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[Advocate]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and new to owning a Chinchilla!

My Chin is a male, about 2 years old, and I've (re)named him Chico.  He belonged to my step-niece who has had him the entire 2 years but now between school and her other activities, she doesn't have time to give him, so she asked if I would like to take him when we were over there on Sunday.  Thus, I've had him 3 days. 

I had a triple-decker cage not being used, and I cleaned that up again and transferred him to that.  Formerly he had no toys in his cage, but now he has 2 hanging chew toys. 

He has seemed to enjoy running up and down the 3 levels, but mostly he stays down in the bottom where he has a metal shelter.  I understand that Chins are mainly nocturnal and pretty much sleep during the day, but so far he isn't really coming out until way late at night, after we all go to bed and turn out the lights.  We are night-owls here, so normally the lights go out around 2 to 3 AM.  I thought he'd be coming out and around in the evenings even though we have lights on -- but so far, nope.

Also, I'm not sure he is eating much.  He did eat most of the hay I put in for him last night, but not much of the hay-pellets (if any).  His poos look okay to me, which is good.  Just after reading in here how "piggy" Chins seem to be, it has stood out to me that most of his pellets and some of the hay are still sitting around. 

Do you all think that his behavior is probably due to the overall general stress of moving to a new place and new cage?  Maybe I should put him back in his old cage for a while?  It's a nice size, just has a couple of platforms and nothing for him to "do" in there, but maybe he'd settle in better if I did that? 

On a good note, although he barked and stamped at me the first day when I went to pet him in the cage or pick him up, he's not doing that any more.  I pick him up gently by the scruff of his back over his shoulders, and then put my other hand under his feet to support him and lift him out to cuddle against my upper chest where he sticks his head under my chin.  Briefly, then he wiggles a lot to get down so back in the cage he goes.  He bit me a few times the first day, but not so hard that it did any damage -- just nippy, and he has not done that yesterday or today. 

[olivia41]

welcome to the forum! it sounds like your chin is just getting used to his new surroundings. they get very uncomfortable with change so it will take him a litttle while to become accustomed to his new home. what i would do is leave him in the cage when hes sleeping, start trying to take him out once a day. make sure you open the door and let him come on ON HIS OWN do not go into his cage and try to grab him..this will make him feel like youre invading his space! they like to have their home. he'll start eating some of the treats once hes used to his new home. as long as theres no foreign scents in the cage, it should be fine to keep him there. let me know how he does! youll fall in love with him very soon dont worry 

[Advocate]

Actually, last night he did come out and run around a little bit and eat and drink some while we were still up -- since I'd just posted my concern about him not doing that, I wonder if he has ESP??   

When he's out and about in the cage, if I just put my hand in there he'll come and sit up next to my hand with his front paws on it for a while, and a couple of times he has started to walk up my arm which would bring him out of the cage if I let him continue.  I wouldn't mind letting him come on out and walk up to my shoulders, but I am concerned that he might jump off and take off around the house. 

He's already loved!  I've had rabbits for a long time, don't have any right now, but I'm pretty used to handling small critters, and I'm really enjoying learning a Chin's personality of which there is a lot. 

[Jo Ann]

    Welcome to the Chinchilla Club Forum & to the Wonderful World of Chinchillas! 
 

He has seemed to enjoy running up and down the 3 levels, but mostly he stays down in the bottom where he has a metal shelter.

  The move to a new home and a new owner is something this little one needs more time to adjust to.  Putting him in a new cage, regardless of all the good intentions, was just one more thing for him to have to adjust to along with all the other changes.
Having said that ... once a chin gets use to a larger cage (the new one), he is usually very unhappy to be moved into a smaller cage (his old one).  You might want to set his old cage on the floor during play time, so he can go back to "visit it", IF he wants to do so.  Once he does not attempt to go back into it, you will know he is perfectly happy in his new home and with his big pretty new cage.   

I would think the reason he is staying in the hut on the bottom of the cage is just a security thing he will get over.  He has probably never had that much room to run and play.  I would be sure to acknowledge him each time you go into or out of the room {even if just to call him by name and say "Hi" or "Bye" ... and if you have a few minutes, just sit down and talk to him for a while.  The more he knows you want him to love you, the faster he will usually turn to you to do so.      Chinchillas love attention and dearly love to be the center of attention.   

Not eating much at first is not unusual.  Are you giving him the same food that he was given at the breeders?
What brand of chinchilla pellets are you giving him?

   Jo Ann

[Advocate]

Re what he's eating -- rabbit pellets at the moment.  My step-niece said that last time she went to buy him food, the store was out of Chinchilla pellets, so she got the rabbit ones.  That bag is mostly full, so he has not been on them long.  One of my sisters is coming out today from town, and she is picking up Chinchilla pellets for me on her way, so I will start mixing those in with the rabbit stuff to gradually change him over to full Chinchilla food. 

Not that he is eating much.  I put about half a cup of the pellets in his dish 2 days ago and although a little has been eaten, not very much.  He is definitely eating the hay though, and his poops look normal. 

We have him in the livingroom, at one end.  The house he came from was probably pretty noisy as there were 4 kids, and it is very quiet here by comparison with 3 adults, but we all speak to him when we go by the cage.  And, several times a day I sit down by the cage and pet him a little and talk to him for a few minutes. 

Am I right, though, in thinking that if he comes out onto my shoulder, he could take a flying leap from there to the floor or to some other nearby surface? 

Also, re play time, I have not yet set that up.  We have a long-ish hallway that I could use, just close all the doors except the bathroom.  I would need to block the other end of the hallway, and I have read here about some folks using baby gates, but my question is:  since Chins can both climb well and jump high, how does a baby gate keep one in a particular space?

[Jo Ann]

   If you have not gotten the pellets yet, when you (or your sister) does get them ... Mazuri Chinchilla Diet or Oxbow are about the best two brands you can get without having to have them shipped to you.  You do not want to get pellets that are in a bag that you can see into it (sunlight tends to weaken the vitamins in it) and not one that has allot of additives ... those are full of treats, many of which are not good for him.

Am I right, though, in thinking that if he comes out onto my shoulder, he could take a flying leap from there to the floor or to some other nearby surface?

  Correct.  Until he gets use to you, it would be best to hold him gently but firmly by the tail about 1 inch from the actual base that is attached to the body, while you have the other hand under his feet to keep him supported properly at all times.  If his feet are not supported, he will think he is going to fall and will often panic and try to get away.

One of the best rooms to let him have playtime in, that seems to be the easiest to chin-proof in the bathroom.

Blocking off one end of the hall and closing all the doors is also good.  You may want to take a couple of boxes and cut out doors and windows ... you'd be surprised how much he will love his  playhouse.., 

I would put only about a table spoon of food in each morning and evening ... this way you will be able to see how much he is actually eating.  Pellets that are sitting out  {not in an air tight container} will go bad much faster than tellets in an airtight container.  You want them as fresh as possible each time you feed him.


   Jo Ann

[Advocate]

Yep on the Oxbow, that's what I'm having my sister pick up.  And very good idea to just put a small amount of pellets to better gauge how much he is eating. 

He's mad at me this morning.  He let me pick him up and hold him for about a minute, then squirmed to be let loose so I put him back in the cage -- he ran into his hut and whipped around a couple times, throwing shavings in the air, then looked at me and snorted as if to say "Hmph!  If you're going to take me out, let me DO something!"

 

[Jo Ann]

  

He's mad at me this morning.  He let me pick him up and hold him for about a minute, then squirmed to be let loose so I put him back in the cage -- he ran into his hut and whipped around a couple times, throwing shavings in the air, then looked at me and snorted as if to say "Hmph!  If you're going to take me out, let me DO something!"

Yep!  They do have their ways of letting you know how they feel about particular things.   

   Jo Ann

[Advocate]

I don't mean to simply prolong the thread, but I keep finding "a couple more things" (maybe I should rename my little guy "Columbo"). 

First, last night I gave Chico one tablespoon of pellets -- mixed Oxbow Chin with the rabbit pellets he has been eating (by the way, those are bagged as Timothy Hay pellets, so even though rabbit pellets I guess they are next best thing to Chin pellets).  And by this morning, he had eaten about half that tablespoon.  He did also eat a bunch of hay, though. 

And I found out more about his past.  My sister and nephew were out for a delayed Thanksgiving, and they know my step-niece and her family better than I do, see much more of them. 

According to sister and nephew, Chico should be somewhere between 2 and 3 yrs old.  He has never been handled on a regular basis, certainly not daily.  He was properly fed, watered and his cage kept clean, but he never had any toys or things to play with before, and pretty much no one paid much attention to him.  He got loose once in the house, and it took my nephew and all 4 of my step-nieces and step-nephew to work at catching him which took about 45 minutes before he was finally cornered and picked up. 

With the above history (pretty much of social neglect), I am impressed that the little guy is as friendly as he is with me.  I mean, he has nipped but he actually puts up well with me picking him up and will certainly let me reach in and pet him without fussing.  I can take a paw in my hand and hold it, I can stroke his tummy and pretty much any part of his body I can reach and he puts up with it. 

Still, he is much more of a "hidey-Chin" than he probably would be if he'd been made more a part of his former family.  Given this history, can anyone venture a guess as to how long it may take to bring him out of his shell, gain his trust?  I do realize that right now he is still adjusting, as any new Chin would be, so that is also a factor. 

.

[Jo Ann]

     Each chinchilla is different.  Not knowing everything he went through since he was born puts a question to the time frame.  It could take a while, then again, he may decide to trust you from now own.  Under the circumstances he was in, I, too, am surprised he is warming up to you so quickly.          You are showing him lots of love and attention ... this is what he craves.

Maybe I can explain it better this way.  You have triplet puppies, born in the same litter, each adopted out to different owners.  Each owner holds a stick in their hand. 
One puppy wags it's tail and waits for you to throw it, so he can chase it and please you by bringing it back to you.  (He is a happy puppy that has had someone to love and play with him.)
The second puppy tucks his tail between his legs and cowers down.  (This puppy has been yelled at, told to get away, ignored and, maybe even hit with the stick.) 
The third puppy just stands there looking at you like  "Why did you throw that stick?"  "Now what? 'Cause I want to play."  (This puppy has been fed, housed and ignored.)
The same will go with chinchillas, they give to you what you have given to them.     

BUT chinchillas are much more sensitive to noise and sudden moves.  You may have him to the point you think he trusts you 100%, then you inadvertently do something that reminds him of pain or fear ... he will suddenly back away or hide ... if this happens, remember what has just happened and make sure you do not make that same movement or sound around him again.  It could be as simple as the pitch or tone in your voice.  You will need to take your time and talk softly, reassuring him that you did not mean to scare him.  They understand more that you think they do. 

   Jo Ann

[Advocate]

Thanks so much for the reassurance, I really appreciate getting more of a feel for what I might expect -- for one thing, the information gives me more ability to judge whether his behavior is probably normal or a sign he may be sick. 

He was out and about last evening pretty early for a change, dug in to his pumice stone and did a bunch of chewing, ran up and down and bounced off cage walls a bit, ate, etc.  He was still out this morning when I got up, sitting on the second floor ... but might have been asleep with his eyes open, because he didn't pay me any attention when I went over to say "Hi", but after I'd petted his back 3 or 4 times, he suddenly shook himself and ran down to his cave and curled up in there.   

[Advocate]

I'm still working on getting Chico used to being handled ... slow going! 

I don't dare let him just come out on my arm, which he seems perfectly willing to do -- I have to be able to have control of him so he doesn't get loose in the house.  But he doesn't want me to pick him up, so I have to kind of/sort of chase him around in his cage for a minute or so before he'll let me snag him by the scruff of the neck and lift him out.  I then hold him against my chest with one hand (firm but gentle) and feed him his raisin treat -- usually one raisin cut into 3 or 4 pieces. 

But he squirms and wants loose, so usually I only end up holding him for about a minute before returning him to his cage. 

It's not that he doesn't like me.  If I just rest my hand and arm in his cage, he'll usually come and put his front feet on me, and scootch his body up close.  He'll gently bite at my fingers, and sometimes will rest his head on my hand, and he'll keep this up usually as long as I leave my hand in the cage.  On other occasions, if I put my hand up flat against the side of the cage from the outside, he'll come and scootch up close to my hand on his side of the wire. 

Do they ever just relax and nestle up when being held? 

Oh, and he has a really cute little habit.  He'll be running around, doing whatever, and then he'll just stop and hunker down and put the top of his right paw in his mouth and stay like that for a while.  Sometimes he'll do it when he's sitting up on his back feet.  At first, I thought maybe he was chewing on that foot, but he's not, there's no fur or skin damage.  But it looks like he's "sucking his thumb" kind of, and he also seems to do it at times when he's feeling a little stressed (like after hearing a loud unexpected noise in the house, etc.).  SOOO cute!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

This part caught my attention 

I pick him up gently by the scruff of his back over his shoulders

Do you mean like some would pick up a rabbit or kitten?
Chins don't like that, he would protest and be very upset.
It can take some weeks to get over being traumatised by changes.
Give him time, and pick him up with one hand under and one hand over him.

[Jo Ann]

I don't dare let him just come out on my arm, which he seems perfectly willing to do -- I have to be able to have control of him so he doesn't get loose in the house.  But he doesn't want me to pick him up, so I have to kind of/sort of chase him around in his cage for a minute or so before he'll let me snag him by the scruff of the neck and lift him out.  I then hold him against my chest with one hand (firm but gentle) and feed him his raisin treat -- usually one raisin cut into 3 or 4 pieces.  

I would not want to be picked up by the scruff of my neck either.  Momma dogs and cats pick up their puppies and kittens this way ... they are made to do this instinctively ... not so for the chinchilla.  You are lucky you haven't come away with a hand full of fur or a hard bite.  Pick up a chinchilla by placing one hand under them and the other on top of him or firmly but gently about an inch from the base of the tail. Chinchillas MUST have their feet supported at all times, or they will think they are going to fall. This fear of falling, is most likely what is making him run from you when you attempt to pick him up.

But he squirms and wants loose, so usually I only end up holding him for about a minute before returning him to his cage.

His squirming may signal he has to go peeper and does not want to do it on you ... OR ... it could mean "Enough already, now I want to get down and play. SO many places to look into and find things I'm not suppose to have."  

It's not that he doesn't like me. If I just rest my hand and arm in his cage, he'll usually come and put his front feet on me, and scoot ch his body up close. He'll gently bite at my fingers, and sometimes will rest his head on my hand, and he'll keep this up usually as long as I leave my hand in the cage. ON other occasions, if I put my hand up flat against the side of the cage from the outside, he'll come and scoot ch up close to my hand on his side of the wire.  

  He loves you and wants your attention, but he just has not learned to trust you 100%.  You will know this when he jumps into your hand or scurries up your arm.  

Do they ever just relax and nestle up when being held?  

Sometimes, some chins will do this, but, they mostly love to run and be free to explore.  {like a kid that has been stuck in his room to long}

Oh, and he has a really cute little habit. He'll be running around, doing whatever, and then he'll just stop and hunker down and put the top of his right paw in his mouth and stay like that for a while. Sometimes he'll do it when he's sitting up on his back feet. At first, I thought maybe he was chewing on that foot, but he's not, there's no fur or skin damage.  But it looks like he's "sucking his thumb" kind of, and he also seems to do it at times when he's feeling a little stressed (like after hearing a loud unexpected noise in the house, etc.).  SOOO cute!

IT could be his form of a 'security blanket'.  

   Jo Ann