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takeshi1013

Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2010
Messages
9
Location
Helsinki, Finland
I got my 6 months chinchilla baby from a pet shop 2 two days ago. It is a light beige little girl. She likes to interact with us. Only problem is she bites everything, even my finger. When I put my finger near the cage, she come and bite it, and it's really hurts. And I tried again later, she bite again, and try to pull my finger into the cage. I am wondering is there someone experienced this, and is there any solution to solve it?
 
It will take time and patience for your new pet to get used to you and her new cage. For now I wouldn't try to put your finger in her cage if she is biting you. You are probably scaring her.
 
and

and when I speak to her near the cage, she want to interact with me. She try to put her mouth out of the gap of the cage. and looks want to bite me. I know she is not trying to hurt me, maybe it's her way to say hi. But I dont know how to deal with this.

Another question is how long can I take her out of the cage after she arrive a new home, someone said after two weeks, when she trust me. is that right?

Big thanks again!!
 
It will take time and patience for your new pet to get used to you and her new cage. For now I wouldn't try to put your finger in her cage if she is biting you. You are probably scaring her.

She didn't looks like being scared. but more like my finger is her food or chewing toy.

I will wait for a longer time to see how is it going:)
 
By the way, welcome to CnH. You will learn so much here! So I would pull up a chair to her cage and spend time talking to her, don't overdo the treats, only a tiny healthy treat if you insist 1-2 times a week, wood chew sticks are fine all the time. They don't need any at all. Give her a week or so of sweet talk, then open her door and close your fist, let her come up and sniff you, make sure your hands are washed and don't smell like food, lotion etc. Pace yourself slowly and progress to giving her a little scratch until she is happy to see you and wants to be scratched. Keep us posted of your progress and post some pics if you can, Theresa
 
Chinchillas are just like human toddlers; everything goes in the mouth to see what it is. Most chinchillas will nip at anything that is stuck through the cage wire. Just don't stick your fingers there. As long as she is not biting too hard, just ignore it and she will eventually stop. If she is biting hard enough to hurt or break the skin, try wearing leather gloves when you handle her.
 
My Toki bit my friend and I when we first got him- drew blood kind of bite. He's older, but he stopped once i'd gotten him some chews. I took it as a sign that he just hadn't had enough to chew on, especially since they don't really give them anything in petstore cages that they can chew or play on. Remember that they're essentially teething constantly. Both my boys nibble a lot, and I just gently tell them no and wigglle my fingers when they try. I would also suggest apart from not putting your fingers in just giving her an alternative chew when she does so.
I think once she's ready to come out she probably won't bite you, but i'd wait to let her out until she trusts you enough to let you hold her- then you don't have to worry about scaring her when it's time to go back in the cage and you need to catch her.
Welcome to CnH!
 
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thanks all! Everyone are so nice here:)

I am starting talking to her now, I feel it works. Let's see what progress we will make in weeks. I dont dare to take her out of cage during this time. since I dont know how to get her back to the cage after playing time. I know i cant chase her. I hope this is ok with the little girl.
 
My little girl did that at first, it's just their way of checking things out & when something is in front of their mouth, it's almost a reflex rather than a decision. Our reflex is to pull the finger away and say ouch!, but that could make it worse due to the sudden movement & b/c she won't know what ouch means. When Ruby did that to me, I made a quiet high pitched little squeak, as if to say oww! Any animal can discern what that means, & that's how a littermate might react to the same thing. I know it sounds silly, but making a little "eep" sound gets the point across without scaring her or making any sudden movements, which almost always send them scampering away. It worked for me, now I can't get Ruby to bite me even if I wanted to. It's not instant, as with anything, there is a learning curve, but she'll get the message, promise!!

When she's out for playtime, it's more likely she'll try to nibble your clothing, rather than skin, so just do the same squeak thing. Even though it doesn't hurt, she doesn't know that & will help her learn that anything on you is off limits. It will also help if, after you squeak or eep at her, immediately give her something that she is allowed to chew on, it will help her learn the difference. Hope that helps!!
 
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