Gizmo will not let me pet him.

[Andeboo11]

I got a new chin on Saturday and he will not let me pet him. I know its only been four days but I would like to pet him now. He takes his treats out of my hand then run into his house ,but sometimes he will come to the cage door and let me put my hnd there and he will smell it , but them i raise it to pet him and he runs away:cry3:. Can any one help? Thanks Ashley harris

 

[tunes]

Chins are not dogs. I can't think of very many chins that would enjoy being petted. A chin is a prey animal, when a predator goes after them, they will come at them from behind, grab then by the neck, and shake. It's 100% natural for them not to want to be petted. That's why most people are happy when their chins enjoy chin scritches. With chins, you take what you can get.

 

[Jenn]

My chin took about a month to truly settle down and accept me. If I got near her, she would kack at me and run and hide. Patience is the key. I would sit next to Tinkerbell's cage and just get her used to my presence. I would talk to her, but wouldn't force bonding with her. I let her set the pace. She is now very friendly and loves to play on me and sit on me and I can pet her and give her scritches. But unlike some chins, she will not let me hold her, and that's ok by me.

Give your chin time to settle in. It takes time and patience. 4 days is much too soon to be expecting him to trust you. Take it slowly, and it still depends on the personality of the chin. He may never let you pet him, but to really find out, you need to give him the time to know his surroundings and to learn to trust you.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Patience is the only way to get anywhere with a chinchilla. Just because you WANT to pet him now doesn't mean he should automatically let you. This is basic basic stuff that we tell all new chinchilla owners. They are not animals that LIKE to be held or pet...if you want something that likes to be held and pet, get a rabbit, guinea pig or dog.

It's been four days. Recommended wait time before holding a chinchilla or taking it out for playtime is one week. What's the rush?

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

hes probly not even used to his surroundings yet. that is the first step. you should give him about a week to settle in before u start th bonding process. think about it. hes a shy animal that sees everything as something that will eat him. chinchillas dont like change so moving to a new place with new sights and smells will take time to adjust. th more changes you add the longer it will take for him to get comfortable.

 

[Laurie]

I would wait even longer than one week before taking out of holding a new chin. I would do 2 weeks for sure, perhaps even longer. And some chins no matter how friendly and loving never want to be held, pet or picked up. They are finicky animals that way and you'll have to prepare yourself should that happen.

 

[StevieP]

While you wait for him to get used to his new home, spend time near his cage so he can get used to you. Give him a piece of food, hay, or chew toy from your hand. That will show him that your hand is not bad. He will eventually learn that you will not hurt him. Just don't force him to do anything or you will reverse any progress that you've made.

8 of my 9 chins will let me reach my hand in their cage and pet them, scratch them, grab them, and squeeze their butt
The 9th will only let me scritch her if she just woke up. Most other times she will run away. She does hop out onto my arms nightly while I hold her for 5-10 minutes. It has taken me since March to get her to trust me.

There is hope, just not a guarantee. Try to make slow progress on her watch.

 

[Andeboo11]

Thanks so much everyone. I have had one chin before but he was 5 weeks old and was to young to be away from his mom and he was much much younger and used me like a replacement. Thanks,
Ashley Harris

 

[sis]

my chin will not let me hold him either i can pet him but e wont let me hold him i just got him saturday and it has been a week but i also just put him in a new cadge so i dont know what to do and if any one has any thing for a chinchilla that they want to get rid of i need some for charlie when i got him the only thing he came with was food and a toy and i have a question how do u know how old they are?