The house on the left? That’s Mittens’ new sleeping quarters. The one on the right… well, that is what’s left of the old one, after about five months of constant nibbling, gnawing, and chewing his way through it. The other day I heard him making his loud squeak noises, the kind he makes when he wants something, and there he was, looking grumpy under a caved in roof.

New house. Old house. And yes, it really is the same exact model house. Who knows what Mittens did with the little pieces of wood that made up the wall on the old house. All I know, is that there was never any sign of them. I can’t wait to see how long it takes him to devour his way through this new one.

Enjoy it while it lasts Mittens.

Note: that little bridge under the cage used to be really bright and colorful. He took care of that with nibbling too. *sigh* see Mittens? This is why we don’t have nice things.

It appears that Mittens’ new favorite place in the apartment, is sitting inside of a tiny basket on a third tier of a shelf. He makes for the perfect decoration, don’t you think?

Some more ridiculously adorable photos after the jump.

Late last night, while in the midst of studying for finals and playing Grand Theft Auto IV, Mittens was whining in his cage with his little belly pressed against the bars. This means only one thing. “Let me out!”

So, after a while, I caved, and opened up his cage, giving him free reign of my bedroom. He ran around, jumping on my desk, scampering across my bed, hiding under my couch… his usual, adorable deal. I kept working on my final papers, until I heard furious, frantic squeaking coming from my bathroom.

I bolted over to my bathroom, only to spot Mittens in the toilet, sitting in the cold water, attempting in vain to climb out. I’d have been squeaking a lot too, if I had fallen inside of a giant toilet. Poor guy. I scooped him right up and called up my vet, who told me I’d have to blow dry him til he was completely dry. The problem with chinchillas, is that they can’t get wet. Not because they are gremlins or anything, but because of their super sensitive skin.

So Mittens was treated like quite the diva for the next hour or so, bundled in a towel, having his fur blow dried. No, the blow drier wasn’t actually that close to him while turned on (see picture above). That was just for the picture. I had to keep it several feet away from him.

Lesson learned, keep the bathroom door closed.