Holding my chin

[BlahBlah]

Is been nearly a month now since I got my first chinchilla, hes 12 month old and a wilson white.

He is used to me now and lets me stroke, feed and scratch him in the cage.
But the thing is when I hold him in the room some of his fur comes out, should i stop holding him? because I read that if you what them to get used to you holding them you need to hold them everyday.

Also I read that another way you can do it is by giving him a treat when he comes to you or sits in your lap. But what treat? because to many rasions is not good, how many raisons do you guys give your chins in a week?

Thanks so much for the help everyone.

 

[alli713]

How are you holding him? Are you squishing his body so that he's slipping fur on this body? That isn't the safest way to hold if that's what you're doing. What you should do is scoop him up from the bottom and hold onto the base of his tail so that he can't fall out of your hands, but his feet are resting on your hand or arm.

I don't give any raisins. Too much sugar, I'm of the camp that raisins shouldn't be given at all since they aren't good for them. Too many other healthy treats that you can give to be on the safe side. Safe treats would be old fashioned (slow cook) oats, rolled oats, small bite sized non-frosted shredded wheat, a portion of whole wheat pasta. Each of these can be given no more than once a week. So one treat a day is what I do. Better for them to have a bland diet.

 

[Cuddlebug]

You can also give them a plain Cheerio as a treat. Chins are funny and they think that anything from your had is a treat, so you could also give him pellets, hay or applewood sticks and he would think it is a treat.

 

[Ash]

You don't want to force your chinchilla to let you hold him. You have to remember that while chins are very docile creatures, they for the most part don't like being held. I have 8 chinchillas. Only 1 really enjoys being held and will sit with you for periods of time. The rest will climb on me but don't really sit still, and 2 of my chinchillas don't even accept being picked up at all, and those two I have had the longest. I've bonded with them all the same, and had all of them since they were young, except for one, but even she was only a year when I got her.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

When I hold my chins, I take one of my hands and sort of corral them towards my other hand, which I have on the floor. Then that hand stays on their belly or their elbows, depending on which is most comfortable for them. The other hand goes on their behind, with the base of their tail between my middle and ring fingers. My palm is on their butt/spine, and my fingers are near their back legs. Sometimes I can get them calmed down enough to let me just hold the base of their tail between my thumb and first finger, but if I do that, they're resting in the crook of my opposite arm.
He sounds a little scared, like any chinchilla. None of my chins enjoy being picked up, and only Pico and Mork tolerate being held. Sonya freezes and won't move, so she's the easiest to hold, but I can tell she's terrified.
The biggest thing you can do is to move slowly, even if he runs away from you. I would try putting half of a shredded wheat (like Alli said, they have to be bite sized, totally un frosted and plain) in your palm, and when he comes over to investigate, slowly try to scoop him up in whatever way seems comfortable. If he doesn't run away, give him the treat immediately. If he does run away, wait to give it to him until he's in your hands.

 

[BlahBlah]

Thank you so much for the advice everyone, I will go shopping for treats and and be more slow when I approch him and pick him up so he is as comfortable as possible.

 

[Idgie]

Idgie doesn't like to be held much. I just let her sit in my lap or crawl in my shirt during playtime. I sit on the floor with her and she comes to me and plays with me. I give her a treat after I put her back in her cage. (She likes oat groats.)

 

[Sam and Milo]

My little Milo has taken a long time to get used to me... he is now 2 years old and he is barely coming around to trusting me... Sam was ok with being held from the beginning...all Chins are different...he may take another week or a month or longer or less to get used to be held...and maybe he never will that's just the way it is...treats definitely do help to get them used to you though...i think he'll come around though...