Holding my chin

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Lisse

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
22
Hello,
I have a 5 month old hetro beige chinchilla, and he is very social he loves to jump on my arms when I interact with him while he is in his cage but I haven't been able to pick him up on my own, and when he jumps on my arms I can't hold him because he jumps off when I try it and I cant let him sit on just my hands without holding him because he can jump of at a bad time and get hurt or escape. I really want to be able to pick him up for emergencies and to let him out for playtime, but I tried scooping him up but he jumps away then and I've tried to get him to get used to the feeling of a hand on his belly while petting him and he is okay when I pet his belly but when I try to pick him up like that so I can also support his bottom legs he makes a noice and jumps away. I am really clueless as what I can try because I do want to be able to pick him up if needed. Thank you in advance!
 
Most chins don't actually like being picked up, but they should at least learn to tolerated it to a point and should settle while being held. It's instinct to fight being picked up, in the wild the only reason it gets picked up is to get eaten. When he jumps onto your hands or arms try gentle scooping him up under his feet, and get a hold on the base of his tail so he can't jump away. Hopefully that makes sense. You never want to pick a chin up by the middle. Another way to scoop him up in an emergency is to use a box, basically corner him with it and scoop him up. I wouldn't do the box way unless you have to though, it will scare him. I have trained my guys to jump in a carrier box, it's useful when carrying both too and from the dust bath. I only use that box for transport to the dust bath or to a play area though, so when they see it they know what it means. From the carrier box they are no longer fighting getting picked up.
 
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