New Chin; bonding? Scared Chin? Do's and Don'ts?

[Viti]

Hey!

So I've had a chinchilla now for 3 days. He's 3 months old, white and his name is Viti (Vitty). I just had a few questions that would really help me out.

The first thing is that he seems pretty timid and sketched out still. He's jumpy. Out routine right now is to feed him timothy hay and chinchilla food daily, let him out of his cage at night for a few hours to give him free reign of the apartment and to hold him/pet him. I read it's important to hold him daily even if he doesn't like it to help with bonding. Right now I'm just scared that I'm making him hate me. I hold him (I don't squeeze, I'm gentle) but he really doesn't like it. When I do he squirms a lot, makes a distressed little noise (not barking, kind of like a puppy whimper) and he poops a lot. But I continue to hold him for a few minutes. When he's out of the cage and running around the apartment he runs a lot and I think he likes it, but today I found him under the fridge and it took a LOT to get him out (giving him more raisins this week than he should have!). When it's time for us to go to bed, getting him into his cage is awful. He runs away from me and I have to use all my cunning to catch him to get him back in. Then when he's in he puts his little paws on the cage wall longing to get out. Sometimes he happily lets me pet him, other times he runs from my hand. When he's out of the cage he sometimes comes over, but other times if I walk close to him he'll dart to a dark place.

I'm just not sure what I'm doing right and wrong at this point. I want him to like me. Sorry if it's a long message. Can I have tips about bonding? Is there anything I should NOT do that I am? Also, when he's out of the cage he's chewing on wood etc., will this harm him?

Thanks.

 

[akane]

3 things. I think you are moving a little too fast and you shouldn't give your chin run of the whole apartment where he could get stuck or hurt somewhere. I would stop holding him for now. You are just scaring him not bonding. You need to work up to him wanting to be with you.

Which leads to the 3rd thing. Raisins are completely unhealthy and you should not feed any or any fruit or veggie. Instead use things like oatmeal (you can give lots of little pieces that way), plain wheat cereal, small amounts of plain cheerios, and you can also use special hay, handfed pellets, and twigs. We buy little packs of oat hay. You can also order bluegrass and orchardgrass online from companies like oxbow (no longer sells directly from their site but lists distributors and can sometimes be found in pet stores) or kmshayloft.com and ebay. We got a good large priority mail box of oat hay cheap on ebay before we found it locally. Chins love branches to chew on. Check the classifieds supply section for people selling bulk branches. An apple twig is sometimes the best treat for a chin and much healthier than raisins.

As for letting him out you need a chin proof room like a bathroom (put the toilet lid down) or a pen like a dog x pen, watch the bar spacing on pens especially with young chins, to keep your chin safe while he exercises. Many chins get injured being loose in large areas that are not fully chin proof. All opening should be blocked, all cords should be covered, there should be no space you can't get them out of, and you have to be careful not to step on or sit on them. Some don't even allow out of cage time aside from holding them because of the dangers.

 

[Dragonflye]

I highly recommend getting a playpen. It makes your life easier and you don't have to chase your chin down every time he needs to be put back in his cage. It will also save your drywall and baseboards which are not really good for them to chew on anyway.

 

[Pikaia]

I agree with the other two posts above. You are moving way too fast with the holding part. He isn't used to you yet! Three days isn't enough time. Some chins will never like being held. I have two girls that absolutely hate it. I handled them very little, only what is necessary. My male sometimes like to be held - it all depends on his mood. Just take it slow. It will take lots of time and patience. The best way to bond with a new chin is to just sit by their cage and talk to them. Let them get used to your voice. You don't need to handle a chin to bond with them.

I also agree with the playpen suggestion. Letting your chin just run around your apartment is very unsafe. There is just too much they can chew and get into.

 

[my3esses]

We just got our chin about 2 weeks ago and the breeder told me this:

for the first 3-5 days (or more) just put your hand/arm in the cage palm down. Let them come to you. Do not reach out to them.
Then after those few days flip your hand over and do the same thing. So the first 7-10 days we did not take her out at all.
Last week we started doing about 30 min. of play time in our small downstairs bathroom. The walls are tiled and there are no cords, etc. in there so it is the perfect place. She climbs up our arms to our head, back down the other arm, etc. If she's up high we can put our arm there as a ramp for her to get down. She seems to love it. Aside from carrying her to the bathroom I haven't tried to hold her much yet but I can really see the difference in her warming up to us even without really holding her. She comes over as soon as we come near her cage.

So, take it slower and definitely no raisins!!!!