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[PurpleMonstar]

My chinchilla, BB, shakes when I'm holding her outside of her cage. I know it is probably due to nerves but it has been a long time since I have gotten her and she hasn't improved on this. She will sit at the edge of her cage and watch as I hold my other chinchilla but when I take BB out she just shakes and seems scared to be away from her cage. So I normally just pet her and talk to her at the edge of the cage and she likes that. Also, when I take her in the other room and half her run on the couch, she will just sit still and shake, only moving every so often. She does better when she's on the ground running around though.
Any suggestions on how I can make her comfortable or how I can help her improve on her nerves?

[GrayRodent]

About how long is a "long time" ?

[PurpleMonstar]

About or almost 2 years.

[GrayRodent]

Have you tried offering her something to chew on like a stick or something that might be a nice distraction?
What if you set up a blanket or something she could crawl under?
Perhaps there is something about that particular room. Does she do this in other places? The fact that she seems okay on the floor but not the couch may have something to do with the immediate area. I have a parrot who sometimes will get scared of things overhead that wave or move a certain way. It could even be a reflection.
After two years of always being scared and associating that fear with that location you may not be able to reverse that.

[PurpleMonstar]

I can try giving her a stick, I actually never thought to bring one of her stick toys with her.
And she does that in every other room except my room, where her cage is. Everything in each room is practically the same except the size of the room and smell. Usually when I am in the other room with her and start to walk back to my room so goes nuts and jumps in her cage right away. Maybe the smells in the other rooms alarm her and it's not really "home" for her?
And if I give her a blanket to hide under, she'll just chew it. ^^ I hold her and put her on my shoulder as a way to hide. My shoulder is where she likes to go.

[GrayRodent]

In case you haven't noticed I really have no experience with chins. I'm hoping provoke some expert responses.
If not a stick maybe try something that your pet will find most interesting.

I have read that when moving a chin to a new room that sometimes it helps to put dirty clothes on top of the cage to help them get accustomed to the smells of the new room. The same article (written by Jean Sloboda in the Chinchilla Club Magazine) also mentioned that the same chin had extreme anxiety when put into a carrier and putting used litter from its cage into it helped immensely.

I would think she could recognize your scent on the couch which she seems to like. Do you have any other animals or people in the house that sit there that maybe your chin doesn't like?

I'm not suggesting putting used litter on your couch but what if you put used litter into a tray and put it near the couch for a couple of hours so the room smells more like the cage? Or even put such a carrier on the couch and see what she does. Perhaps it has nothing to do with smell at all. Who knows?

[PurpleMonstar]

You're still very knowledgeable and you have other pets so you're still experienced.
Putting something from her cage into another room sounds like a good idea, I'll be sure to try that with different things.
And sometimes there's other people and sometimes there isn't. She actually stops shaking and perks up when she sees one of my dogs so it isn't an issue with other animals.
Thanks a lot for the advice!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I always called it the shiver, but my first chin a male will still do it sometimes. I can assure you at 14 he's no longer afraid of much LOL
How ever chins do like their comfort zone, and although not always fear he's still telling you he doesn't like leaving his surroundings.
I think they may also use it as a defense, would throw their prey off just long enough to make a break. 

[mojito]

Does she see you hold the other chin? And with playtime, is the other chin on the couch with her? I only have one, and at first he would shake while I tried to hold him, so I would kind of cover him or give him a shelter/hiding spot under my hand and he is slowly getting over it (it's only of he is at eye level)