Help understanding my new chin.

[megatron_mcd]

Hi there, I'm brand new to owning a chin, I just bought my girl (Marzipan) from PetSmart on friday, 5 days ago. So far she won't let me pick her up (which I knew she probably wouldn't) but she won't let me touch her at all. She just sort of flips out if I try to lightly pet her through the bars, she whips her head around and I'm afraid she'll bite me so I back off, and if I put my hand in the cage she runs and huddles. I've let her out for playtime and she loves being out and exploring, and she'll come up to me and climb up my leg or sit behind my back, but if I reach for her at all it's no bueno, she just gets scared. I'm hoping that it's only because everything is so new for her, but at the same time my mom keeps telling me that Marzipan lets her pet her through the bars when I'm at work. I don't want my pet to hate me, could I be doing something wrong??

 

[caitlinlovesgus]

First off, Petsmart only sells male small mammals. I know this because I work there. Unless they told you otherwise, little Marzipan is a boy!

I've had my first chin for about 6 months and he was the same way. But, in the wild they use their swiftness and reflexes to get away from predators, so your chin is just on high alert in case of danger. Eventually he'll warm up to you and realize you aren't a threat. But until then you have to be patient.

What I did when I first got mine was open the cage and stick my hands out like a platform and let my chin climb onto my hands, sort of as a trust excercise. Basically saying, if you want to get out and play, you have to trust me. It worked way better than I thought, and now my boy walks right onto my hands without hesitation.. Cause he knows then only way to play is to get through me! lol

Another thing, if you let him have free reign of the room before you try to bond with him, it may be harder for him to get used to you. Try to bond with him as much as you can before you start letting him out to play. If you aren't doing so, he'll get the mentality "i dont have to trust her, shes going to let me out anyway". And you definitely dont want that.
When youre in the room hes in, try and talk a lot to him. In a sweet voice, so he gets used to your sound. When I walk in the room and start talking to mine, he perks up and runs right to the doors of the cage cause he knows hes about to get out and play.

All in all, its a process. Dont get discouraged that he isn't warming up to you right away. I was like that up until recently. I swore up and down he didn't like me until I started noticing I was being able to pet him, rub his belly, and have him come sit in my lap without darting off. You will have little marzipan for up to 15 years, trust that yall's relationship will get much better. You get out of it as much as you put into it!

Good luck to you!

 

[Nerk]

I'm going through the same thing. I just got a new girl a week ago and she's still shy to a human hand. You just have to be patient with them. I sit by her cage and talk to her daily, I will give her food in the flat of my hand, and I give her play time IF she's up to it. Just don't push her comfort zone.
My girl just started letting me give her chin scratches. But she's the same as yours during play time, she'll climb in me, talk to me (she does a very soft coo), and even sit on my shoulder. But if I reach for her she'll hide.
Within time your little one will get accept you. But regarding picking up she may never like it. My six year old does a cackle at me when I try. 90 % if chins will never enjoy being held. They aren't a very cuddly pet, just very entertaining and adorable!

 

[e.murphy518]

I don't know your exact situation with your chin, but with my two adults when I go to give them scratches behind their ears through the bars they will whip their heads around but just to see what I am up to, I don't stop or pull away or anything and then they always end up tilting/leaning their head into my fingers and enjoying the scritches so you could try that!

 

[elbee]

Some PETsMARTs sell male animals, others only sell females. This being said, there are often screw UPS and times I've known an all female store to get male guinea pigs etc. So as far as the gender, could be either. Just give him/her some time. Patience and love will win over

 

[jessd]

What I did when I first got mine was open the cage and stick my hands out like a platform and let my chin climb onto my hands, sort of as a trust excercise. Basically saying, if you want to get out and play, you have to trust me. It worked way better than I thought, and now my boy walks right onto my hands without hesitation.. Cause he knows then only way to play is to get through me! lol

Another thing, if you let him have free reign of the room before you try to bond with him, it may be harder for him to get used to you. Try to bond with him as much as you can before you start letting him out to play. If you aren't doing so, he'll get the mentality "i dont have to trust her, shes going to let me out anyway". And you definitely dont want that.
When youre in the room hes in, try and talk a lot to him. In a sweet voice, so he gets used to your sound. When I walk in the room and start talking to mine, he perks up and runs right to the doors of the cage cause he knows hes about to get out and play.

Wow this is super helpful!

 

[megatron_mcd]

Thanks guys! As to the gender deal, the employee who helped me get Marzipan said she was a girl? And I'm pretty sure the cage label said they were females, I'm just going on faith that she's a little girl lol.

I try to talk to her all the time, I sit next to her cage as often as I can. She seemed a little different after I posted this last night, I haven't taken her out to play for 2 days now because I want her to realize that she'll need my assistance to get out, that she can't just hop out when she wants, anyway she put her paws up on the side of the cage like "Please let me play!" So I think if she puts it together that my hand = playtime = life is good, then we'll make some progress! I know it's all about persistence and patience, and just like Nerk said, I don't want to push her outside of her comfort zone.

 

[Stackie]

First off, Petsmart only sells male small mammals. I know this because I work there. Unless they told you otherwise, little Marzipan is a boy!

Actually Petsmart sells both males and females...just each store is either a designated male or female store. They only sell one gender, not both.

 

[Amy555]

Chinchillas also like a routine, if you have playtime, or 'visiting time' at the same time of day every day they will look forward to it and know what to expect. Eventually their curiosity gets the best of them and they'll open up to you.

 

[caitlinlovesgus]

Oh okay, news to me! Im in SC, maybe they do it differently in other states. Just going by what I was told! My apologies

When I get home from work every night my boy automatically knows he's going to be let out, so when I walk into the room he perks up and waits at the cage doors.
Chins like routine, it'll also help with the bond.
When she is out, let her kind of do her own thing. Preferably in a small area, like a bathroom or a blocked-off hallway. Don't try and follow her around, reaching your arm out every time she comes near you. It will just stress her out even more. Eventually she'll become curious of you, and maybe jump onto your leg or just sit near you. She's gotta know that you aren't a threat, or scary. :]

Then again, I'm only telling you this because it's what worked for me personally. Every chin is different! I've only had him for about 6 months, and it's my first one. So I'm learning as I go along!

Glad I could help you out!

 

[megatron_mcd]

Hey guys, in case anyone wanted to know things are going much better She's very comfortable climbing all over me during playtime, she loves to go up onto the top of my head lol. She's still not crazy about hands, she enjoys being pet for a while but she won't jump onto my hands to come out for playtime, I always have to get her hay tube and she'll climb into that and I carry her to the safe bathroom, and usually to put her back its either back into the hay tube or she'll unhappily let me carry her if I catch her off guard.

 

[ChinChiq]

All chins have different personalities. Some love to be held and snuggled all the time, some don't ever want to be touched, most are somewhere in the middle. When I got first got Luna, she would spray me every time I would put my hand in her cage. When I would let her out to play, I would have to chase her to get her to go back in, no matter how long she was out. After a couple of weeks, she started to trust me and would let me reach out and give her scritches when I opened her cage.

Now, almost a year later, I can't put my hand in her cage without her running over and climbing all over my arm. She no longer gets out of cage play time though because it is too stressful for both of us to get he back into her cage! Be patient with your little girl, and the two of you will figure out how to be friends.

 

[megatron_mcd]

Does she do alright with no out of cage time? I always feel bad when I can't let Marzipan out, but I feel better knowing that not all chins get time out every day.

 

[Stackie]

Chins don't need playtime at all. Breeders with 100's of chins don't let their chins out for playtime and they are perfectly healthy and happy. My boys rarely get out of cage time and are happy. They have wheels, tubes, hanging toys, etc. in their cages that keep them entertained. In fact, I have a few who would rather be in their cages than out. They just freeze and get the deer-in-headlight pose when out of their cage.

IMO it's safer for chins to not have a lot of playtime. Some can over-do it, get into things they aren't supposed to, etc. I see more injuries happen when chins are out of their cages than kept safely in.

Your chin may pout for a bit if she's used to getting out regularly, but once she realizes she's not going to get constant out of cage time, she'll find things to entertain herself within her cage.

 

[ChinChiq]

Luna is perfectly fine without out of cage time. I felt bad at first too, but after reading more threads here, I felt much better about my decision to not let her out.

Like Stackie mentioned, I make sure that she has plenty of things in her cage to keep her busy. I bond with her by letting her climb all over my arms in her cage. She will perch on my arm and give me little grooming nibbles. She also loves to run over and give me whisker kisses.

Since she has gotten better about not immediately jumping out of my hands, I have recently started carrying her around the house once in a while to let her get a new view on things (while holding on to her so that she doesn't try to make a run for it).