I adopted my 1 1/2 year old chinchilla over a week ago and I think I might have given him too much freedom too soon. I started out by offering him treats which he didn't mind taking but after I gave him the treat he would just go back into his little house and ignore me. Now when I stick my hand in his cage he will sniff my hand but if there isn't a treat he'll go back in his house. I let him out of his cage after about 5 days and let him run around for a bit. Now the first thing he wants to do whenever I open the cage is run out, I try to hold him but he just squirms in my hand and tries to get away. Is there anything I can do to get him to "unlearn" these behaviors and trust me more? and how do I get him to be less fussy when I try to hold him?
I'm not sure i'm starting out right
- Thread starter iv8977
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Shooper
"Ellie Mae"
Some chins just don't like to be held or cuddled. One of mine is a sweetie...you can pet him and he will jump all over me during playtime...but he HATES to be held! Perhaps just spend more time sitting at the cage with your hands in there.
Chinmama
Well-known member
Time and lots of patience. Chinchillas aren't generally pets that are happy being held, but if you take your time and help him get used to you he may come around and let you handle him a little better.
chinmom2012
Chintastic
My chin loves to crawl all over me when he is out for playtime and he takes treats from my hand and will even hop out onto my hand, but he isn't a fan of me touching him. It always has to be on his terms. This is just his personality. I take what he will give and love him unconditionally.
JessieVictoria
Well-known member
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My Daisy is the same way, we let her have too much freedom at first, and she seems to be a free running sweetie, but she's calmed down a LOT in the last two months. She'll hop all over us and she'll also stay if we pet her right.
Try laying down on the floor, you might have a hopper who will jump on you if you are at eye level haha!
Start holding your chinchilla for a few minutes after you take him out, then let him go. After a while you should have slightly more cuddles, but he may never be tooooo snuggly. It comes with getting a chinchilla =)
Try laying down on the floor, you might have a hopper who will jump on you if you are at eye level haha!
Start holding your chinchilla for a few minutes after you take him out, then let him go. After a while you should have slightly more cuddles, but he may never be tooooo snuggly. It comes with getting a chinchilla =)
Chinbutt
Mr. Handsome Chin
I have an awesome relationship with both my chins, as does my girlfriend. Having said that, after 4 years with one and roughly 2.5 years with the other, they still don't want to be held. It's just the way some of them are. Chins are also "perchers" meaning they'd rather perch on you than be held/controlled. I can hold mine in my hands, but in a way that lets them sit on a platform created by flat hands. Actually gripping them or enclosing your hands around them seems to make them uncomfortable.
I'd simply suggest you spend time sitting on the floor, talking to him and letting him check you out. After awhile, he'll probably hang out with you and just sit on you. That's the way mine are. I never thought this would happen, but both of my chins will occasionally nap in my girlfriend's lap while she works from her computer. Of course she could never get them to do that with any effort, they just choose to do it on their own time. On some days they are cuddly with us, and on other days they want nothing to do with us. They're just moody and on their own program, like most people.
Hope this helped at least a little bit.
