Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Chins]

My husband and I are new chinchilla owners since last week wed. We have Ridley and Saurumon, our breeder told us they are 5 months old. Ridley got an conjunctivitis 2 days after we brought him home. We treated him for a week and now his eye is much better. However, Ridely won't let us pet him except when he's distracted. Getting him out of the cage takes some chasing, however once we're able to get him out of the cage he struggles a little but he's usually fine. He does make a quiet "yip yip" noise. I'm afraid that because he got sick and we had to give him drops he's going to have a hard time trusting us.
Saurumon will usually come out on his own if I sit in front of the cage They both run if we try to take them out of the cage. Our breeder told us we should scoop them but that has not work very well for us.

We've been giving both of them play time in the kitchen after we give Ridely his eye drop (thank goodness today was the last day!). We have to transport them from their cage, which is in the living room to the kitchen and some days it's easier to get them out then others.

We let them play in the kitchen for about 1/2 hr to an hr each night, we've also ordered a small animal playpen so they'll be able to play in that once it arrives. They also make a chirping-ish yip sometimes during playtime, I'm not sure if that means they're comfortable.

Tonight though after playtime, I was trying to catch Saurumon and he accidentally slipped from my hands, he let out a shreak. I was able to catch him and get him back to the cage. I'm worried about his psyche. We gave them both treats afterwards as we usually do and a few minutes later they were playing with each other. I also in front of the cage with the door open for a few minutes and both Saurumon and Ridley had no issue crawling on me and sniffing my nose.
I also notice after we carry Ridley and Saurumon back to their cage (they're pressed against our chest) a little bit of fur is on our fingers and shirt, I've read about fur slip but not sure if that's it. I imagined it to be a lot of fur and seeing visible patches on their coats, which I haven't seen.
They also do not like to sit in our laps, they move a lot.

Will they always be squrmiy or will they calm down as they get older? How will we be able to tell if we're bonding? How can we bond better? How do we interpret they're body language/noises?
If there is any insight or suggestion, please advise.

Thanks!

[Hoppinchins]

First off from what i'v read on here, its bad to chase a chin and expicaly while they are in there cage. That is there safe zone. I can't say i'v never done it, but I try not to. If i take them somewhere else to play usually the easiest way to do so is to let them out of the cage and once one gets in the dust bath i move it to the play pen and then get the other one.

All chinchillas have different personality's, but they are typically skittish animals. They are not lap pets. They spend most there day in a cage so when they have play time they are going to wait to run around. They will run and jump on you. Mine will sit on my knee when i have it bent or my shoulder/back for a few and then carry on. Also someone on here suggested reading to them to bond to them. They may get more calm as they get older. Mine are only 3 yrs old, so i'm not sure. My one chin has never been liked being held except when i took them to the vet and a little bit when he had a broken leg, But even when he had his leg wrapped up, he just wanted to go and move around a little bit. My other chin is more calm and i can pick him up for few.

[jmdebb]

yup, its definately bad to chase them in or out of their cage, unfortunately i made that mistake with angel and anytime i open the cage door, she scoots and runs like mad.  she's not afraid of me per say, like if i just go to pet her she is fine, but other than that, forget it...

always move slowly and go at their pace, it will take time for them to trust you, but if done properly it will happen.

[Chins]

Thanks for the suggestions! I've been trying not to chase them, tonight I tried to scoop them from the cage. Sometimes they just come out on their own. Tonight there was some "catching" from the cage involved to the kitchen to play.

Getting them back into the cage was ok too, it's easier to pick them out from the kitchen floor and hold them while we get them back into their cage.
We're still learning a great deal =)

Thank again! I look forward to any more suggestions and replies.

[Chins]

We played with our boys tonight. Saurumon (the white) was really playful. He jumped on my back, head, shoulders and sat on my knee.

Ridley kinda jumped on me then jumped off. He's still very squirmy when we go to pick him up. He seems very distrusting.
When we first put them in the play area, Ridley jumped around for a little bit then hunched against the wall and didn't move. They were both more lively when we sat in the play area with them.

Any suggestions/tips on how to gain back Ridley's trust?? or interpretation on what their behaviors mean?

[Hoppinchins]

I would just give it time. Let them eat treats out of your hand, talk softly.I'm sure the more you are in there play area he will jump on you more and be more trusting of you. 

[jmdebb]

Thanks for the suggestions! I've been trying not to chase them, tonight I tried to scoop them from the cage. Sometimes they just come out on their own. Tonight there was some "catching" from the cage involved to the kitchen to play.

Getting them back into the cage was ok too, it's easier to pick them out from the kitchen floor and hold them while we get them back into their cage.
We're still learning a great deal =)

Thank again! I look forward to any more suggestions and replies.

and there is so much to learn.. i've had mine for about 5 years and i'm still learning...

so always ask anything you need to, i do... haha

[Chins]

Thank you haha. Yes I've been trying to ask and learn. It seems chinchillas are very mysterious.
I work at a vet clinic and the dr I work for doesn't know much about chinchillas either.

Thank you everyone for being supportive.

[1newChinmom1]

Just a thought..we have two chins, Little  Mother and her son. Her son was born here, and is very tame, and I mean very, VERY tame  . But as he gets older, he gets more sensitive about being picked up from out of his hutch. My solution for transport at playtime is to use the dustbath as a commuting device. I put it at the open hutch gate, he jumps in, I carry him to the play area and put it down, after a few moments he jumps out and I put it up, out of reach.
Most days he jumps into my hands when I call him, to take him back to his hutch (yes, he is that tame  ) but some times he hesitates and I put the dustbath down - he climbs in - and we head back to his hutch where I put it up to the open door and he goes back home.
I have used this method the entire time with his Mum, she has always been a little shy about being lifted out of her hutch, although - over time- she has become very sweet and jumps into our arms, laps and shoulders in the play area.
If this doesn't work, you might try an empty dustbath with a cheerio in it to lure him out. My little Sir loves his cheerios!
Chinbabies had long memories, and big hearts. So give your shy ones time to adjust to the new home, and the new ChinMom. Good luck & I hope you end up with two sweethearts like ours.

The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know 

[Chins]

Hey! thanks for the advise.

Recently, they've been crawling right out of the cage when we open the cage door. I sometimes sit in front of the door and just let them climb on me. We use to do the dust bath trick but recently they've been coming right out.
They seems to be getting more use to us handling them and probably more use to their environment.

One of our chinchi's like to protest when we pick him up but is usually ok once we get him. He's can be extremely squirmy. Our other chinchi is usually fine. It's been really nice recently.

Thank you for your suggestions.