Any tips would be appreciated! :)

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t_theamazing

New member
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
1
Location
Maine
So I got a chin on Sunday last week, and I've left him alone except to change his water, and check his food, etc. whenever I walk in the room he disappears to the first floor of his cage. I sit in front of his cage and talk to him and stuff until he barks at me then I either leave get up and walk away so I don't stress him out or I at least back up a little so he can trust me. After a couple days of doing this he's okay with me putting my finger through the cage and not moving while he comes up to the edge of the cage. He hasn't actually smelled my fingers yet but he's getting close. Also today I gave him his first bath and this is the first time he's played in his cage and stud with me sitting a couple feet away. He hasn't been drinking too much water either. Is that normal? Sorry this is so long, I just want to make sure I'm doing every thing right!
 
sounds fairly normal. Chins can take a while to adjust. My last chin took about 2 months before he came around. And the current two chins i have are at about a month in and are still quite iffy. Some just take longer then other to adjust. It sounds like yours is still scared of everything. He will probably take a decent bit more of time before he might start coming around.
 
I've only had my chins since September, but I found that cleaning/tidying up the cage was actually a really good time to get them used to my presence. In the beginning I completely ignored them so that they knew that my coming to the cage wasn't a bad thing and I wasn't going to bother them or try to touch them. I gave them food, cleaned up splintered sticks, cleared shelves, etc. And eventually (and pretty quickly) they got so used to the routine that they'd start coming out to see what I was doing on their own accord. Chins can't help their curiosity. It's definitely one of their most endearing qualities, I think! Then eventually I made a point of letting them sniff my hand, and they grew completely comfortable with me coming and going. I think it's important that they feel that you respect their space and then they'll be happier to come to you of their own accord.
 
Sounds to me like you're doing a pretty good job. It takes them a while to get used to things, even the water bottle since it is new. Just make sure that the water bottle is dispensing water correctly.
 
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