Hi, I purchased 2 baby chinchillas about 2 months ago and they were 11 weeks old when I got them. They do not like to be touched at all. They run away from me when I try to pet them. When I sneakily pet them from the side of the cage, they think something is touching them and they scratch that part of their body. I've been playing with these 2 chinchillas every morning and every evening since the day I got them. They just don't like to be touched at all. It's really starting to worry me because I don't want to give them away, they cost me almost $400 (cage, food, toys etc). I know they're still babies but they're about 19 weeks old now and they still don't want to be touched. Is this normal and what can I do?
2 chins don't want to be touched...
- Thread starter Fridder
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This is normal behavior. You must earn their trust. Most chins don't like to be "petted". Some enjoy being scratched under their chin but only if they trust you.
Some will never want to be petted, but some come around in time. Older animals seem to me to be more accepting of being petted than young ones and working with more than one at a time might not be helping you either as when one gets startled so will the other one.
ashleynicol3
Well-known member
I got my chinchilla, Buddha, a little over a month ago. He was around 10-11 weeks old at the time. I just opened his cage and put my hands inside and let him sniff me and climb on me. I didn't try to pet him or touch him, I just let him move at his own pace. He eventually jumped up on my shoulder and sat for a while. He tries to chew my hair and my glasses. He jumps all over me now during playtime. I think it helps that playtime is around the same time each night. He knows when it's over, he gets a rose hip. The routine seems to make him feel more secure. He knows what to expect.
He doesn't like to be held or petted, but he will usually let me scratch him under his chin a little.
Just spend time with him. Talk to him. Put your hands in his cage, but let him come to you. Buddha has become very comfortable with me, but he doesn't see my fiancé much, so he kind of hides if he's in the room during playtime. When it's just me, he jumps all over me! He runs around in circles and he's into everything. It took me seeing how he acts around my fiancé to realize how much he truly trusts me.
He doesn't like to be held or petted, but he will usually let me scratch him under his chin a little.
Just spend time with him. Talk to him. Put your hands in his cage, but let him come to you. Buddha has become very comfortable with me, but he doesn't see my fiancé much, so he kind of hides if he's in the room during playtime. When it's just me, he jumps all over me! He runs around in circles and he's into everything. It took me seeing how he acts around my fiancé to realize how much he truly trusts me.
