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[Cereal-Killer]

So, I just picked up my chin today, and even when i put him in the carrier, he was nervous. I understand he is scared from moving around, but when I got him home, he was silent. Now, It's been a few hours, and even though my house is silent, he is barking(or a noise that sounds like an old squeaky toy) crazily. He has also tried scratching at the cage, and when I moved forwards slowly to check on him, he moved up and then ran back. I was reading him a story earlier and he was fine, what happened?





UPDATE: It's been a few days, and my chin and I have bonded. I can pick him up and hold him, but when I hold him, I'm supporting his legs, and holding him properly, but he still kicks and squirms?

UPDATE: So, it's been almost a month, and now he's gone overnight from running when I get up from my bed, to running onto my lap, and sleeping on it. I've stopped feeding him treats, which I discovered to have lots of sugar in it. Did this attribute to his jumpiness?

[GrayRodent]

Don't be scared. Chinchillas are easily stressed and he is in a strange new place that he is not used to. Chinchillas will usually not be themselves until about two weeks after they have been relocated. He may not eat or drink very much for a day or two but make sure there are feces in the cage every day and that they are not soft or mushy.
Your pet has not bonded to you yet. You will need to read to him every day and just spend time in the same room. He will get more and more tame as time goes by.
Barking is a noise chinchillas make when they are scared or alarmed by something. It is possible it heard a noise that it is not familiar with. One trick is to run a fan in the room to help mask noise or play music at low volume. Make sure it does not blow into the cage for any reason.

[Lori Ramsey Earle]

Try to see this thru your chin's eyes. He's just had a major life change and he doesn't understand that it's going to be positive. Has he been living with other chins? Being alone will be a big, stressful switch as well. One thing you can do is to make his cage as cozy and interesting as possible. Give him appropriate wood branches to chew on and some type of safe stuffed animal to play/snuggle with. Get a large oatmeal tube, cut out the ends, and that'll give him something to hide in for the first few days, and then he'll discover the fun of chewing it. When you spend time with him each evening, pull up a chair in front of his cage, leave the door open and see if he comes to investigate you. You can put your arm in the cage - he's sure to come investigate, and then he'll get familiar with your scent and touch. It takes a lot of patience, I know...but it is worth it.

[Moxie]

The squeaking is mostly normal. My chinchilla, moxie still does it occasionally and I've had her over a year. Just give your chinchilla some peace, but also give it attention so it knows it's not alone.

[LYChinchillas]

Bonding takes much longer than a few months, in my opinion. It can take upwards of a year for an un-traumatized chin to become bonded with a human in my experience, and that's with daily quality interaction. Here are some bonding and playtime tips from my experience - http://lychinchillas.com/2014/11/19/tips-for-chinchilla-playtime/

[Jasonred79]

UPDATE: It's been a few days, and my chin and I have bonded. I can pick him upand hold him , but when I hold him, I'm supporting his legs, and holding him properly, but he still kicks and squirms?

TOO MUCH, TOO FAST.

Your chin sounds remarkably easy going if he let's you pick him up and hold him after just a few days of bonding. In fact, it sounds like you're bonding remarkably well if he MERELY kicks and squirms when you hold him, most chins will get traumatised. You're lucky you haven't traumatised him.

SLOW DOWN.

Keep reading and hanging out, but give it at least a few months before you restrain your chin or do anything that "forces" him to do something that he doesn't want to do.

Helpful hint: It's almost always safer to "bribe" or "persuade" a chin to do something, instead of "forcing" him in some way.