Chinchilla bites!~

[sheena lee]

Lately, my 4 month old chinchilla has been biting my boyfriend and his mom. We've had him for just over 2 weeks, and he's gotten quite used to us, but just a few days ago started biting them (he broke the skin once and almost did a few other times.)
He hasn't bitten me much, only once actually and I think it was because my hand was in what he thought could be his escape route...

He's quite friendly though and will jump onto my lap and sit there if I sit near the cage with the door open... He's warmed up to me quite well and if we let him out of the cage (rarely, just for cage cleaning) he'll jump all over both my bf and I.

Any idea why he's biting? He doesn't know my bf's mom very well, so I think that may be understandable, but my bf spends as much time with him as I do...

 

[Cuddlebug]

He is probably biting to get his way, ie, out of the cage, to be put down, make you go away, etc. The trick is to not give him his way. If he wants down and bites, don't put him down. If he bites because he doesn't want you to pick him up, pick him up. You may want to wear leather gloves until he figures out that biting will not get him what he wants. They usually learn pretty quickly and the biting stops.

 

[amignatowicz]

He's warmed up to me quite well and if we let him out of the cage (rarely, just for cage cleaning) he'll jump all over both my bf and I.

you should be letting him out of the cage more often, he might be upset because he's cooped up in the cage all the time. i let my chins out for at least an hour every day. i have a large playpen (about 8x8 feet) i put them in there and sit with them. they love climbing all over and its been very helpful in the bonding process for me. instead of buying a playpen, you can try doing this in the bathroom, just make sure that there are no wires, or anything unsafe for your chin to get into.

 

[ticklechin]

Its a 4 month old chin who has only been in the new environment for 2 weeks, I would not let this chin out yet for playtime, A: chin is too young and B: chin is too new, the owner would be just asking for trouble. No outside playtime yet.

 

[amignatowicz]

oops! completely missed the age part! all i saw was "rarely let the chin out". my mistake!

 

[AznTiger]

I didnt let my chin out until 8 months. I never had the biting. But since I got Tum Tum I would stay by his cage and let him smell me. Talk to it and I actually watch cartoons by the cage. Its amazing to see that he actually watches it. And since every chin is different, it takes time to see what they want.

For the biting, Bam Bam kinda nibbled the 1st month I got him. So I ended up giving him more attention. I can see he wants to be out sometimes and I will bring him out for a little in a very open area with nothing around. I sit still enough and he will come by kinda like exploring. But if hes biting hard, he could be frustrated or even scared. Takes time for chins to get used to something .

 

[ChinnyMom]

i'd say he's giving you attitude. don't let him get away with it. Cuddlebug has the right suggestion here, don't react to his biting, and he'll soon learn that biting doesn't get him what he wants.

 

[sheena lee]

He is probably biting to get his way, ie, out of the cage, to be put down, make you go away, etc. The trick is to not give him his way. If he wants down and bites, don't put him down. If he bites because he doesn't want you to pick him up, pick him up. You may want to wear leather gloves until he figures out that biting will not get him what he wants. They usually learn pretty quickly and the biting stops.

I think you might be right. I'll try to get both my bf and his mom to think about what they were doing when he bites. I think he mainly just wants out... He tends to bite the cage bars a lot when we're in the room.

Also, I know that I'm not supposed to let him out, but when I'm cleaning the cage I really have no choice since I don't have a second cage to put him in (and can't really afford one right now, I just today started my first salaried job in almost 2 years...)
I also take him out for baths cause it's easier to wash the dust out of the bathtub, which is only like 10 minutes and then he's back in. He's never out for more than 30 minutes at a time... I just don't have any other option.

 

[ticklechin]

You need a carrier, they are like 25.00 at Petco/Petsmart to put him in during cage cleaning and you really need to for vet visits. The plastic pet taxi is what they are called.