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[LollyDolly]

So I have bought a new 18 week old Chin who hasn't been handled much at all. I am keeping him seperate from my other Chin however they are both in the same room and seem to enjoy chattering to each other. His arrival has certainly cheered Henry up a lot!

Anyway, Casper (the new pink white Chin) just doesn't want to know, he won't take any treats from me either through the bars or in the cage and is really skittish. He has had three days to settle in, Henry was willing to take treats very quickly however Casper just freaks, he won't eat any treats that you leave for him until I have left the room. I have been just sitting with him a lot recently so that he can get used to my presence but so far I feel like I've hit a brick wall. I mean, how can I tame him if he won't even accept any treats that are just left for him? Let alone trying to give him one through the bars/via my fingers in his cage.

What can I do? I don't know how else to approach this, any ideas greatly appreciated!

[GrayRodent]

Sounds like you got a tough case. I would be interested in knowing your chin's history. Perhaps this one has had bad experiences with people. 3 days is not very long though and it could take a couple of weeks before you see significant improvement.

For the first two weeks I recommend you don't try to do anything with your chin. Do not even take it out of the cage. Being in the same room is good. Of course clean the cage, feed, water, etc. just do not impose on your chin's space. Over time it will adjust to its new surroundings and schedule and get used to you being there. Until then it makes no sense to try anything. After 7 days see if your chin will take interest in a treat from you. We can hope that eventually your chin will be sociable but as you might know not all animals learn to get accustomed to human interaction.

Also are you sure it is a he and not a she and that she is not pregnant? Does your chin have a hutch to hide in inside the cage?

[LollyDolly]

Well I bought him off a relatively inexperienced Chin owner who had a male and a female and guess what, they had babies. Sadly only Casper survived however he is very skittish. That sounds like a good idea, I had been leaving his cage door open and allowing him to venture around the room (supervised of course) so would you advise against this for now?
Yes I am pretty sure that he is a he, when I went to view him I sexed him myself. Yes he has a little nestbox with some hay in which he can sit in if he pleases, however he doesn't seem to use it at all however previously at his breeders house he was just in a cage with platforms, no housing so maybe he isn't used to it?
Thanks for your help!

[Beccaleigh05]

Hi there My Ottis is about 4 months old or so and i've had him going on week three now..
At first Ottis would come out of his cage and hide under the chair for hours.... Week two got better, he would come to us and jump on us (my boyfriend and i) and come to us and take treats from us and over the weekend Ottis jumped all over me and would sit on my shoulder.
What I found from this website is that bonding with your chinny takes a LOT of time and PATIENCE!!!!!! that of which i hate haha but going into a smaller bathroom and putting towels down over the sink and tub etc makes it easier to bond with ottis because the small room makes him have to cross me at some point.. Just sit still and let him come to you and dont make sudden movements and talk realllly soft to them no screaming lol. Don't take your new chinny casper out until i'd say week 3 to see if hes improving.. I play and work on the computer next to Ottis' cage and talk to him occasionally when hes not sleeping.

He now comes to the cage to greet me when he knows its play time its such a great feeling...

hope this helps! 

[GrayRodent]

The reasoning behind leaving your chin in its cage is to prevent him from being frightened or stressed by anything he might encounter, especially if you ever have to catch or handle him to put him back in the cage, and may also provide an added sense of security and consistency which I think is a good first step in conditioning. At least until he shows signs of coming to you or taking food from you which should be done at the opening of the cage especially since your chin doesn't hide in his hutch. Some chins can take a couple of months to warm up to a new owner so I wouldn't give up just yet.

[LollyDolly]

Ah ok, thanks everyone for all the great advice! I was just at a loss because my other Chinchilla, Henry, was so easy to tame as he is INCREDIBLY food orientated haha!
Thanks everyone, it means a lot!

[mojito]

I was in the exact same situation as you! When I got my first chin, Dexter, he was ready to play with me the next day and was easy to tame. He would take treats and knew two tricks after a week! Then in May I got him a friend who was 10 months old (Dexter was about 6ish months). Skillet had been handled plenty, but only by 1 or 2 people. For the first few weeks he wouldn't even come out of the cage for playtime, and if he did it wasn't for long. Slowly he got more comfortable but was still skittish (he would run into the cage if someone opened or shut the door too loud, etc) and actually just a few days ago I noticed how much more friendly, playful, calm and trusting he's being. He's climbing up on me more often and staying out longer than Dexter does for playtime! I was pretty frustrated for a while because Dexter was so easy and I didn't think it would take so long but every chin is different  just be patient and treat him the same as you do your first chin and he'll become more comfortable after a while

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

I agree with everyone else: every chinchilla Is different. Also, why don't you try experimenting with different types of safe treats? Maybe your chinny just isn't too desperate to get the ones you're offering.