How to spend time with your chins?

[jessonehundred]

I was just wondering how people generally act on the day-to-day with their chins. I have been very busy lately, and started to worry that I hadn't been showing my chins enough attention. Do you let them out to play literally every day? for how long? do you talk them throughout the day? I guess i'm just wondering how much attention is given to them. Honest answers please!!

 

[cindyv3737]

I don't let my girls out daily. They come out one to two times a week. Work has me very busy right now and I just don't have the time. However, I do talk to them and give them scritches daily. Both cages are in my room (soon will be, I have 2 in quarantine right now). This makes it easier for me to interact with them on a daily basis. When I do have playtime it lasts about 30 - 45 minutes. In short, yes I interact with them daily, but they do not come out to play daily. There are also a ton of toys in my cages. That also helps to amuse them.

 

[Snickers]

I go into the chin room talk to them, sing, give them scritches by standing or sitting outside their cages. Sometimes I will catch them and cuddle with them. I have one that likes a massage. They do not get free time unless they escape while I'm cleaning cages. There is one wheel per a cage, except cage for pregnant moms.

 

[Silverrose]

When I am at home, most of my day pretty much revolves around the chins. But this is because they are in my den/living room. I can watch them while I watch tv and while I'm on my computer. I love bothering them during commercials or just take a break from being on the computer. Sometimes I will just watch them and their goofy antics when there is nothing else on tv! They don't get playtime out of the cage everyday, but they are always being handled, talked to, or just given a stick treat when I pass by their cage all the time. They also have a wheel to keep them entertained and get some exercise, and of course all the hay and toys they could ever ask for!

 

[Shooper]

Sounds like Im right in line with everyone else! My cage is in my dinning room, so they are usually the center of attention at dinner. I love on them every morning before work (Inca demands it). Every evening I give them some type of treat and and lots of in the cage interaction. They usually get about 40 min of bathroom free roaming time with me at least once a week.

 

[ChinnyMom]

my boys haven't been coming out every single day to play lately either. i'd say about 3 to 4 times a week lately. they don't have wheels, so i feel bad if they are stuck in their cages for a couple days, lol. but i do go into the chin room multiple times a day when i'm home and just natter away at them, hand feed them the seed heads from their hay, give them apple sticks as well. if i have a few minutes i'll take each boy out of his cage and just hold him for a minute and pet him, or i'll open their cage doors and reach in to give scritches and such, spot clean shelves quickly, and re-stock any hay or pellets that need it. i check their food/hay/water a few times a day, and flick my eyes up to their room thermometer every single time i'm in there and natter away for a minute about how their room is just perfect or if momma has to crack the window a bit more or close it down a little (i try to keep it as close to a constant 68 as possible, so i don't freeze when i'm in there, lol).

i must say though, trying to clean a cage with a chin in it that is mighty intent on getting out is nigh near impossible! :rofl: so when it's cage cleaning time i just say 'aw heck, go play and get out of momma's way', lol.

 

[liewwan]

Mostly mine comes out everyday for an hour, if it's a busy day then at least 15 minutes. They are in their own room. Besides play time, I go in there a few times a day to talk to them and hold them.

 

[Laurie]

Mine rarely come out for playtime. All 10 of mine live in my bedroom so I interact with them a great deal. I don't go to sleep til around 4 or 5am everyday so spend a good 3 hours reading in their nightly. I do give healthy treats nightly and do a lot of petting and snuggling with each of them on a daily basis. Once or twice a month they come out in groups to have some playtime in the hallway and bathroom.

 

[jessonehundred]

Thanks for the responses! I was very curious and I'm really surprised but happy with the responses... I felt bad that I had only let them out once a week so I am relieved to know that this isn't something to worry about. They are in my living room during the winter so I get to interact with them a lot more as well throughout the day.

 

[AznTiger]

I mean i feel as long as you give them some atttention every day, it shows they are loved. I haven't been taking my out for playtime a lot lately since working and studying. But once or 2 times a week I definitely will and now let them run for more than 45 minute when they do. I stay with them and interact with them. Like alot of people, my cage is in the living room. We keep noise to a minimal so they can rest, but they like when people are around. My chins hear me come home and wants attention right away. I even watch tv around them and they watch it sometimes with me until they get bored. lol. but i think talking, petting, chin rubs and daily interaction is good enough for them. there just so cute!!!

 

[bigpappatrader]

I let my guy out just about every night that I'm home. He doesn't care much to play with me but I play with him anyway and let him crawl all over me. I open a bag of hay and let him have at it, put out his chew block, and throw around a few cheerios and shredded wheat for him to find. His cage is in my small bedroom which is chin-proofed, except the bed which I cover in a plastic sheet, so I just let him free for several hours while I work on the computer, until I feel like going to sleep. He'll usually run around for the first hour and then hang out under the bed doing nothing. Every now and then I'll coax him out from under the bed so he can run around and enjoy his fleeting freedom.

What are these "scritches" everybody talks about. Are you referring to scratches? As in scratching his head? Mine isn't a huge fan, but his brother used to do it to him so I try to do it too. Any tips on giving a chinchilla a scratching they'll love?

 

[ChinnyMom]

a few cheerios is too many in one day. my boys get 2 cheerios a week at most, and that's only when i'm feeling exceptionally generous. even the plain cheerios contain a bit of sugar, so you want to give them as treats sparingly. one treat a day is considered the most you should give your chin. putting out wood chews during playtime is much better for your chin.

scritches are when you scratch a chin around the head, under the jaw, around the shoulders, etc. with my Guss, when i hit the 'scritchy sweet spot, he practically does an exorcist move with his head to show me he likes it, lol.

 

[dragsil]

Silver and Dragon get at least an hour a day out in the chin room, usually more. I´ve been trying to study in there but need to watch them with a hawk eye, so it´s not really working out well.

They got a nice long play yesterday and a few hours later when I went to say goodnight as I was just on my way upstairs to bed they were both standing up on their back legs with paws on the wire, so cute that they managed to scam another house of playtime from me Glad I did too because they were both extra adorable and friendly when they came out

 

[tcraighenry]

Lately I've been spending time with them by taking tons of pictures. Except we had our first chinnie escape last night! Too much time with the camera, too little watching to see if the little guy was going to jump out of his cage!

Thankfully they can always be lured back with their dust bath bowl

 

[liewwan]

Lol don't you just love the escape convicts hehehe

 

[tcraighenry]

He was the unexpected one too! He's way more mellow than the baby but I think he decided to prove his boredom by freaking me out. I think he enjoyed it, cheeky little thing.

 

[Vcchinchilla]

I can't let mine out all the time (tired from work etc) but I spend hours every night talking / scritches to them, or play elevator with them (they climb up on my arm and I lift them up to the upper lvl of FN cage) or practice commands
I can't wait to get those pop up play pens that everyone has been talking about =D then I can sit in and watch tv!!
Otherwise it's 2/3 times a week for hour or longer free run in the bathroom!

 

[ChinnyMom]

when chins are in a play pen, they still need supervised. don't think that you can plop them in the playpen and leave them be and watch tv. chins find so many ways to get in trouble! lol. the pop up play pens are made of fabric, and a chin could chew through if they wanted to. always keep both eyes on your chin(s) when they are not in their cage.

 

[Vcchinchilla]

lol i'm hoping to sit in the play pen and watch tv from there lol

 

[DevnChip]

I don't think I could keep my eyes on a tv long enough to know what's going on while I'm in the playpen with my chin. He's just too much fun to watch anything else but him! I'm looking forward to my second chin coming out of quarentine so he can experience the playpen too. I think he'll love it just as much and I'll have even more fun watching him dart around.

Mine get individual time with me every morning as I prep for work (if they're up) and again at night. I take them for play time if I can trick them into my arms. They still don't quite trust me and I don't like to scare them by grabbing them. I learned with Chipper that they'll want to come out over time if I don't grab at them. Miesha has a wheel and the big cage so I'm not so worried about him, and Sonic has only been with me for maybe two weeks and been out of his cage four times to play and tonight to just be held while I walked around the livingroom. That was a first! Once he's out of quarentine he gets a big cage too and the wheel is on the way.

Lots of talking and scritches and attention in the cage seems to keep them very happy but I'll feel better about Sonic as soon as I can get him into that bigger cage I'm working on.