each time, particularly the books on the bookshelf, sliding under the oven, getting behind the couch. But, he is stubborn!! Goats are stubborn. Mules are stubborn. But, Nimbus takes the cake, and on a bad night, that's when the you-definitely-shouldn't-do-this yelling comes out.
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| Chris and myself at the WNC Nature Center, Asheville |
At the moment, there is a very distinct difference between how Nimbus reacts to me compared to Chris. While we're not on the bonding level that I'd like, Nimbus knows that I'm mommy and knowing that I'm the mom is important because it establishes a stronger relationship. I don't believe that animals can handle two masters. In the wild, there is the alpha, and one alpha. You have the male lion over his pride. You have the alpha male and sometimes alpha female in a wolf pack, but the alpha female usually takes the top spot because she's the one who is strengthening the pack with offspring. I want to be the alpha in Nimbus's life. Right now, it seems more like he's the alpha, but we're working on that. Chris is the outsider. Nimbus does not put up with Chris's discipline in the slightest. He will sit there and egg Chris on in order to keep getting what he wants. I, on the other hand, usually get a quicker response from Nimbus. While perfect harmony would be complete if Nimbus responded to both of our commands, I don't see it happening, and a horrible situation will arise if Nimbus starts seeing Chris as the bigger influence in his life because if I move or Chris leaves, Nimbus and I will have to start all over again with discipline and cementing our bond.
When Chris glanced over and skimmed this post as I was writing it, his response was "I don't get frustrated with Nimbus!"
"You don't see how you interact with him," I answered.
"Well, it is really frustrating to get up and down all the time."
And, he's right, and because Chris isn't familiar with my chinchilla research and with Nimbus's behavior (although he's been reading every post on this blog which I think is helping), he finds it more difficult to be around him. And since Nimbus sees me as mommy and Chris as just some guy in the house, it only makes matters worse.
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| Photography by Chris, taken in Rhode Island |
When my former boyfriend - the one I adopted Nimbus with - was still living here, he and Nimbus had the same relationship. He wasn't thrilled with getting a new pet, and so I took over Nimbus's care and loving. My gut feeling is that he felt Nimbus was just an annoying fur ball that chewed everything in sight and left droppings all over the house. Thus, there was never a bond, and I became the only chin parent in the house. So, what happens if I have to stop being the parent and someone else takes over?
Hopefully, I won't be laid up too long so that Nimbus doesn't forget who I am. He stills sees me every day, but it doesn't make up for the loss of physical play time of holding, stroking, riding my shoulder, chin rubs, etc. When I do become healthy again, I plan to do that five minutes of holding time a day, a suggested bonding activity for chins and new owners. In the meantime, I have to focus on myself and rest and hope that Chris doesn't get too frustrated with Nimbus. I highly doubt it would reach this point, but if something does happen and Chris pulls a wrong move, particularly with discipline, Nimbus could lose his trust of any humans for quite some time. Starting all over.... I don't even know what to say.
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