Needs suggestions please!!

[lovemychingary]

Hi Everyone, I'm a new chin owner and new to cnh. But I was really hoping for some feedback.. My chin Gary is about 2, and I've had him for 1 week and have spent several hours a day talking to him, feeding him and playing with him. However, I am still afraid he will bite me. He has never tried (that I know of) to bite me, but since he is so quick, I always jump and pull my hand back if he turns his head to quickly (as if he were going to snap at me). I also have been trying to bond with him and i've read that the best way to do so is by having im eat out of the palm of my hand, however, i'm nervous then too that he will bite me. Does anyone know if there are certain things that most chins do not like that would cause them to bite? Also, I am afraid to try to pick him up because A) I dont want to stress him out or scare him and B) I, once again, am afraid he'll turn around and bite me. Does anyone have any recomendations as to how I can get over that fear? I realize its mostly mental on my part and have been making baby steps, but am still too nervous to reach into his cage to pick him up. Even for play time, I have to lure him out by holding his dust bath by the cage door, once he gets in, I cover the opening for a sec and put the opening right up to the hole in his excerise ball then screw on the cover when he goes into the ball. From there he runs around and loves it. He is not afraid to come out of his cage, I keep his cage in my living room which is not where I have his designated "play area" where I let him out of his ball to run around and explore. ButI'm sorry this is so long winded..Any feedback is MUCH MUCH MUCH apprciated!!!!

 

[Chin_Parent]

Ok, first and foremost, don't use exercise balls for chinchillas! It's a mistake many/most new chinchilla owners make, but they're bad news and known as death balls on here. They don't have adequate ventilation for chinchillas and they can overheat and die. A good place to take him out for playtime is the bathroom (without the death ball). It's a smaller area and it will allow you two to bond together and interact.

As for the biting, I have a nipper. Chalupa seems to LOVE biting everything. She's really energetic and will bite if I put my hand in the cage, take too long transporting her to the bathroom, etc. But she's an exception. I've never had a chin bite me when giving them food to eat out of my hand, trust me that they find the pellet/treat/hay more appetizing than your skin.

In this case, you may have to be willing to go for trial and error. It seems that chins (at least the ones I have) nip when they want me to stop scritching them or if I hit the wrong spot. At the same time, they also give gentle love nibbles when enjoying interactions together. Each chin is different, but you really have to learn to trust him, and maybe take a couple nips before figuring out his personality and how he reacts. Most chins don't like being picked up, but a lot of them squirm (even Chalupa the nipper) rather than biting.

 

[Anna]

toooootally been there. first off, don't worry too much about this, once you begin to understand the animal it becomes way easier! also, teaching a scared to chin to trust you is harder than a scared human learning to trust a chin, IMO. haha

my chins all nibble gently and it doesn't hurt but my chin ralphy has really chomped on my room mate once.

something i would try, just to get you comfortable with the idea of him coming up to your hand is to put a plain cheerio or some other chin-safe treat on the edge of your outstretched hand inside the cage and he should come up to it and take it off of you. this will help you feel comfortable with him coming up to your hand without taking him out of the cage. i would be very surprised if he bit you in this process, especially since you convey that he isn't hostile. if the chin doesn't want to come up to you, it won't come up to you and you shouldn't force it, but if it does, it's probably because it at the moment, trusts what you are doing and therefore will not bite.

my chins at least, kack at me (kind of a clicking snorting sound) if they don't want to be touched before they bite. this sound is startling. it makes me jump whenever i hear it if i continue to try and pick them up they would bite. but they all warn beforehand.

i hope this helps and good luck to you and gary!

 

[lovemychingary]

Thanks for the advice! I threw out my ball this morning and will start working with him to get used to me touching him more. I started adding more toys last night since all he had was a wheel that he never uses. He seemed super excited and got to playing right away. So far he has only barked twice, both times, nothing was around that may startle him but i gave him attention because i figured thats what he was barking about. But other than that, I really haven't heard him make any more noises. Hopefully we'll start making more progress!

 

[Jenn]

I have to say this first...Get rid of the exercise ball immediately. They are not designed for chins. They can't hop in them, they poo and pee in the ball and it gets all over their fur, and they can easily overheat in these balls, which could lead to death. You could either get your chin a playpen that will allow him to play outside his cage in a safe environment, or you could take your chin to the bathroom to play, as a lot of other people do. I have a playpen that I have attaced to my chin's cage so she can come and go out of her cage safely. My chin isn't a jumper, though, and I don't have to worry about her escaping. Most chins are jumpers, so you have to have tall sides or a cover over the top.

You could wear leather gloves until you become comfortable around Gary. Most chins don't bite, but a new chin, not comfortable yet in his surroundings may nip. Biting is different from grooming. My chin will groom, or gentle nibble on my arms, toes, anywhere I let her, and that is a sign of affection.

Good luck with your chin. It took a couple of months for my chin and me to get really comfortable with eachother. Time and patience is the key.