Scared of jumping?

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PunniePunPun

New member
Joined
May 16, 2019
Messages
2
I recently rescued a female chinchilla from a family that could no longer care for her. Based on what they said, she's about 4 years old. When I went to pick her up they gave me all her belongings which was only her cage (a double ferret nation), a small hammock, some food, her bottle and her dust bath. Other than that there wasn't anything else in her cage, sadly. Now she has a lot more, lots of toys and houses, ECT. But I've noticed that she's scared of jumping and her ramps. She make tiny jumps, like a few inches but even then it'll take her a while. And she will usually just stay on whatever floor she's on just to avoid using the ramp. Is there anything I can do to make her more confortable to jumping?
 
How long have you had her? It normally takes a chin a minimum of a week to settle in to a new home. New cage items can be scary too, and will take time to adjust to having new things. It's possible that now that there is more in the cage she doesn't have clear lines of sight anymore so she can't see if something is going to get her.

Another thought, how is her eye sight and balance? If you have her out to play does she seem to navigate ok? Also does she move ok? It might be worth getting her checked over by a vet to make sure she doesn't have reduced eye sight or any pain related problems in her back or legs preventing her from being able to jump.
 
I've had her for about 3 and a half weeks now. We've recently added more stuff for her to do in the cage a few days ago. She actually managed to do a jump about a foot up but I've noticed the the problem is her getting down. She will go to the edge and move her head up and down, kinda like she's judging the jump. She will jump if it's only like 3 inches down but other than that she won't. She seems to move just fine, I've never seen anything that worries me. Her balance seems fine too, the only time she's I guess fallen, is when she's groom herself and she rolls over.
 
Ohh, I guess I misunderstood. A foot is a long way to expect a chin to jump. A fall of a foot or more can seriously hurt or kill the chin if they land wrong. Most ledges and shelves should only be about 3-6 inches at most. They should be close enough together that they can reach the next ledge with their front feet when standing on their hind legs. Some of my perches and ledges are even only about an inch or two up or down.
 
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