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[Brandymc26]

I have adopted an older female chin named Lou Lou, she is 9 yo. She had two homes before me and was left in a small wire bottom cage most her life with little time out and human interaction. She is my first although I have ferrets in a different area of the house. She loves to be petted but gets really scared if she thinks someone is going to pick her up. I let her play in the room her cage is in ( witch I got her a spacious 5 layer cage ☺️) so she gets out and goes back on her own when I am supervising. My main questions are should I attempt to pick her up anyway to show I won't hurt her? Or give her more time? I have had her 4 days and she will come up to me to be petted. Also I like for my pets to have a companion of the same species to interact with. Overall I just think they have a better life with known interaction. But given her age she may not accept a friend? I have done allot of research, have gotten her a good chinchilla food and timmothy hay, apple sticks and things safe for her to chew and her dust bath and seems allot happier than she was before. I just want what's best for her and would like advice from experienced owners please. Any help should be very much appreciated. Thank you!

[GrayRodent]

As far as being picked up my advice is wait until you've had her for about two weeks and let her get used to her new surroundings. Make sure to give her attention inside of the cage and through the bars of the cage if she's not acting territorial. Then pick her up briefly, hold her against you, just a few seconds, and put her back. Do this 2-3 times a day and you should see gradual improvement over a few weeks. Eventually she may actually jump on your hand because you've established a new pattern. Mine have learned to jump on my hand when I go get them from their dust bath in my bathtub but not always from their cage.

Be careful with multi-level cages. Make sure the floors are staggered so she can't fall from the top to the bottom. Falls can be very dangerous for chins. Good chinchilla foods that I like are Oxbow and Mazuri. Timothy hay is preferred but other grass hays can work just as well.

Pairing chins is not always advisable and doesn't always work. There is always a risk even after chins are paired and bonded they can kill each other. I did try pairing mine and they just were not compatible. It really depends on how each chin gets along and chins can be very different. They live in a two level cage that is sectioned off and there are many advantages to keeping them separate.

Congrats on your pet. I think things will go well for you and sounds like you're already most of the way there.

[Brandymc26]

Thank you so much! She has done good with the shelves in the cage and seems to love the space she has. If she will be happy without a companion then I will just make sure to give her lots of attention😊. Thank you for the advice! It really helps. I just want her to have a good life and be happy. I hate that she wasn't taken care of at her last home 😞 And just want what's best for her

[GrayRodent]

I'm glad she has her space. Make sure the floors are staggered so she can't fall through clear to the bottom. She will still have plenty of space if you have floors with passages to get through to the other levels. Just today someone was asking me about a chinchilla that is in peril and there is some evidence it fell in its cage. It is your pet and your call concerning what is best.

I'm glad your pet is so friendly and letting you pet it. Chinchillas normally start out shy and fearful of people and it takes a little work for them to get used to it, but if there was any abuse going on she wouldn't be that tame.

It is true chinchillas usually prefer to live alone. They are social creatures but not near as social as cats or dogs but when they are together and getting along it's really fascinating to see them interact.

God bless.