In Cage Aggression?

[yarisaurus-rex]

I am curious if anyone can help us out with this! When our chin is in his cage, he barks at us or makes a chattering noise. However, when he is out of it, he is very sweet! Should we just leave him alone in the cage and not bother? I know he needs time to run around, too.. So it worries me if we just leave him in the cage all the time. Making sure he is comfortable is very important to me, though!

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

How long have you had your chin for? If you have had your chin for a while (more than 6 months or so) how did the initial bonding process go? If you just got your chin I would go very slow and gradually introduce yourself to the chin, there are lots of threads on here on how to bonds with your chin and here is a great site with more information: http://owningchinchillas.webs.com/bringing-your-chin-home
It sounds like your chin is being territorial of its cage, are you trying to engage with the chin when he is barking at you?

 

[yarisaurus-rex]

We've had him for about 2 months now. Sometimes, he responds very well when I just put my hand in the cage and let him sniff me, other times he chatters or barks at me. But when I sit down near his cage he comes out and comes to the side of his cage that I'm closest to and just chills. I also notice him kind of follow me within the cage if I'm moving around. He seems a little temperamental about the cage. Sometimes he's very good about me putting my hand in but sometimes he doesn't even give me the chance before he starts being aggressive.

Anyhow, I think I'll just go back to taking it easy with him. ^^ Thanks for the link!!

 

[akane]

Is the scent on your hand changing? Katsu is sensitive to that. He barked and threatened to bite me yesterday because I'd been cleaning and my hands smelled weird. Use unscented soap (we use plain dawn dish soap) and don't pet other animals especially large predators like cats and dogs before interacting with your chin. Eventually he should get used to things and react less. Some of ours were very nervous about the dogs at first and would bark and hide when they were in view of the cages. Most have learned the dogs are harmless and they don't bark anymore.