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[gartock]

I got a new chin 6 days ago. I grabbed her from petco and she was frantic there but not entirely aggressive. The first day or two I kind of sat back and let her get used to the new cage and home. Being a new chin owner I wanted to give her a treat. She refuses to eat the treat and will come up and sniff the treat, than she starts sniffing me and just bites me. I sit a lot next to the cage as I do homework, build puzzles, watch tv. I let her out twice in my bathroom which was a huge hassle to get her back in. I want nothing more than to just bond with her. I know it requires patience and time. But has anyone else ever had this problem and how did they resolve it. Or is it just she has to slowly get used to me.

[Abby W.]

This is a story I hear a lot.  Patience is the answer, especially with pet store chinchillas.  Large pet stores, like Petsmart, etc, usually get their animals from large chinchilla ranches.  The ranchers will have hundreds of chinchillas.  The chins usually live in small cages and are handled very rarely.  So they are not used to human contact.  It may take you a long while to bond with your girl.  I wouldn't try to pick her up and take her out for playtime yet, as she will feel panicked and threatened.  That will only hinder the process.  She needs to feel safe and comfortable with you first.  I would keep doing what you are now, sitting near her cage, talking to her in a soothing voice, offering treats on occasion.  She might not eat the treat, because she might not know what it is.  You can try a variety of treats to see what peaks her interest (raisins, dried cranberries, dried papaya, spoon-size shredded wheat, cheerios, rose hips) If she bites, do not bat at her or hit her, you will scare her.  Chins usually don't bite unless they feel threatened.  Just give her space and pay attention to the signals she gives you.  She will let you know if she's uncomfortable with something you are doing.  Don't lose heart though, she will come around eventually, and once a chin bonds with someone they are friends for life.

[gartock]

Whenever she bit me or went to bite me I always calmly pulled my hand back slowly and closed the cage and walked a few feet away and watched tv or finished homework.Since I posted originally that I can tell I bonded a very small amount but not the greatest. Today I tried feeding her a raisin and she ate it out of my hand. She always eats hay right out of my hands now too. She eats it out of her bowl too but she really seems sure that I'm giving her something edible. I picked up one of her chew stone (volcanic stones) and I was moving it because it was in an odd position. She came up to my hand and started chewing it while I was holding it. I am not sure if this is an improvement but it seems so. As before she used to be really scared and hid in one corner, but now when she wakes up she'll jump around and stand on top of her little home or towards the top of the cage and look out.

Once I know shes really comfortable with me I might start handling her and possibly grooming her so shes used to it. Shes not going to be in shows but I like to keep all of my animals looking nice. As I've read a lot the bonding process is a long and possible treacherous one, but I know it will pay off in the end.




Also a question about exercise wheels, would it be too early to introduce one to my chinchilla. Shes less than 4 months old, petstore doesn't have birth date on her. If it isn't how would she react to it and is the flying saucer the best choice?

And as for feed I want to switch because I've found out that vitakraft isn't too good. Is mazuri a better feed.

Sorry for all the questions under this post.

[mylittlechinchilla]

Congrats on your new chin!

If you are considering a wheel, don't buy a cheap $30 wheel, it will last 2 weeks MAX..  I highly remommend quality cages 15 inch Chin Spin and it's gonna cost you around $70..

Yes, you need to get her on a good quality feed, Mazuri is good but I prefer Tradition.

[Jo Ann]

   I like the flying saucer chinchilla wheels best.  You can find them at: http://www.chin-chillas.com/  {Meadowbrook Chinchillas}  Dr. Marty Hull on that site is the inventor of the flying saucer chinchilla wheel.  (We have 6.)

Usually, a chin will not bite with out reason or before giving several warnings ... of course you have to know what the warnings are to know what they mean.
1) They try to run away/hide from you.
2) They will stand and fuss at you.
3) They will try to push your hand away from them with their paws.
4) Females (not all but some) will often use the one defence they have in the wild to protect themselves and their kits ... they spray you with urine ... beware, they are VERY ACCURATE up to about 7 feet.
5)  They nip you firmly, but not breaking the skin.  (Some will skip this step because they figure you haven't listened up to now, so why bother.)   
6)  They take a nice hard bite, usually to the bone.

A chin will bite if afraid, hurt or cornered.  You and your home are 'new' to him, you would not instantly trust a stranger, don't expect your chin to do so.   

Keep in mind they are only protecting themselves ... Probably the same as you would do in a strange place, being what you feel is treating being done by a giant the size of a house!  We often forget to consider the other point of view and how we would react under the same circumstances.

Sounds like you are making some very good progress.  Eating out of your hand is an honor given to you by the chin to show the beginning of trust and bonding.

Her going to the top of the cage (closer to you) and looking out is a "please come talk to me or play with me" gesture by your chin. 
Even if you do not have much time, please, at least give her a soft.  "Hi there!"  when you wake up or come into the room and a "Bye, see you later!",  when you are leaving.  This lets them know that they are being noticed and that you care enough to make sure you speak to them.   

Oh, always wash your hands and face before handling or touching your chin ... their eyesite is not that great, but their nose is!  If they smell anything that smells like food, they will probably try to take a nibble to see what it tastes like.

Also, never confuse love nibbles with a defencive bite.

   Jo Ann

[gartock]

Well she still has the same problem as she likes to bite. She goes to the top of the cage as you said and if I go in my room even for a quick second I stop and talk a bit.
Her problem with biting though, I don't chase her at all. She will come up to my hand and bite it. Sometimes it a little nibble, but other times she will bite and break the skin just a mm or so. It might be more I've never been able to feel bites of animals too much. She loves to bite the knuckles of my hands only too, it weird.

[Jo Ann]

    Some bites are used to 'express dominance' ... you will often see one chinchilla chasing and/or nipping another chin ... some will even attempt to hump another chin of the same sex ... this is a show of dominance rather than anger or of sexual content.  This is often how the chinchillas decide who will be the boss or alpha chin.

One thing you might try, is to let your little one know that you will walk away and ignore him/her every time they bite you.  They love to be the center of attention and do not like to be ignored, as a rule.

Never hit or yell at him/her, but just give them a firm, stern "no" and then walk away and ignore him.  It usually does not take very long for a chin to know that you are not pleased with his actions and he will quit ... but ... he will still try it again ever so often, just to 'test' you.  When this happens, I find it best to repeat the "No" and ignoring it for an hour or so ... longer if needed.   Some will even stand and fuss at you when you ignore them ... don't let them catch you laughing at them when this happens or they will think you like it.      They are very smart little critters!

   Jo Ann

[gartock]

That actually makes a lot of sense, I will start doing that and hopefully will see results.
Thanks you.