Alone chinchilla

[channeltool]

My Hershey my 19 year old passed last Saturday and my heart is broken. Hershey and Wally could sniff each other through the cage screen. Now Wally is alone. I adopted Wally because Opie's brother passed and Opie needed company. Then Opie passed and I adopted Zeke for Wally, then Zeke passed and I got Hershey and Wally to like one another because they never did. Now Hershey passed, I want to do what is best for Wally, he is not a cuddly chin, he comes over to you takes his treat and runs away. Wally is 14 as best as I can decipher because the person I adopted him from thought he was 6 or 7, Should I try to adopt a senoir chin for Wally or will he be ok by himself? Thank you

 

[Amethyst]

I think in this case I would decided based on if you personally want another chin. Especially since Wally never bonded with Hershey it's not like he lost a cage mate. Also chins normally live an average of 15-20 years, but it does depend on care (diet, environment, etc) as well as genetics, just like humans some only live to around 70 others live 100+. So in reality Wally may have another year or less, or could have 6+ years, which means you could end up continuing the cycle of one passing away and getting another to keep the current one company. If that is something you want to do, then I say go for it, even having another chin around can be beneficial even if they don't get along, like having a neighbor you at least see daily vs not having anyone around. However if you personally don't want another, and Wally is doing fine on his own I don't see getting another as required.

I know for me when one of my chins passed away (Wicket's twin brother Bazil) a couple years ago at around 14/15 years old I didn't bother getting Wicket a new buddy. Chinchillas are not very common around here so finding another would be hard, also Wicket seems to be doing just fine on his own. If he was showing signs of being lonely, like not wanting to play, eat, spending most of his time sleeping or staring out into space, etc I would have looked harder for another.

 

[channeltool]

I think in this case I would decided based on if you personally want another chin. Especially since Wally never bonded with Hershey it's not like he lost a cage mate. Also chins normally live an average of 15-20 years, but it does depend on care (diet, environment, etc) as well as genetics, just like humans some only live to around 70 others live 100+. So in reality Wally may have another year or less, or could have 6+ years, which means you could end up continuing the cycle of one passing away and getting another to keep the current one company. If that is something you want to do, then I say go for it, even having another chin around can be beneficial even if they don't get along, like having a neighbor you at least see daily vs not having anyone around. However if you personally don't want another, and Wally is doing fine on his own I don't see getting another as required.

I know for me when one of my chins passed away (Wicket's twin brother Bazil) a couple years ago at around 14/15 years old I didn't bother getting Wicket a new buddy. Chinchillas are not very common around here so finding another would be hard, also Wicket seems to be doing just fine on his own. If he was showing signs of being lonely, like not wanting to play, eat, spending most of his time sleeping or staring out into space, etc I would have looked harder for another.

Hi, I do not want another chin. I dread when they pass and I am just heart broken, like now. I will watch him to see if he is fine on his own. But I do catch him running to the mesh screen to see if Hershey is there.

 

[Binki]

I want to do what is best for Wally, he is not a cuddly chin, he comes over to you takes his treat and runs away.

I only take on rescue chins from an animal shelter, which, for some reason, it is usually a male on its own. Wally reminds me a bit of my first boy: he was so wild it took two years for him to show any signs of bonding and an attempt to introduce him to a chin needing rehoming failed miserably.

On the positive side, he did perfectly well on his own. Two things were key in that: the first was one hour a day of interactive play where my role was that of the gigantic & clumsy 'other chinchilla.' The second was adopting a measure Amethyst mentioned in a post:, consisting, if I remember correctly, of having the single chin around its humans during the day (provided of course the environment was not too noisy) instead of in a separate part of the house. I am now pretty convinced that a reasuring voice when they bark because some distant engine disturbed their sleep or they are dreaming is to them more important than we think.

Does Wally interact with you at all during playtime or did he play only with Hershey in a pen?

 

[channeltool]

I only take on rescue chins from an animal shelter, which, for some reason, it is usually a male on its own. Wally reminds me a bit of my first boy: he was so wild it took two years for him to show any signs of bonding and an attempt to introduce him to a chin needing rehoming failed miserably.

On the positive side, he did perfectly well on his own. Two things were key in that: the first was one hour a day of interactive play where my role was that of the gigantic & clumsy 'other chinchilla.' The second was adopting a measure Amethyst mentioned in a post:, consisting, if I remember correctly, of having the single chin around its humans during the day (provided of course the environment was not too noisy) instead of in a separate part of the house. I am now pretty convinced that a reasuring voice when they bark because some distant engine disturbed their sleep or they are dreaming is to them more important than we think.

Does Wally interact with you at all during playtime or did he play only with Hershey in a pen?

Wally does not interact with us. We adopted him when he was 6 or 7. He comes for his treat but then takes off. Our den is the chin room. So you can sit with him in his area. He has lots of hiding places and lots of wooden structures to play on. When I first got him he would lunge at you and if you weren't careful he would snap. I taught him to not do that but once in a while he still lunges at you when you try to pet him in his hide box. He will jump on your lap but jumps right back down. He always got along with other chins. Since we got him we have lost 3. So that is why I think he may be lonely. I have done a search and called many rescue places for chinchillas but there are no older chins for adopting.

 

[Binki]

and if you weren't careful he would snap. I taught him to not do that

I think this is very exciting because it means that you have been able to establish a two way communication with him and that, if he learned one thing, he can learn more. And, as I found with my boy, the more they learn the tamer they become. That does not mean one can pet or cuddle them as such, but one can at least scratch them between the ears and brush their coats. Has Wally learned to come to you when tapping on the floor and calling his name? Since their vision is poor but their hearing superlative, responding to their names is key because it can be used it in all sorts of ways, in particular by singing it, which, seems to work miracles with them. Well, they are divas after all. And they love music, so that is a win-win

He will jump on your lap but jumps right back down.

Have you tried giving his treat chopped in very small bits and holding them in your open palm when he sits on your lap? In that way you can lengthen the time he is in contact with you

Our den is the chin room. So you can sit with him in his area

I know it may sound crazy, but, have you tried to lie flat on the floor, so if Wally comes to you your face is level with his? I ask because that was my real breakthrough with my wild boy. Such a simple thing but it changed everything and I wished it had been the very first thing I learned about chins. In that way one becomes to them a plaything to get close to and investigate and walk over, to their natural curiosity does the job. Who knows: maybe now he is on his own you might discover a chin you did not know you had.

 

[channeltool]

I think this is very exciting because it means that you have been able to establish a two way communication with him and that, if he learned one thing, he can learn more. And, as I found with my boy, the more they learn the tamer they become. That does not mean one can pet or cuddle them as such, but one can at least scratch them between the ears and brush their coats. Has Wally learned to come to you when tapping on the floor and calling his name? Since their vision is poor but their hearing superlative, responding to their names is key because it can be used it in all sorts of ways, in particular by singing it, which, seems to work miracles with them. Well, they are divas after all. And they love music, so that is a win-win

Have you tried giving his treat chopped in very small bits and holding them in your open palm when he sits on your lap? In that way you can lengthen the time he is in contact with you

I know it may sound crazy, but, have you tried to lie flat on the floor, so if Wally comes to you your face is level with his? I ask because that was my real breakthrough with my wild boy. Such a simple thing but it changed everything and I wished it had been the very first thing I learned about chins. In that way one becomes to them a plaything to get close to and investigate and walk over, to their natural curiosity does the job. Who knows: maybe now he is on his own you might discover a chin you did not know you had.

Hi, yes all of the above. He does come when I tap on the floor, He is a very nice chin but I do not know how he was treated before I adopted him. I have had him for 8 years, I can scratch his back for about 30 seconds.

 

[Binki]

Did you try a clicker? Like scratch/clicker/reward? Perhaps that way you can extend the time or frequency of contact with you. I started to use the clicker with Mr Wild after a year of not making much progress and used it only until he began learning things without the clicker (as all chins he was pretty smart). I had to learn how to use the clicker, which is a quit exacting technique in terms of timing but there are plenty of vids with instructions and whether they are for chins or dogs, the principle is the same. And as a reward,I found out with my current boy, a tiny (and I mean minuscule) sliver of sweet bamboo avoids the big issue of too many treats.

Of course, with chins being the ultimate individualists what works for one may not work for another but in my experience the key of training chins is relentless repetition. I have been training my current boy not to chew the skirting boards or anything he shouldn't with a firm 'NO'! Getting there has taken about three months of saying 'no' umpteen times but it has worked. I did not use the clicker because the click/reward woudl not have worked in this case.

He had out of the blue entered a phase of chewing 'R' us and was attacking the skirting boards and door frames non-stop. After two months of training he was opening his mouth and then waiting to see if there was a 'no' coming before clamping his teeth. Now any odd go at chewing anything is preceded by an interval in case there is a 'no' on the way but usually the chewing urge just makes him run to his lava ledge or one of his wooden toys.

I must confess I am a bit in awe of what they are capable to learn. They even respond to a joyous 'good boy' when they do something right or funny. Hope Wally would become more responsive with time; he could be a fascinating challenge.