Georgey
Member
I am not a new chinchilla owner exactly, but recently I adopted a new chin. This chin came from a home where people smoked inside, you could tell by the way her fur smelled. Poor little thing, when I let her run around in the hallway after about 10-15 minutes she was so exhausted and i picked her up and laid her on my chest and she laid on her side and fell asleep. In my opinion, I think the cigarette smoke somewhat harmed her lungs.
She sometimes scares me a bit, when I go to pick her up sometimes she will attack my hand and bite it really hard or jump to bite me or even try to spray urine at me. This isn't every time, but most times. Except whenever you do get close enough to pet her and scratch her chin she is usually fine. I find it a little strange because whenever she is being held she turns into a sweetheart in an instant and snuggles right into you and tries to get as close as possible, usually falling asleep every time. It makes me think that her previous owners were not all that gentle with her.
I am trying to give her space but yet let her know she is being cared for but I'm scared she won't adjust to me and will always want to attack me. Neither of my other chins had this problem when I first got them.
I just want to know what is the best way to go about getting her to trust me from the start? It just seems like she already trusts me once i'm holding her or petting her, just not whenever another hand goes towards her or makes any movement near her.
She sometimes scares me a bit, when I go to pick her up sometimes she will attack my hand and bite it really hard or jump to bite me or even try to spray urine at me. This isn't every time, but most times. Except whenever you do get close enough to pet her and scratch her chin she is usually fine. I find it a little strange because whenever she is being held she turns into a sweetheart in an instant and snuggles right into you and tries to get as close as possible, usually falling asleep every time. It makes me think that her previous owners were not all that gentle with her.
I am trying to give her space but yet let her know she is being cared for but I'm scared she won't adjust to me and will always want to attack me. Neither of my other chins had this problem when I first got them.
I just want to know what is the best way to go about getting her to trust me from the start? It just seems like she already trusts me once i'm holding her or petting her, just not whenever another hand goes towards her or makes any movement near her.
