Just got my chinchillas! Help!

[Sonia99]

I'm so excited, yesterday I got 2 male chinchillas (6-8 months) one is white and the other is standard grey.

They seem very scared and the first night the grey one was continously barking for a while. Today they are now comfortable on the first ledge of my critter nation and seem fine and like exploring when they are alone but when anyone is in the room they hide behind the ramps and the grey one barks if you come too close (btw they are from a pet store).

I wanted tips on how to let them know that I am not going to harm them, I know I should wait a while for them to get used to their surroundings first but I just wanted to know how I should go about it. I attempted to give them 1/4 th of a cranberry but they were clearly scared and stayed still so I backed away and left the room.

Sorry for writing so much but I just have a few questions. How should I slowly tame them? Should I just sit in front of their cage until they come up to the bars? Should I try to lure them with some treats? I want to do this the right why so they are comfortable. Tomorrow I'm getting some rose hips so I will have a healthier treat for them. Is it normal that they are this scared? Any tips will help, thanks!

 

[Emmy]

Yea I think the best solution would be to let your chinchillas settle in to their cage for the first week or so.
During so, just sit next to their cage and talk to them, and soon enough they'll become more comfortable with your presence and your voice.
Some chins will take longer to come around, but the best thing to do is just give them time, and be patient! It would be scary to have everything you're used to in your life just change all of a sudden!
And since your chinnies are over 6mo, it's okay to give them treats - but remember a little will go a long way! Plus, chinchillas really don't need treats in their life if they have a healthy diet of pellets, hay and water. So keep that in mind! But place a small treat on your hand and let them eat off of it, and each day move the treat farther back on to your arm. Once they're comfortable with that, lift them up so they get used to the idea of being picked up.
Its all a gradual process, but if you show enough time and dedication to your chinnies, they will be some of the best pets you'll ever have!

 

[Shooper]

I suggest sitting by the cage and just talking to them so they get used to you. Trying to hand them treats is good also, just dont give too many! I know its hard to be patient, but they just take time to adjust. Are you sure they are both males, sometimes petshops don't get it right? Best of luck with your new babies!

 

[Sonia99]

I suggest sitting by the cage and just talking to them so they get used to you. Trying to hand them treats is good also, just dont give too many! I know its hard to be patient, but they just take time to adjust. Are you sure they are both males, sometimes petshops don't get it right? Best of luck with your new babies!

Thanks for the advice! We got the white one to sit on out hand and sniff around and the grey one ate a cranberry through the bars c: I think thats good progress for 48 hours. So happy

I hope they are 2 males haha we have 30 days to return if something is wrong so by then they should be comfortable with me picking them up and I can check

 

[Godofgods]

cranberries might not be good for them. any types of fruit/veggie rly. They cant digest the natural sugars in them.

You need to give them time. Lots of it. They have new cage, new environment, new ppl, new everything they have to get used to all at once. So it can take a good while for them to adjust. You can try reading to them. Help them get used to your presence and your voice in a non-threatening way.

 

[Sonia99]

cranberries might not be good for them. any types of fruit/veggie rly. They cant digest the natural sugars in them.

You need to give them time. Lots of it. They have new cage, new environment, new ppl, new everything they have to get used to all at once. So it can take a good while for them to adjust. You can try reading to them. Help them get used to your presence and your voice in a non-threatening way.

Thank you, I'm going to be getting some rose hips, goji berries, and oats for them as a healthier alternative. They are starting to warm up and are stepping on my hand and sniffing/nipping it every time I put my hand in.

 

[tcraighenry]

It took our tan chinchilla about 2 months before she felt comfortable. The first week we were marking her water bottle to make sure she was drinking.

It took our other one two weeks to adjust to our new apartment the last time we moved. Give them lots of time.

 

[Godofgods]

Thank you, I'm going to be getting some rose hips, goji berries, and oats for them as a healthier alternative. They are starting to warm up and are stepping on my hand and sniffing/nipping it every time I put my hand in.

Im not sure about goji berries in general, but i would assume that being a fruit, it would contain the natural sugars that chins cant digest. You'll want to look into that.

Most safe treats you can still only give so much of a day. But of your looking for something that you can give them pieces of more often, i would suggest looking into twigs. There are plenty of vendors here that offer them. All of my chins like apple twigs the best. (And fyi; they are/have to be specially prepared to be safe for chins, you cant just go collect random twigs in your yard. Thats one reason its good to buy from a vendor if your not sure/used to making them for your chin)

 

[Sonia99]

Im not sure about goji berries in general, but i would assume that being a fruit, it would contain the natural sugars that chins cant digest. You'll want to look into that.

Most safe treats you can still only give so much of a day. But of your looking for something that you can give them pieces of more often, i would suggest looking into twigs. There are plenty of vendors here that offer them. All of my chins like apple twigs the best. (And fyi; they are/have to be specially prepared to be safe for chins, you cant just go collect random twigs in your yard. Thats one reason its good to buy from a vendor if your not sure/used to making them for your chin)

Oh yeah I have apple twigs but they dont get lured by them or anything because I keep a bunch in the cage. I know not to overfeed them treats, yesterday I just kept feeding them hay and one time pellets from my hand and they would step and climb over it which was fun. Thanks for the advice I just wanted some rose hips to get them to eventually sit on my hand and be more comfortable because hay and pellets they always have access to anyways.

 

[Shooper]

I know this may sound kinda harsh, but even if they dont like it, I think you should double check to make sure they are males. If you could lift their back end up by holding the base of the tail and get someone to snap a quick pic, people on here can look at the pic and tell you what they are. If they were opposite genders it would prob be too late (but maybe not) to stop breeding. Gojo berries are fine as an occasional treat. You can also use Old Fashioned oats as a tempting treat (not the quick cook oats, ONLY the old fashioned ones). My guys love oats! It sounds like you are making great progress with them. Keep up the good work.

 

[Sonia99]

I know this may sound kinda harsh, but even if they dont like it, I think you should double check to make sure they are males. If you could lift their back end up by holding the base of the tail and get someone to snap a quick pic, people on here can look at the pic and tell you what they are. If they were opposite genders it would prob be too late (but maybe not) to stop breeding. Gojo berries are fine as an occasional treat. You can also use Old Fashioned oats as a tempting treat (not the quick cook oats, ONLY the old fashioned ones). My guys love oats! It sounds like you are making great progress with them. Keep up the good work.

Yeah I will check soon but I still haven't been able to pick them up. I was wondering though, one of my chinchillas wants to play outside ALL the time, whenever I open the door he tries to jump out, I was kinda able to pick him up that way by putting my hand wherever hes trying to jump and I can hold on to him for a second before he jumps out. I end up having to lure him with an oat in the carrier or with his dust bath. Is this normal? We let him out for the first time on Friday and he played for 2 hours before we put him back now he is always jumping out while the other one only came out once by mistake (looks like he was trying to jump off of the cage and then fell out haha) and he seems to maybe want to come out now but hes too scared to jump out or jump on my hand. Also I cant keep trying with him until it is time for the other one to play as well because the other one will end up jumping out. Sorry for the essay but is it normal for a chinchilla to always want to play outside their cage? I thought too much exercise was bad, maybe I should try to set a routine?

About picking up, I need some advice on how to pick them up I get scared that I am going to hurt him or something so I stop but what's the best way? And then when he is in my hands (like when hes trying to climb out) how do I keep him from jumping?

Finally, how do I just lift his tail to check? if I touch his tail he will run away (sometimes theyre okay with me petting them for a little while and other times they run away and then come back).