All of a Sudden...

[gogators]

Hi everyone! I recently moved my chin Pilly into a new cage that is significantly bigger and is metal with no plastic for her to chew. Since it was bigger I put it directly on the floor and for about a week would let her just jump out to play around my room instead of having her walk onto my hand. Suddenly, ever since then, she has been an absolute pain when I try to get her out! She had never sprayed me until I resumed putting my hand under the shelf she was standing on for her to walk onto, and she makes a half little bark sound too. I don't want to encourage this and let her jump out on her own, but I don't want to punish her by not letting her out. Any advice? I hate not letting my girl out to play

 

[Chinmama]

Marble is the same way. Sometimes she'll willingly come out and other times she is moody and wants no part in being picked up or even touched.

How far off the ground is her cage? There are people here who make wooden steps to put out at playtime so your chinchilla can hop from the cage to the steps to the floor safely, if it's only a couple of steps from the ground. I imagine that would cost a fortune to ship though depending on where you are.

 

[AZChins]

Sometimes chins go crazy when they are moved to a larger cage. She's probably just very accustomed to the old cage. A larger space can make a chin go wild, most of the time they calm down after awhile. Give her some time and give her some small boxes or tubes to hide in. The new cage is probably very intimidating to her and she may feel more vulnerable in it, she may be a little scared.

Moving chins to new cages can be so difficult sometimes because of how they can react! She's basically telling you she isn't happy, so you have to give her a week or two to settle in and acclimate to her new cage. Some chins will react to a cage change like they are going to a brand new home...she is probably one of those!

 

[gogators]

It's been over a few months since the move and this only began happening a few weeks ago. The door isn't far off the ground, and she likes to climb up and down the wires to get to the floor and back. I'll give it a few more weeks and see if she gets over it, thanks for the advice!