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[Stacy]

Last night when I was feeding Roo he got out. He is really good at that. Time the door opens he is out. Well I let him run for a little bit but I had to make him go back in his cage after a few mins and he did not agree with me. He was under a chair and I held the base of his tail and the rest of his body in my other had. Well he was still trying to get away but he made some kind of sound he has never made before. I know he was mad at me because when I put him in his cage he bit me. The only time he bites is when I put him up or when I take everything out to clean his cage. He would not even look at me for a little bit but then I guess he got over it because he was jumping up and running to the door every time I walked by the cage. Anyway what would that sound have been? And is there anyway I could get him to stop getting so mad at me when I put him in his cage?

[tinabeana]

Me and my husband are actually trying something new, when ever we put Maggie back in her cage we say "Go Home" and give her a half a raisin or an oat.

I've read that eventually she'll associate, "going home" with treats and will go in her cage rather easily.

[Summer]

when I let my boys out they talk to me or when I put them back

[chinclub]

Me and my husband are actually trying something new, when ever we put Maggie back in her cage we say "Go Home" and give her a half a raisin or an oat.

I've read that eventually she'll associate, "going home" with treats and will go in her cage rather easily.

A lady who bought a pair of chinchillas from me years ago was able to train them like that.  I can't remember if she used a treat or a dust bath.  I've also known people who shake the treat canister with every treat.  The chinchillas learned that sound and if they ever escaped in the night and she couldn't find them hiding n her house (which chinchillas are so good at!), she could just shake that can and they would come running!!

[Summer]

  yes I also do that and they come running

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I use a timer so they know when. If they get adamant I shoo with the broom. There will always be at least one that brings me to my knees for a cornering.
Tapping the dust bath works sometimes,as does shaking the treat dish for some. They all know a treat is waiting for them, so most do get right back all by themselves when the timer goes off.
I started training them with the timer and saying "up", as they have to use ladders and stools to get up.So yes find a term that works for you, they do learn a vocabulary.
Giving them a time limit helps so much, they think they have control by getting back by them selves. I see them so many times get back up just as the timer is going off.
If I want to handle them for any reason I do it before their run, so they then have to go through me to get down.
Finding what works for your set up is the key.
Good luck and let us know what works for you.

[chinchilla.mama]

My chins are always a little miffed when I put them back in their cage, especially Davinci. I try to soften the blow a little bit with a treat or a dust bath. Of course then they fight over the dust bath sometimes. 

[Jo Ann]

Debbie, that is awesome!  I'm going to have to try to train a few of mine to do that. 
The use of a timer ... never thought of that ... but they do like having a schedule! 
Do you start training from kit size? 
How long (average or most to least) does it normally take to get them to do this for you?
What age seems to be the best age for training?
You mentioned ladders and stools ... pictures of them, please!

 
Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

See taking the stairs in my album Jo Ann.
I read it on a forum years ago, a lady who said she used a timer, so I had to try.
It's the sound they get use too, when the timer goes off they know it's treat time, or bath time. If they are not ready to go back for a treat, I tap the bath bottle, shake the treat dish, shoo them with the broom, and as a last resort corner and catch them. Every night there is one out of the 20 + that's not ready.
For the most part it sure saves time, and aggravation sometimes too.
I would say with in a month or two some had started getting back when the timer went off.By 6 months they were all getting the hang of it.
Now newbies and kits just catch on by watching the rest.
Young kits I just show how to get down, if they can figure that out they know how to get back.
I will place them from one stool to the other, to the floor, and praise them.Their own curiosity leads them to find the way up.
Just making the connection between going back, the treat, and the bell.

[Jo Ann]

That is fantastic!  I love that picture in the album!

    I am going to try it with a few ... my main challenge will be with Lady, our Dane, she'll have to learn the new rules with the chins.  She lets us know when they escape from their cage, where they are and most of the time they will come to her and she puts her paw on their tail till we get there.  Sometimes she will hold her mouth open over them, but never puts pressure on them.  They give her kisses every night as she goes from cage to cage.

 
Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Now that will be cool,no broom. Use Lady to shoo them back when the bell goes off.
Just watch and if she doesn't start doing

[totolover]

How long have you had him? Was he young when you got him? If a chinchilla is handled alot when it is young it will get pretty tame. Was it is a kind of "cack" sound? That means buzz off.
He kept coming up to the side of the cage after you put him away because he was begging to have out again or for a treat. How long can you let him run? Does he even stop and rest for awhile when he is running? Maybe you can put him away when he's tired. 

[Jo Ann]

Last night when I was feeding Roo he got out. He is really good at that. Time the door opens he is out. Well I let him run for a little bit but I had to make him go back in his cage after a few mins and he did not agree with me. He was under a chair and I held the base of his tail and the rest of his body in my other had. Well he was still trying to get away but he made some kind of sound he has never made before. I know he was mad at me because when I put him in his cage he bit me. The only time he bites is when I put him up or when I take everything out to clean his cage. He would not even look at me for a little bit but then I guess he got over it because he was jumping up and running to the door every time I walked by the cage. Anyway what would that sound have been? And is there anyway I could get him to stop getting so mad at me when I put him in his cage?

I have to agree with "totolover" in a way ... He was  and  because he didn't have all the time "HE" wanted out.
  I find it's best to have a set schedule.  If you let him out for different lengths of time, he does not understand why some times are shorter than other times and he gets mad ... just like a small child.   Debbie uses a kitchen timer with her chins ... that is a great idea to me ... that way the time is the same and the bell/buzzer going off lets him know "This is the end of playtime."  Be consistant, chins do not like change!

 
Jo Ann

[luvmychinchins]

if your chin made kind of a duck quacking noise, it means something else did something he didn't like and he's mad, but, if it was more like a click it meant he was scared and felt vulnerable.



             luvmychinchins

[Jenova]

I didn't want to start a new thread but I've been a bit worried about Cheech over the last 24 hours. My little brother-in-law had a birthday party so we moved his cage upstairs to our room to be away from all the screeching kids. 

Well he started to make a chirruping squeaking noise and at first we thought he might just be distressed from the move, but we asked my boyfriend's mother and she said he had been doing it on and off all day.

So we chin proofed our room and let him out, thinking he might just want a bit of excersise. Usually in new surroundings he is very timid, understandably, but he just explored the room looking pretty happy and finding himslef a hidy hole behind the curtains. (He did manage to squeeze under the bed even though we thought it was safely blocked... but chins will be chins and we coaxed him out eventually.  )

He seemed fine and was letting us tickle him while he was playing but we thought we should keep him upstairs over night just to make sure he was okay. He was quiet for most of the night because he was sleepy from the excersise, but at intervals throughout he kept on squeak/chirruping. When we woke up we called to him softly and he settled down again.

This morning he was very quiet and wouldn't even take a raisin off me untill I put it right under his nose. After my boyfriend went to work, I let him out again. It was daytime but he was awake and I wanted to check if it was anything physical that was causing him the problem.

He was fine again when he was out and even 'let' me catch him to put him back in his cage after half an hour. Since then he's been fine. He's had a dust bath and is sleeping soundly. And physically he's fine, he's eating and pooing well.

I just wondered if any of you had any idea what might have been wrong with him. He's on his own so I was wondering if he was just lonely and pining for a mate. He's only a year old so we might be able to introduce him to another chin. Any ideas?

Thanks for your help.