Baby biting hard?

[Earthlyrose]

I've never had a baby chin before, so I'm not sure what to expect. The other day I drove to Alabama to pick up my 9 week old beige mAle. He is tiny and precious and his name is Peanut (or Winston!). I held him the entire drive home, he was very calm and mostly slept (he is a baby after all). When he got home, I had him in a smaller cage because I was still setting up his big cage. That night he was climbing up the bars trying to pry them open with his teeth. I tried to pet his belly,, and he managed to find my finger and bite it- pretty darn hard. Since then he has been moved to his big cage, he is running his wheel Nonstop at night, and if I put my fingers in the cage, he bites hard. When I go to grab him he seems fine. Is this a normal baby chin thing? Does he need to be taught not to bite so hard? And is the climbing up the walls trying to escape normal? My baby is so different from my adult!

 

[Amethyst]

Well first of all remove the wheel, chins shouldn't have wheels until at least 6 months old. Kits aren't smart enough to know when to stop which can lead to low blood sugar, seizures, and death. Also you want him to be using his energy for growing for now, so also no playtime out of the cage either. Even some adult chins can over do it on a wheel and lose weight, which is definitely not something you want a kit to do, they should be gaining not lossing.

Climbing is a very normal kit thing to do, most chins grow out of it. Just make sure the bar spacing on the cage you are using is no bigger then 1/2" wide or he will be able to escape.

Yes you do need to teach him not to bite, a gentle tap on the nose and a "no" is commonly all that is needed. Don't pull away when he bites though or you'll be teaching him biting gets you to go away. He could be just trying to see if you are edible, lol, try starting with petting him in the cage rather then sticking fingers in (fingers can look like chew sticks) so he learns your scent first.