Greetings and new owner questions

[PappyHodunk]

Greetings all, I’m a new chin owner. Just adopted two brothers from a great breeder locally. they’re currently about 4 months old. Went all out getting the double critter nation cage, a few wood castles, etc.
My question really revolves around handling. When I first met them, the breeder would just reach in and grab them and hold them as if that’s how you do it. They’d struggle a bit but didn’t seem the worse for wear. I read up extensively on bonding and acclimating, and so left them alone for about two weeks, then tried handling them myself. At the time they would come to the door for a treat but were otherwise very skittish. I assumed it was due to being in a new environment, new owner, and their general nature. After about three weeks of doing that, moving them to a play pen when i needed to clean their cage, and spending time with them in the pen. They only seemed interested in getting out of the pen and back into the cage to hide in their wood castles. I found this forum and really read up and changed my tactic to never picking them up, only interacting with them when they wanted to, and getting them to move from the bottom to the top tier of the cage when cleaning.
I do not see any significant interest in me from them, and after hearing all the wonderful stories of affectionate chins from here wonder which tactic I should follow moving forward? Should I handle them on a regular basis to get them used to being handled, or just leave them alone and wait for them to mature and come to me on their terms? I suspect it’s probably the latter, but it’s really hard not to just pick them up and hold them! They just seem as skittish today as when i first got them, and I’ve had them 2 months.
Any advise? Thanks in advance!

 

[tunes]

It can take months to get them settled in enough to handle them. With them being so young, they should acclimate more quickly than an older chin that hasn't been handled; however, all chins are different. I tell people to expect "chinavision." They are awesome to watch but not necessarily hold. For one thing, they overheat easily. For another, they are SO active when they are out, they don't want to sit still. Maybe after they have been out for a while they will tolerate it for a little bit, but not forever. If you give them run time, sit with them talk to them, be their jungle gym. They will jump all over you. I've had hundreds and hundreds of chins. Some tolerate being held, others can't stand it. Try not to judge by what others do with their chins. Just enjoy them for the personalities that they have.

 

[Amethyst]

The personalities of chins can vary as much as humans, so you can get outgoing ones, skittish ones, brave ones, and everything in between. The affectionate chins tend to be the exception, they are prey animals that really haven't been domesticated for long (about 100 years and in the pet world for less then that) so they are naturally skittish and trust has to be earned it's not freely given and can easily been taken away, basically most see you as dangerous until proven otherwise. It can take chins around a month (some more some less) to settle in to a new home and then only after that can you expect to start bonding with them. Bonding can take anywhere from weeks to years depending on the chins personalities as well as how they have been treated. It can be easier to think of it like building a friendship, it takes time before you fully trust the person with your life (being a prey animal they have to trust you aren't going to kill and/or eat them). You also get a very skewed view of chins online since people tend to just post about the more outgoing chins in videos and stories and don't mention the more "normal" less affectionate towards people ones. Of the 14 chins I've had over the years I have only really had 2 that I would consider cuddly and seemed to enjoy being held, but most eventually would tolerate it at least long enough to get them to the play area or for a dust bath (I don't do dust baths in the cage).

Most will naturally always try to run away at least to some extent when you try to get them out, but once they trust you they do tend to settle down a bit. If they are running and hiding or go as far as barking, spraying, or biting, you need to back off and give them space. So really you need to look at there behavior (which for some can vary from day to day) to know how much you can push them to get use to handling. Also since they can over heat easily and have to fight their natural instinct to flee from being caught most don't ever like to be held for long or to cuddle with humans. However most do like to climb on their humans when out during playtime, so more of a pet that hangs out with you not cuddles with you. So the bottom line is give them time, it's only been a couple months, and for an animal that can live upwards of 20 years that isn't very much time.

Another thing to point out, since you got two that live together, it's not uncommon for them to have a less strong bond with you then a chin that is caged alone since they have each other. So it's likely at least some of the stories you read could be cases of chins that live alone since have no choice but to require the human to be their whole social circle. When I had chins living together I would have some one on one time with each, that way I could build a bond with each of them and they could learn to trust me without always having their buddy to rely on.

 

[PappyHodunk]

The personalities of chins can vary as much as humans, so you can get outgoing ones, skittish ones, brave ones, and everything in between. The affectionate chins tend to be the exception, they are prey animals that really haven't been domesticated for long (about 100 years and in the pet world for less then that) so they are naturally skittish and trust has to be earned it's not freely given and can easily been taken away, basically most see you as dangerous until proven otherwise. It can take chins around a month (some more some less) to settle in to a new home and then only after that can you expect to start bonding with them. Bonding can take anywhere from weeks to years depending on the chins personalities as well as how they have been treated. It can be easier to think of it like building a friendship, it takes time before you fully trust the person with your life (being a prey animal they have to trust you aren't going to kill and/or eat them). You also get a very skewed view of chins online since people tend to just post about the more outgoing chins in videos and stories and don't mention the more "normal" less affectionate towards people ones. Of the 14 chins I've had over the years I have only really had 2 that I would consider cuddly and seemed to enjoy being held, but most eventually would tolerate it at least long enough to get them to the play area or for a dust bath (I don't do dust baths in the cage).

Most will naturally always try to run away at least to some extent when you try to get them out, but once they trust you they do tend to settle down a bit. If they are running and hiding or go as far as barking, spraying, or biting, you need to back off and give them space. So really you need to look at there behavior (which for some can vary from day to day) to know how much you can push them to get use to handling. Also since they can over heat easily and have to fight their natural instinct to flee from being caught most don't ever like to be held for long or to cuddle with humans. However most do like to climb on their humans when out during playtime, so more of a pet that hangs out with you not cuddles with you. So the bottom line is give them time, it's only been a couple months, and for an animal that can live upwards of 20 years that isn't very much time.

Another thing to point out, since you got two that live together, it's not uncommon for them to have a less strong bond with you then a chin that is caged alone since they have each other. So it's likely at least some of the stories you read could be cases of chins that live alone since have no choice but to require the human to be their whole social circle. When I had chins living together I would have some one on one time with each, that way I could build a bond with each of them and they could learn to trust me without always having their buddy to rely on.

Thanks for all the quality feedback. This is pretty much what I expected... Ask me for anything but time...At least they are very interested in interacting with me for treats, just have to be careful not to overdo that.

 

[PappyHodunk]

It can take months to get them settled in enough to handle them. With them being so young, they should acclimate more quickly than an older chin that hasn't been handled; however, all chins are different. I tell people to expect "chinavision." They are awesome to watch but not necessarily hold. For one thing, they overheat easily. For another, they are SO active when they are out, they don't want to sit still. Maybe after they have been out for a while they will tolerate it for a little bit, but not forever. If you give them run time, sit with them talk to them, be their jungle gym. They will jump all over you. I've had hundreds and hundreds of chins. Some tolerate being held, others can't stand it. Try not to judge by what others do with their chins. Just enjoy them for the personalities that they have.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Amethyst]

Thanks for all the quality feedback. This is pretty much what I expected... Ask me for anything but time...At least they are very interested in interacting with me for treats, just have to be careful not to overdo that.

Yeah treats are best limited to just a few healthy treats a week, the breeder hopefully already told you but most treats sold in pet stores are unfortunately not healthy. They should not have fruits, veggies, seeds (hay seeds don't count), nuts, or sugars, and grains should be limited since they can cause gas. Rather then giving treats every time you can also hand them bits of hay they don't normally get or specific parts of hay they like (many really like timothy hay seed heads for example), hay cubes, or hay chews, chew sticks, small toss or shredding toys, and some chins will even take pellets handed to them like they are treats. If you are home throughout the day you can also add a few pellets to the food bowl each time you go to the cage (to be clear the bowl should always have pellets at that age). That way they can see you give them something every time without worrying about overdoing it with treats.

 

[PappyHodunk]

Yes, saw the posts. I have a bag of Tiny Friends Farms Charlie Chinchilla Tasty Mix for occasional treats, also use hay sticks (broken into small pieces), and the breeder recommended Mrs. Pastures Horse Cookies - broken in tiny pieces (less than 1/4").
I originally bought Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Chinchilla Food, which has little pieces in it, I pulled the pieces out and used them as treats. The chins preferred the Purina Show Rabbit Chow the breeder fed them. They will actually pick around the Kaytee to eat the Purina (I mixed them in the hopes of slowly getting them to eat the Kaytee, which I bought before I got them. Now I just broke down and bought a bag of the Purina. Worse than kids!

 

[Amethyst]

Yes, saw the posts. I have a bag of Tiny Friends Farms Charlie Chinchilla Tasty Mix for occasional treats, also use hay sticks (broken into small pieces), and the breeder recommended Mrs. Pastures Horse Cookies - broken in tiny pieces (less than 1/4").
I originally bought Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Chinchilla Food, which has little pieces in it, I pulled the pieces out and used them as treats. The chins preferred the Purina Show Rabbit Chow the breeder fed them. They will actually pick around the Kaytee to eat the Purina (I mixed them in the hopes of slowly getting them to eat the Kaytee, which I bought before I got them. Now I just broke down and bought a bag of the Purina. Worse than kids!

Yikes, sadly most of that is unfortunately not healthy for chins at all and can make your chins very sick and shorten their lives.

The Charlie chinchilla food is one of the worst chinchilla foods on the market, the peas, corn (maize) and carrots are all very bad for them even as treats. Veggies in general should never be given to chins at all, not only due to the sugars but also because they can cause diarrhea and like grains can cause gas. Since chins can't easily pass gas they can end up bloating which can quickly turn fatal. Also corn specifically is prone to mold, mold can produce mycotoxin, which is deadly to chins even in tiny amounts that are commonly considered "acceptable" for use in pet food. So feeding corn to chins is risky.

The Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Chinchilla Food is a low quality food as well, not only does it contain corn but it's also grain heavy (oats, wheat, and rice) which as I mentioned can cause gas and bloat. It's also low in fiber, which can cause digestive issues unless they eat a lot of hay every day since they require a high fiber diet for proper digestion. So maybe your chins are smart enough not to want to eat the garbage food, lol.

The horse cookies are not good do to being grain heavy which can cause gas, but also the molasses and apples, chins are not designed to process much sugars, which can cause them to develop things like diabetes, tooth decay, and premature organ failure long term, as well as more short term it can cause them to have seizures and/or digestive issues.

A good diet of chinchillas is an alfalfa based pellet only food, unlimited hay, and water. However good chinchilla pellets (recommended ones are Oxbow Essentials (NOT the other formulas), Science Selective, and Mazuri), or high quality rabbit pellets (like Purina Show Rabbit) and hay (ideally primarily timothy, but orchard and meadow hay are good too), already contain sugar. So although they can have some treats you need to be careful about adding additional sugar on top of that.
I know plain pellets and hay sounds like a boring diet but you can still give some treats. A much safer option for treats is going with things like herbs and flowers like one on this list from another chinchilla group. Just keep in mind things like goji berries are more a one a month type treat since they do still contain a fair amount of sugar, but can be a good special treat.




Sadly most chins fed inappropriate things in their diet regularly tend to only live about 5-10 years, not the 15-20+ that domestic chins can, due to health issues. You may get extremely lucky and your chins don't get sick from fruit and veggies in their diet, but it's a risk, like humans eating a junk food diet. You may be able to handle it for years, especially when you are young, but it doesn't mean it's good for you and/or wont cause issues down the line. Also some chins are able to process gas better then others, but bloat is a life or death emergency situation so it's best to try to limit the risk.

 

[JohhnyBishop]

Yes, saw the posts. I have a bag of Tiny Friends Farms Charlie Chinchilla Tasty Mix for occasional treats, also use hay sticks (broken into small pieces), and the breeder recommended Mrs. Pastures Horse Cookies - broken in tiny pieces (less than 1/4").
I originally bought Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health Chinchilla Food, which has little pieces in it, I pulled the pieces out and used them as treats. The chins preferred the Purina Show Rabbit Chow the breeder fed them. They will actually pick around the Kaytee to eat the Purina (I mixed them in the hopes of slowly getting them to eat the Kaytee, which I bought before I got them. Now I just broke down and bought a bag of the Purina. Worse than kids!

Food for chinchilla does not have to be colourful to be healthy. I think these mixes are the worst. I think the price kind of speaks for itself. Order online because pet shops don't have good stuff.
As for the chinchilla behavior I think like in humans on average males are more outgoing, females are more careful.

 

[PappyHodunk]

Yes that was mentioned in another post. I’ve since replaced these treats with dried rose hips, chamomile and Hawthorne flowers. these are boys, but just not that friendly to me. One tolerates occasional head scratches, other runs if touched.

 

[JohhnyBishop]

Yes that was mentioned in another post. I’ve since replaced these treats with dried rose hips, chamomile and Hawthorne flowers. these are boys, but just not that friendly to me. One tolerates occasional head scratches, other runs if touched.

Good.
I think they should become more approachable when older.