Hi everyone! I've been dealing with a chinchilla who is prone to be shy and anxious, and when I first got my chins, I couldn't find a lot of help on how specifically to help my chin be more confident and comfortable, so armed with my far too in depth knowledge of cat and human psychology and some common sense, I did my best to bring up Lux's confidence. I thought I'd share what I learned.
So I have two chins, Jojo is the confident one and Lux is my little scaredy cat. They're about a year and a half and they're my first ever chinchillas and from a good breeder, so I can't say this will absolutely help with every chinchilla, but it's a good place to start.
Protect the shy chinThis was my first common sense approach. Pretty much it boils down to making sure there's always plenty of everything to go around; toys, hides, dust baths (I had to get two or Lux wouldn't bathe as often as he should. He felt uncomfortable sharing and Jojo always reached the bath first). Same with the food; I split it into two plates so Lux wouldn't be nervous about encroaching on Jojo. When it comes to things I can't give in excess, like treats, I give one to each and watch to make sure Lux finished his without Jojo interfering. When I'm playing with my chins, I also make sure Jojo's dashes astound the room don't collide with Lux, who gets scared by it. I also don't take Lux out often when people want to touch a chinchilla. I know Jojo won't mind as much - he doesn't like it, but he won't brood and hide.
Be present and patientMy chins know when I'm not present during playtime - it happens to all of us, hard day or early rise, sometimes you're almost asleep when you let the chinchillas out. This seems to lower Lux's confidence. Part of it is that I'm not as protective in these states, but also when I'm engaging with my chins I always try to build confidence by encouraging them to get on my lap or my hands. Jojo doesn't need a lot of help with this exercise, but Lux isn't always comfortable with it. Whenever he's slipped back, I start by offering him my back to jump onto. Its viewed as safer because he knows I pick him up with my hands and I can't reach him on my back. If he gets on within a few minutes, it's already good. The next step is getting him on my lap, then he's comfortable enough to get on my hands. It takes time and patience, but he's always more confident after and I don't need to repeat for weeks. When he's feeling more confident I work on training him to come when he's called.
Don't let them live in hidesThis one comes straight from my cat knowledge. Cats are both predator and prey, so shy anxious cats are not allowed to have any hides. Putting them in a more open and higher place let's them get their cat mojo. I couldn't eliminate hides because chinchillas are all prey and no predator, but I made the hides more open and small. A ledge overhang in the corner is great. A tube like those on cat trees in a high spot is perfect (And now Lux's favorite sleeping place). I have one small house that they can hide in properly, but all the food and water are out in the open. When I had a large hide in the cage, I stopped seeing Lux. He would just disappear into it and not come out. I think the psychology is the same: putting themselves into a hole makes them feel like there's something to be scared of.
Keep their territory largeLike all things, there needs to be enough running space for both chins without them running into each other. I had to remodel their cage because a homemade three level stand broke between levels one and two, and when I took it out - I actually put a small cat tree in there instead - Lux's anxiety went through the roof within two to three days. I immediately separated the ledge at the broken area and put the upper two levels back in, and Lux regained his confidence over the next few days.
It's really rewarding to put it all into practice and see the difference between a chin who doesn't want to leave his home because he's scared and a chin who sneaks out to confidently explore a room on his own.
Leave your own tips for dealing with easily scared chinchillas! I think it's an important topic we don't hear enough about.
