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[Leslie]

Any suggestions or something I can do to teach her that it might be a better idea to come out around 6 or 7 in the afternoon when I am home and not really tired?

hee hee hee...alas, you cannot adjust a chinchilla's schedule, you can only adjust your own to match your chinnie's!  You might find that after time, she will adapt a bit more to your life, but that will be up to her.  They are creatures of instinct only.  I have two chins, one of them is up pretty much all day and night, sleeping sporadically....the other guy goes into this house at about 7am and stays there until 7pm....no exceptions.  You might find that with the changing of the seasons, your chinnie's sleep patterns will change.

What kind of a wheel do you have?  Be careful - most wheels are dangerous for chinchillas (even if the pet store told you different).  Does it have a cross bar?  Do you notice your chin sticking her head out the side when it's going around?  Chinchillas can get too big for regular wheels and they try to stretch out when they run....a cross bar can be fatal.

Don't you find your chin poops in the exercise ball as well?  I could never stand that noise of the poops rolling around in there with my chin when I had one.  Then he found a way to knock the lid off and started escaping and that was the end of the exercise ball......

[shadowborne]

She doesn't stick her head out the side except when she stops for a second to look at me as if to see if I am watching her. The wheel does not have a crossbar and I made sure when I purchased one it didn't. It's unfortunatly plastic and I am looking for a better one but she doesn't chew on it at all which I think is great. She gets the ball going pretty fast then hits a wall which worrys me a bit but the hamster does that also and he doesn't ever seem to get hurt. The only other problem I have had is she has learned how her cage opens and knows if she puts enough pressure on it it pops open. Right now bent the top down a bit so it's alot harder to open but might need to get a small lock to keep her from opening it lol.

[Jenova]

She will get to learn your daily routine and I'm sure she will adjust. Chinchillas love routine and schedule. 
Cheech went through a period of waking up as soon as we went to bed and going to sleep as soon as we woke up, just to annoys us.

LOL! I was just watching him. He was asleep on his ledge with his head over the edge and he just slowly slipped off! He's so clumsy. I love him so much! 

But as I was saying as she gets used to you she will adapt to what suits her best which will no doubt be waking up when you're around so she can come out. I have noticed that Cheech has learned the sound that opening his cage makes and wakes up immediately when I do so, ready to come out and play. 

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Geez all this is such a fun thread, brings a gal back a few chinchillas
There is no reason you can not take her out in the day time for a spell.
Maybe split up her play time 1/2 & 1/2 afternoon & evening.What every you decide she will adjust too.
The key is routine.If you do the same things everyday at about the same time she will know exactly what to expect.You'll soon find her waiting at the door for you.

If a chinchilla is left in the roll-a-bout ball more than 10 or 15 minutes, it is not unusual for them to pee in it.

Also she could get over heated in there, I'd keep the ball runs short.
Do you know how to hold her by the base of the tail?
That's the best way I find to keep them safe in my arms. As they adjust to being up I slacken off on my hold. If they make a motion to leap I tighten up again. It's amazing how much you can condition them too.
Patients is the best virtue here.
She may never be a shoulder sitter but most will get used to being handled.
As they are very curious I find they'll sit there longer if I'm moving, so try walking around the house with her up.
She'll be looking for an escape rout, but it gives you a Chance to talk to her and make her familiar with her surroundings. The smells the sounds, even the lighting are all new to her. It keeps their little minds occupied and will soon come to realized your not going to hurt them anyway.
Try to connect all the good things in her life to you, feed, runs, baths treats, and if she likes a scratch that too.
You'll soon see a chinchilla clinging to you for protection, she'll trust you with her life.

Screw up once and you'll put yourself right back to the beginning, and it doesn't matter how old or young they are.
They can get very ticked off

  I think she's very lucky to have such a concerning owner.

[shadowborne]

Well I seem to be somewhat back at the beginning except with a new problem. She doesn't seem to want to come out for me unless I am hand feeding her or I am filling her food. She comes out at night and runs around as seen by how the cage is the next morning but when my father comes in the room and puts his hand in the cage she comes right now and sniffs his hand and seems friendly towards him. Is there anything I can do or did she basically bond to my father as he has been able to pick her up several times, with her squirming alot during those times. Sorry to sound annoying but I got layed off this week and it seems like she is starting to hate me and I don't know why as I have following every single direction I have been given so far and everything I have read. I know it's been about 3 weeks since but what else could I be missing? She was coming out for a short period but now seems to be a bit scared of me and I have done nothing different.

Thanks for putting up with all these questions so far and thank all of you for helping me.


EDIT: Ok I am very confused with her but with the week I have had I was getting very worried, and being depressed over being layed off doesn't help. She got out and ran over and jumped into her ball. As of right now the 2 places I can let her roam free is the bathroom and our upstairs guest bedroom. The guest bedroom I tried tonight and she seemed to love it bouncing off everything, making little chirps sometimes (Don't know what they mean really), she squeeked once as she rolled on the carpet, and just had a grand time moving around. Is it normal for them to go to a corner of the room, scratch at the carpet in the corner, then start rolling around like they do in there dust bath? Also can anyone suggest something for me to maybe bring her up in because the second she got into her ball she pee'ed in it and it was while I was taking her downstairs so she was standing in it for a few seconds. Also what do I do to clean her off? Do I put in her dust bath and let her roll around and such in it or do I attempt to cleaner her even though I can't hold her?

Thanks once again for the responses.

[Jenova]

Chinchillas can be like that Cheech used to hate me but love my boyfriend even though I feed him and play with him. It takes a lot of time and patience but it is worth it so don't give up!
This is what I did.
I spent time sitting by the cage just talking softly to him. About five minutes at a time, maybe three times a day. I would let him sniff my fingers and have a little nibble at them (if he nibbled to hard I just pulled away and made a little yelp). Eventually he would come out of his house and I would stroke him through the bars, letting him sniff my hand first. Then I would open the door enough to put my hand in and stroke him like that. It took him a long time to get used to that because he would just try and escape, biting my arm because it was in the way.
He is never that affectionate towards us, especially me when he is playing out of his cage. I think this is because he is having so much fun playing he doesn't want to be petted and it annoys him. When he goes back into his cage he look forward to taking a treat from me and generally goes to sleep. It is only now after six months that I can open the cage again and stroke him while he is asleep.
It all takes patience. Talk to her gently, let her get used to your smell and your hands in the cage just being around her. You will get there in the end and it will be all the more worth it because she will love you. We used to joke that Cheech hated me and I was the only person he would bite (not nibble, actual bites - he has taken the skin off my finger and my nose!). It has taken me six months but he loves me now. When he was out he would climb over me but only if I was perfectly still and we would laugh and say he thought I was furnature, now I can put my arms out for him to jump on to and I will take him to a shelf he can't reach on his own. When he's done on it he comes back to my arms to be put down. I never pick him up because he doesn't like it, but sometimes he sits on me. It just takes time.

The questions are always welcome. I'm quite new here and I am so glad I never stopped asking questions. Everyone here is wonderful and so helpful. As a new owner you can't know what to expect so ask anything even if it sounds stupid to you because you never know what you might learn! I for one will never mind answering a question as people here have answered them for me.

I can't comment about the noises as Cheech doesn't tend to make noises unless I take something off him when he sort of squeaks angrilly under his breath at me. But he rolls around in anything that feels remotely like a dust bath. The floor, the chippings off his cuttlebone or gnaw block. They just love it so much.
About the pee: I don't know what you could bring her up in, maybe a small critters carrier? But I would be careful what you clean her with, she might get annoyed by it and I know chins are very clean animals so she should clean herself. The sand I can imagine is okay but you might have to change it afterwards to stop her getting the pee all over her fur if she uses it again. I can't really help there but maybe someone else will be able to.

Also don't get depressed. Animals think so differently to us, she is not laying you off. It might be that you are a bit nervous about picking her up because you don't want to hurt her where as when your dad picks her up he is not as nervous and holds her more securely as a result. I am sometimes nervous with Cheech and he reacts to that and he likes my boyfriend more because he is more firm. Just wondering. Good luck and don't give up with her.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I would say she likes the smell of Dads hands, or could be they are warm, or just bigger so they feel she feels safer in them.
The chirping is good she is happy to be out and running around.
The carpet? She is looking for the end so she can pull it up and chew it. Just a thought trying to think like mine.
I have one that goes straight to the corner of my laundry room to get the corner of the tile up.He has a couple of inches chewed off it now.
There could be dust or anything in the corner she thinks is good for rolling.
Some of mine will even roll in the dust in the bottom of the shavings bag. It so fine they think it would work.