Chinchillas Trust

[pitbullgirl]

As a new chin owner, I have made several mistakes. I researched a ton before i bought my chin, but I read all the wrong things. I didn't find this site until after i had bought my chin. I read that u where suppose to handle your chins when you get them. which now i know is completely wrong. So a mistake i did was not let her get use to her surroundings before playing with her. She seems to be ok and is still very active, but I don't think she trust me. How do i get her to trust me now? Also i don't know if anyone elses chins run away when from you if you try to catch them, but mine does. what should i do?

 

[JensAwesome]

Don't be too hard on yourself, having a chinchilla is a learning process! I had to work pretty hard to earn my chinchillas trust myself, as we got her due to her being mistreated at a local pet store where she was never handled. She was not very friendly, but after a lot of love and affection, she is much better now.

Just a note- Cinny doesn't like it when you try to pick her up either. Seldom will she not bark if you are trying to grab her, as well as jump back. Sometimes she doesn't care much, it just depends on her mood. What I normally do is put out my arms in front of my body, and let her climb into my arms at her own pace. Back when she was not used to being handled, I would offer her a treat to lure her out.

Earning her trust was a long process of petting, loving, and bribing with treats (not too many a day of course). For my bonding process, I would bring my chinchilla up to a room to play. I would lay on the floor, and let her run around and do whatever play activity she felt like. Running and pooping seem popular . For the first while she didn't come up to me much, but of course she'd get curious and come sit by me to get pet, or run around on me. Over time she started spending more time with me, and makes sure I remember she is there if I am working on the computer while she plays. Imagine laying down typing on your laptop and having a chin butt sit on your space bar!

This method led to her being excited to climb out onto my arms and come play. She now spends a lot of time using me as a personal jungle gym, as long as cuddle buddy during breaks. She will cuddle in the nook of my neck, or next to my arm, and it is great! Before she was used to me enough to be picked up when shes cuddling me, I would offer treats or bring out her dust bath as a means to catch her to put her in her cage. I felt like it was less stress, and she did not react poorly to it at all. Also, if you can play with her in the room her cage is in, I have found Cinny will let herself back into her cage when she is done playing, which is always a good thing!

Others may suggest other methods, it would be interesting to see what has worked for everyone else!

 

[beemarie]

I am having the same problem with my chin, benny. He comes to the cage when I sit in front of it. He lets me pet him but he still doesnt like me picking him up. I've had him for a little over 2 weeks and he's came a long way.
I got instructions on how to bond with my chin when i first got him, which helped a lot. Just sit in front of the cage and talk to her, put your hand in and let her come to you. Just let her get use to you being in the cage.
I have problems with taking him from the bathroom to his cage for play time because he doesnt like to be picked up. So i use the dust bath or his carrier to transport him back and forth.
During play time I will do my homework or sit on my computer and let him come to me. every now and again i will slowly put my hand around him a little at a time. to get him use to me holding him. Every now and then he will let me but most days he runs away or back in his cage.
It's a process. just take baby steps. She will trust you. It's just like humans you have to earn her trust.

 

[pitbullgirl]

Thank you both so much! ill do that.

 

[Airyn]

Some chins never get used to being held. 2 of mine can't stand it, but they do soften with time and have other ways of showing you that they love you. Maia will rest her front paws on my arms, respond well to "commands" or pose and allow me to admire her. She'll never actually balance on me or let me touch her anywhere but on her head. She's very much The Queen, so even head scritches are limited to only when she's tired. Buddha will treat me like a chinchilla jungle gym, but if I have the audacity to touch him anywhere while he's balancing on me, he'll run and hide. Like Maia, I'm allowed to touch him when he's sleeping, but only a single finger stroke from head to nose is acceptable. Ears are off limits and result in a furious grooming show to get my germs off of him. It's pretty funny. Maia nursed Buddha, so I suspect she imprinted some of those anti-touch preferences onto him. The other two were both handfed and handled from birth, so I can do whatever I want to them.

As the others said, just exercise patience and give her time to build that trust. It could take months, so try not to get disheartened. Bonding is different with each chin, but it's always rewarding when you get there. Good luck!

 

[jess32247]

It can take months for your chin to open up to you. My chin bonded with me pretty quickly, within a few weeks of having her. Over many months though she's bonded even more and trusts me the most. She loves to jump in my lap, on my hand, arm, shoulder, or even jump all over me while I'm laying on the floor (even though it's not too fun having smelly chinchilla feet in your face! LOL)

Even though she trusts me, she hates being pet. She'll run away if I touch her back, but she lets me play with her feet, tail, ears, and loves being pet on her face/chest. I don't think she'll ever be ok with me petting her back, but that's fine with me!

As for being held, that too. She hates it! I leave open her cage door the whole time while she's out so she can go in and out to eat and do her business, and while she's in eatting or whatever I just close the door. She understands it's time for the human to go to bed, but that doesn't stop her from pouting!

Over time she started spending more time with me, and makes sure I remember she is there if I am working on the computer while she plays. Imagine laying down typing on your laptop and having a chin butt sit on your space bar!

That's happened to me before! Sometimes I'll bring my laptop and sit on the floor by her cage, and she makes herself at home sitting on my keyboard! :rofl:

 

[becky12883]

My boys are both different. Rufus will run and try to hide when we try to pick him up, but it's become more of a game for him, he will eventually just give up and sit in the corner to get picked up. Zoid just doesn't care at all, he will let us grab him right away. Both of them once they are in our arms just live to get cuddled and petted, until they realize they are out of the cage that is. We had Rufus for 2 years before we ended up with Zoid, and Rufus would not come to us or let us catch him before we had Zoid at all. About a year after Zoid (and his bonded pair Leela that passed away in Dec ) they all warmed up to us. So, my advice is just be very patient and keep trying everyday, eventually she will come around.

 

[rutherford]

it wasn't until way after rutherford turned 1 that i started picking him up... huge mistake! the bonding process took awhile, and it's still a work in progress. he hates being picked up, but once he's in my arms, he usually just sits quietly until he works out a plan to escape. he can't seem to figure out that the reason i'm holding him is because i'm trying to put him inside his playpen for playtime.

but yeah, inside his playpen, he has a cardboard cottage that i bought online, a few wooden cubes, and some chew toys. i give him 20 or so minutes to play around and explore, and then i join him inside his playpen. he usually runs away because he thinks i'm trying to catch him and put him back... but after he figures out i'm just sitting inside with him, he'd hop on my shoulder and give me kisses on my cheeks <3

he still hates to be picked up though. be patient. one thing i learned is that while you're holding your chin, don't let go if s/he bites you or tries to shake loose. if you let go immediately, s/he will learn that whatever that gesture was will allow him/her to escape. when i put rutherford back into his cage, i hold him a few inches above his fleece liner and wait until he's not struggling or trying to escape. as soon as he does that, i let him go. it works really well!