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[shadowborne]

I believe this topic would fit here but sorry if it doesn't. I am a new chinchilla owner and purchased a standard grey from Petsmart, the person who sold me her was very kind and they came right up and me. It was saturday the 17th and she was making great progress as in coming out and being social till yesterday the 21st. As of today she will not come out of her home when wide awake unless I am out of the room and the lights are off, around 1:00 AM last night basically. She is still being kind looking at me and moving as if to ask for me to scratch her and she lets me pet her, scratch around her ears which she leans for, and rub her tummy but she won't leave her house. Is this normal or do I need to do something else? I have read quite a bit but do not know everything so any idea's as to what might be happening or if this is normal would be appreciated. I understand that it takes time but any suggestions for what to do now and next would also be appreciated.

Thank you.

[Jo Ann]

Hi Shadowborne,
    Considering she is a pet store chinchilla and you have only had her for 4 days you're doing wonderful!!!

Since she would come out when you first got her home, but will not come out now ...
Something must have happened to scare her. 
It doesn't take much to scare a chinchilla ...
they are very delicate little creatures.

They do not like to be chased, grabbed, fussed at, loud noises, sudden noises or strange people. 
You need to think very hard ... try to remember every thing that happened on the 20th and 21st ...
something happened to frighten her.
By her continuing to want you to pet and scratch her, she is trying to trust you ...
just keep talking softly to her, she will eventually come out to you again.
I would not let anyone else outside the family visit her until she calms down and will come out to you again.

Keep us posted and let us know the progress ... or lack of it.

Is she eating good and drinking her water?

Good Luck!
 
Jo Ann

[shadowborne]

She is eating well, she just came out long enough to get a few pieces and is in the process of eating it, and she came out around 4 and drank quite a bit of water. She does, if I move my hand near her house, stick her nose out and sniff then nibble each of my fingers and palm. The only thing I can think of is maybe my father could have scared her. I was sitting on the couch day yesterday when he got home and he came up the stairs a bit and showed me he had her. She wasn't squirming at all and he was gently petting her and we let her run around a clean bathroom for almost an hour before she stared getting tired climbing onto my leg and starting to close her eyes. She wouldn't let me pick her up so I used her bath house to get her back to her cage letting her roll around and when she was done I talked to her and fed her the raisin for the day. She went into her house and looked like she was going to sleep. That was the last I saw her awake that day and the only person who might have scared her or maybe was a little loud was my father.

I do have a guy who comes over every couple of days that I am helping with A+ cert but the chin doesn't seem to be awake when he is here. Last time he was over was yesterday.

[Jo Ann]

Like I said, it doesn't take much to scare one.

Maybe your dad had to 'chase' her with his hand to catch her inside the cage ...
and if it was his first time to take her out, this could have scared her. 
Chins scare easily.

If someone knocked over something or dropped something, that could also scare her.
She will come back around in time, just be patient.   

 
Jo Ann

[shadowborne]

I can do that since she is in the same room I spend 90% of my day in after work. She sleeps right next to my computer table where I do research and play games, the games are either quiet or I am using a headset, and when I see her poke her head out a little I come over and talk to her and just slide my hand in, open palm facing up, close to her till she starts to sniff and nibble. She has asked a few times so far to be scratched/petted from what I can understand from movements. She still openly and freely eats out of my hand and just a few moments ago put her front 2 paws on my hand to get what I had.

[Jenova]

It'll probably take her a week or two to settle in and get used to all the people in your house. Seems to me like she's doing fine and just being a normal chinchilla in a new environment. My Cheech was very much the same when we got him.

[shadowborne]

Thank all of you for the helpful and very friendly posts. This morning when I came downstairs to go to work she was up and running in her wheel like she was trying to power new york. When I came over and talked to her she perked up a bit and when I opened the top door she came over and sniffed my hand wanting to be petted.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

The first thing that is coming to my mind is did she over work herself being out for an hour and just not used to it.
If she was just snooping around it's fine but some can work themselves into complete exhaustion.

Another possible is she loves her new house and is afraid she is going to loose it.
After the pet shop I would think she's feeling pretty good in her new home.She sure doesn't sound like she is having much trouble adjusting. It hasn't been very long, ans as others have said some are freaked out for a long time before they'll let you pet them.
I have changed cages and if they like the new better than the old they'll let me know.
If they hate it they'll let me know that too.
It just take some time to get to know each chinchilla and how they will react to different situations.
Sounds like your doing great to me.
Oh and you don't have to be so so quiet around her, let her get used to the normal sounds. What ever they are she will get used to them.

[shadowborne]

I was just being somewhat quiet and thought that maybe slowly getting her used to an increasing volume of noise might be better. The only experience I have with small animals is with a hamster that worked better when I slowly got him used to being with my computer games. I shall turn it up a bit more tonight so she can get used to it. I came home about 10 minutes ago and she was hoping around her cage a bit, sniffed and walked into my hands but when I would move in my seat she would hop back and hop into her house then come out curious again. She also seems to be responding to her name somewhat and I know no works on her, she bit a bit hard today near my fingernail and when I said no she backed off and looked at me as if understanding.

I am very excited to own one and so far, the past few days have been entertaining.

[Jenova]

With regard to computer games, both me and my boyfriend play them, somtimes simultaneously and Cheech doesn't seem to mind at all, infact he sleeps through them. We just got him used to them like you said, gradually. My boyfriend is playing a game with gunfire in at the moment (not too loud of course) and Cheech is lazing around on his side peacefully. Every household is different and if you are patient you chinchilla should be able to get used to your way of life. One thing my boyfriend said is that a pet shouldn't be a burden but a joy. Just watch him and he will let you know if he's not happy.

By the way what's you chin's name? 

[shadowborne]

Sorry about not posting the name, it just slipped my mind lol. I named her silver as her coat, in the light, sometimes has a silver look to it. I give her a dust bath every monday and friday, might go to a monday, wednesday, friday schedule but sticking to monday and friday for now.


As a slight update she is out and about hopping and begging to be let out. Just put her back in after a 45 minute romp in the bathroom, supervised of course. Is it normal for them to, once inside the large ball for chinchilla's, to pee in it after a few minutes? Also she hopped into my arms and then squirmed ALOT so I quickly put her close to her cage where she jumped in and then went to her wheel running like there was no tomorrow. I assume this is normal as she is only a few months old? Also any suggestions on techniques to maybe hold her where if she squirms I won't really lose grip but it won't hurt her?

Last question, what do you think of Kaytee Chinchilla Dust Bath and the chinchilla bath sand? Are they bad for one, are they good, and what do you suggest?

Thank you.

[Jenni]

I have had my little guy for three weeks just about.  He was rescued from the humane society and is about 9 months old.  He is still quite timid about being taken out of his cage.  When I tried to give him playtime his first week, he acted scared not excited.  I think sometimes chinchilla run about like crazy not for exercise but because they are scared and looking for a place to hide.  Also, my little guy use to be very still when taken out.  This can be seen as cuddly, but I find my little guy is actually trying to act like a rock, he's scared not content.  By now, he still doesn't like being pulled out but once out is very curious and active while being held.  He no longer just sits like a rock.  Be careful to read your chinchillas small signs.  They aren't very obvious creatures from what I have seen.  If she is acting scared you may try waiting on the out of the cage time for a bit until she adjusts.  Just holding for a few minutes at a time I think would be a good beginning if she is still adjusting.  This is my first but these are many suggestions I have gotten myself.  I thought from one new chinchilla owner to another you might get a better point of view.

[Jo Ann]

As a breeder, I make sure all of my little ones are use to noise ... the vacuum cleaner, t.v., radio, our dogs, and normal cleaning sounds ... this way it is not as hard for them to adjust to a new home.  A normal volume of noise is/should be OK for most chinchillas ... it is the sudden/loud/unexpected noises that will usually disturb them.

Arguments, screaming, hard rock 'music', items being dropped or thrown are what I consider bad for a chin.  This is one thing that I try very hard to make sure of ... that the home my little ones are going to be living in are peaceful ... when there is tension and problems in a home, a chinchilla will pick-up on it and it can even make a chin sick, because of the stress the chin is under.

Bath sand is very harsh on a chinchilla's fur ... the only time I recommend it is when a family member is allergic to the dust bath dust.   Blue Cloud Chinchilla Dustbath Dust is the best I know, and is used by most serious breeders and breeders that show their chins.

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.  If this happens ... make sure you wash it in hot soapy water before you allow her back in it again and let her have a dust bath.   I hope you have the "JUMBO" roll-a-bout ball ... it is 15" in diameter ... anything smaller can affect the growth and alignment of your chins' spine.  The "giant" size is to small ... it is only 12" in diameter. 

Anytime a chin is trying to wiggle away from you ... if it is safe ... it is best to put him/her down. 
I have found they usually want down for 1 of 4 reasons:
1) They have to go pee-pee and do not want to do it on you.
2)  Your body heat is making them over heat.
3)  You are holding them improperly.
4)  The want to play and explore ... not be held & petted.

 
Jo Ann

[tinabeana]

Oh! a note on the ball! I think you should wait for her to adjust to her surrounding a little more before you try the ball more.

Our first chinchilla Maggie is hates the ball. She wouldn't move and peed in it every time we had put her in it, even now we put it in her cage (our cages are giant with huge doubt doors) occasionally so she can "get to know it" she hops in and pees in it immediately and hops out.

Our other chinchilla Stoli  we've had around a month or so, we put the ball near her cage and eventually moved it in her cage. A few days ago when she was sitting in it already we  closed the door and set it on the floor, she immediately started running around. She did so for about 10 minutes and as soon as we put her back she went and peed in her corner. Now every time since, I've put the ball in her cage she jumps in and gets to go for her little spin.

I don't think however I'll continue to do this when the weather gets warmer, I think the ball will be a "winter sport" only as I'm sure it heats up in there.

[shadowborne]

She got in last night and she ran around for about 30 minutes while I watched her. She generally followed me around in it while my parents cleaned her cage. She seems to like it and didn't pee in her ball this time but did when she got back into her cage. She isn't a year old and I was told 3 to 4 month's old when I purchased her. She seems to really respond to my voice now but it seem she will only get up at 10 PM and go back to sleep 11 to 11:30 PM, which is when I go to bed, and when I wake up at 6 she is wide awake.

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?

Thanks