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Author Topic: New to Chinchillas, little concerning!  (Read 912 times)

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Armon

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New to Chinchillas, little concerning!
« on: February 01, 2014, 11:44:01 AM »

I've had Luna, (my chinchilla) for a little over two weeks.

I changed the room she was in (she was at my girlfriend's) and last night she was extremely unsocial and would begin barking. It came to the point where she was doing it ALL NIGHT. (I got no sleep)

She's become very unsocial, hides in her little house now and is extremely skiddish. When taken out she finds a place to hide and will not come out. I have't seen her take any dustbaths either.

She seems fine when I hold her, but freaks out when I get near her.

She is only 5-6 months old.
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GrayRodent

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    • Chris Hamilton
Re: New to Chinchillas, little concerning!
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2014, 12:51:09 PM »

I've seen this happen on this board before. It seems some chinchillas get very stressed when they are relocated and act very subdued for a couple of weeks and because they are not very tame to start with, when they come out of it, they act more normal for a chinchilla that is not very tame and it can be confusing to the owners. Sometimes the problem can be compounded by handling them improperly unknowingly causing stress to the animal. If she is a tame animal to start with it still can take a couple of months for your pet to bond with you. If she is a pet store chin and being 6 months old, will probably take months of gentle and strategic conditioning before you can handle her the way you want to.

What is the history on this one? Is she from a breeder, pet store, or a previous owner?
My initial advice is to leave her in the cage and do not take her out for about five days. Limit your interaction so you are not picking her up or holding her and just interact through the bars or the door of the cage. Allow your pet to keep her distance from you and let her come to you. If she barks (or sprays urine as some females will) stand your ground and don't shrink back from it. Chinchillas are territorial creatures and they are generally fearful of being restrained or held. She will have to get used to you being there and get used to her new environment. This can take a couple of weeks. Taming a chinchilla that age that is not used to be handled is a long process that can some some months. You have to start slow and ease into new things.

In the first few weeks sometimes the best thing you can do is just take care of the cage, dust bath in the cage, and just let the animal be in the same room with you as you go about your regular activities. Also remember that chinchillas are most active at night and before sunrise and sleep during the day. There are some times during the day when they are very irritable and should not be bothered. Try to interact mostly when the sun is down and that might help a little. This is one reason why she is barking at night. This should subside as she becomes more familiar and less stressed. One thing that helps with nighttime barking is do not go to the cage and do anything that your pet thinks is a reward for this behavior. Certainly make sure she is okay.

My chinchilla will sometimes bark when he hears certain sounds from outside. Running a fan can help drown out noises and minimize this. (Never blow a fan through the cage though).

Dust bathing should be done once every other day for about 10-15 minutes at a time. You can withhold the dust bath for a few days without causing a problem and I suggest you withhold it for three days. Sometimes chinchillas won't dust if they are given access to the bath too often.

Here are some important first time owner tips:
Your pet should have a constant supply of loose timothy hay and hay based pellets. The loose hay is their main diet and the pellets are supplements.
Do not give your pet more than two raisins a day or equivalent volume in dried fruit. Do not give any other treats unless you know what is safe.
The pelleted diet you feed should not have vegetables or fruits in it. This will cause serious problems down the road.
Your pet should have constant access to wood chews
Plastic items, wire hay balls, wire shelves and ramps are very dangerous and should never be used in a chinchilla's cage.
Common deaths for chinchillas are electrocution from chewing cords, drowning in toilets, overheating, and getting stepped on.
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