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[terezavictoria]

I'm sorry for posting this many questions but the other day this question popped up in my head:-Why do chinchillas bite and how to stop it?So I looked it up in here and I read somewhere in here that if a chinchilla bites we can blow in their face,so I did that to one of my chinchillas(when he bite me) and he got suuuper upset with me,he would not let me touch him for the next few minutes and would make angry/upset noises to me 
Both my chinchillas are sweet,one loves to be cuddle,the other not so much,Orpheu will basically just use me as a playground when he's out of his cage,when he is in his cage he only pays attention to me to get food or to get out,he rarely let's me touch me.They don't seem to bite because they're scared it almost seems like they think my fingers are food,since they'll bite me and grab my fingers like they were food.They do this pretty much since I've got them,but recently they've started to bite harder ,to the point that actually hurts.Are their other methods to make them stop biting?Is this normal chinchilla behaviour?Also another question that is totally unrelated:Are chinchillas jeaulous animals?Cause I've noticed that if I pet one of them and not the other they get upset with me,specially the sweeter one(he's quite moody,even though sweet),that also happens if I pet one of my cats near them.Thank you a lot for your patiente 

[GrayRodent]

I've had three chinchillas. One bit because he was aggressive and not socialized. He bit to injure and bloodied my fingers quite a few times because he did not tolerate being held and restrained. It took months of training him before he was manageable but eventually stopped biting and became somewhat tame.

Right now I have two chins that are both well socialized from a young age. Both have very different personalities. One likes to use his mouth a lot and will grab and pull with his teeth while playing. Sometimes he gets underneath my fingernail and thinks its some kind of chew toy. I have to be very careful because he's capable of drawing blood although he is not aggressive. After working with him and getting to know what sets him off I have learned to avoid getting bit. In his case it came down to reading his intentions and handling him enough to learn what works and what doesn't.

I have another chin who is very tame but he can be aggressive towards others. And sometimes that sets him off and I need to be careful. The only times it's been serious with him was when I first got him and started to socialize him. I can read his intentions by being observant.

If your pet smells food on your hand it might bite very hard. Wash your hands before handling chins. Normally biting is not a problem with chinchillas. Here are some tips:

1. If your pet is grabbing and pulling your skin it could be trying to mount your hand or arm. Petting along the back of a chinchilla can cause this behavior because to them it is like being mounted. To stop this I usually hold my pet and press him against my chest for a few seconds to distract him. If your pet is making squeaking noises and does not appear to be angry this is a likely cause and a short distraction usually breaks the cycle. Sometimes all you need to do is simply push him away. Try not to flinch and overreact. A chinchilla can make a game of this.

2. If your pet is acting aggressively, kacking, trying to stand up on its back legs it is trying to drive you off. I treat this just the same, press against your chest so he is restrained and cannot reach your hand with his teeth, then let him loose again and wait and watch to see if he'll return. This usually fixes it but If he tries to lunge at you and continue, hold him by the base of the tail and let him hang upside down for a few seconds. Hold only at the thickest base and make sure he cannot fall. Do not overdo this. It is a distraction not a punishment. Read your pet's reaction closely. Then let him loose again and it should be a good distraction to stop that behavior. Then put him back in the cage for a few minutes to let him cool off. Try to do this so your pet does not think you are being aggressive, however don't give into the behavior or it will reinforce it.

3. If you are holding/ restraining your chinchilla and it bites you chances are your chin is not well socialized and needs to be held for shorter durations. You can work up to longer sessions but that means you have restrained it too long.

Chinchillas are creatures of habit and patterns. You set the pattern you want. If you let your pet set it the pattern can escalate.Chinchillas don't get jealous. They can get scared but scared chins tend to escape and run off, not stand and fight unless restrained or cornered. Territorial chins will fight and bite but usually only in their cage.

Hope this helps.

[terezavictoria]

It is nothing like that,at all 
They're moody but not at all agressive.They have never ever acted agressive towards me they at times get upset ,Orpheu once get upset because I didn't let him out of his cage so when I tried to close his cage door he bite me,that was the only behaviour that could be considerate agressive.Researching on the jeaulosy theme I came across a video of a chinchilla grooming his owner during a cudlle session and I must say that It looks exactly with what Ícaro does,the thing is he does it quite hard.
Orpheu on the other hand seems to explore my fingers but really really hard,he doesn't seem agressive just very curious.But I'll try to pull him back as you've said when he does that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZh43tSwxnI I meant this video,he does it a lot like that chin but really hard.Is just his tough nature that makes him "bite" me so hard?
The noiseI said Icaro does when I give his brother attention first and then go to him I guess it's called barking.But he doesn't stand on his feet,he just barks at me with his back turned  to me.After a few minutes he let me pet him again,but first he makes some other noises that kind of seem that his sulky.I guess I could use a different word from bitting but my english is not so great,it's kind of a soft bite that sometimes transforms to a harder bite that will leave their teeth mark on my fingers.But they have never bite me so hard that I would bleed.Thank you for your reply

[GrayRodent]

The video shows mutual grooming behavior. A chinchilla grooms by pulling its teeth through its fur, or the fur of another chinchilla. He should respond to flinching or pulling away, or even making a noise at him. When my chin gets too rough I switch positions and pet him over his head/nose once or twice, then go back. A few times of this may be enough to break the cycle.

The vocal noises I'm not too sure of. Chinchillas can make a wide range of sounds and from what I've observed it can actually be unique to a particular animal how it uses sounds. So the only thing you can do is observe and try to figure out what actions to associate the sounds with.

I have a chin that squeaks and chirps when I pet him, and I'll chirp back at him. He is very vocal. He will also make chirping, almost kacking noises when being groomed by Spot sometimes. It is perfectly normal for him. Spot rarely ever makes any noise and when he does it's usually because Kulu is being too rough with him. Sometimes Kulu gets randy with Spot and he'll make different sounds but it's obvious from his behavior what is happening.

[terezavictoria]

I see.One of them,ícaro is super vocal.Orpheu not so much I call him the gentle timid giant as he is really big compared to his brother and doesn't really want a lot to do with you but sometimes is an absolute sweety.I can't really describe the sound XD Well,I'll definetely  pet their head/nose when they get rough.Thanks again for your patiente

[GrayRodent]

I hope this helps. Enjoy your pets. Sounds you have some nice chins.