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[glafond]

Hey Everyone:

Is there anything special I should know about taking care of younger ones?

I have read:

No wheel until 6 months.

Only 15 minute playtime.

Anything else I should know? Are these things true?

They all try to "taste" me a lot, and sometimes a little hard. If they taste me a little hard, what do I do, should I blow on them?

Thanks!

[GrayRodent]

I don't know. These rules seem a bit too limiting for that age. Perhaps someone else can comment.

As far as blowing on your chinchilla I think that might be a good idea. If you don't train them early you may have problems later.

[AnnieHank]

I think 20-30 minutes a night should be okay to let them play providing you keep an eye for signs of overheating. I let mine out for 30 minutes a night when they were little and they seemed fine with it although weather is generally cool enough here in Ireland.
It is reccommended to wait until they are 6 months for the wheel and they might be okay sooner than that but better to be safe than sorry. I think it's important to gradually get them used to the wheel when introducing it for the first time, no matter what age and you want to be sure they're big enough that they can't fit between the wheel and cage.
When they are little, they don't seem to know how hard they are "tasting" but mine grew out of it without me blowing on them. If you were worried about them developing it as a bad habit, I don't think it would do them any harm to blow on them to stop them though.
I hope that helped!

[ABC Chinchillas]

I take care of all the chinchillas regaurdless of age the same way.
If you give them a wheel to young, it will stunt their growth, and babies have less coordiniation and are more likely to injure themselves

if the baby nips you a little rough a quick puff of air in the face will discourage it, but mostly it is just time.

[glafond]

I take care of all the chinchillas regaurdless of age the same way.
If you give them a wheel to young, it will stunt their growth, and babies have less coordiniation and are more likely to injure themselves

if the baby nips you a little rough a quick puff of air in the face will discourage it, but mostly it is just time.

How young is too young? I have heard anywhere between 6 and 10 months to introduce it to them.

I have it in the cage right now, and am trying to decide if I should take it out. Since they are four months should I take it out just to be safe?

Thanks!

[ABC Chinchillas]

I dont let them have a wheel until they are done growing. I used to let them from weaning on and learned really quick it is condusive to growing chinchillas

[chinclub]

Once a chinchilla is weaned and bonded to you there is no set amount of time for playtime.  When you keep chinchillas in pairs you can hear them make a little fussy noise at each when they groom too hard.  When you have an only chinchilla you have to teach him.  When a chinchilla grooms me too hard I VERY GENTLY push his nose away with the finger he just bit while making an annoyed sound.  Usually he will come right back a few times and try again.  After a few warnings from me he gets the hint. I find that nudging with the thing he just bit seems to get the point across better than blowing because it is more what he would get from a brother. Its a gesture he understands.  He doesn't meant to hurt you, he just doesn't know it hurts until you teach him.