New chin owner, completley overwhelmed!

[exoticmama25]

Hello all,
I am new to the forum and I am completley new also to the ownership of chinchillas. I found this forum through google and seeking help I decided to join. I recentley adopted two rescue female chinchillas. there both age 3 and defintley female. I am completley overwhelmed with them though as they are completley unsocialized despite what I was told. I have had them for almost a week and I have been giving them there space and allowing them playtime outside the cage. One of the girls, gypsy will always bark and squeak at me and refuse to be picked up, the other Pixie is more relaxed but will still run and try to warn me off. i just dont know what to do Its like apples and oranges to me. i have never seen such unsocialized animals. you can just tell theyve been neglected and not been played with. i shouldnt have jumped into a rescue situation but i did and now i have two animals i have no clue about. i do however have the basics down i have wood ledges for them in there cage, a fleece cozy tube, hide box, fleece liner, litter box (which they DO use to pee in) food bowl hay rack with loose timothy hay inside and water bottle. I just really need some help socializing them and getting used to me, so thats why Im reaching out. I have ordered them good quality food called Mazuri which I have researched as a good food and also a 10 lb bag of blue cloud dust bath sand which is also good? 2 lbs of timothy hay cubes and another fleece tube since there scuffling over the one. i want so badly to care for these sweet girls to the best of my ability because you can just tell they come from a bad household situation. does anyone have any suggestions on what steps I should take to care for them better? thank you so much for all your help.

 

[Shooper]

Nomatter how socialized, most chins don't like to be picked up or held. Time is the real answer here, especially when they come from a bad situation. I suggest spending some time with your arm or hands in the cage so they can get used to you. Hopefully they will begin to hop onto your hand or arm. Do you sit in the floor with them when you let them out? If so, do they climb on you? It's awesome that you want to give these poor girls a great home, good luck!

 

[Tagna]

Chins like to do things on their terms. Some never want to be bothered at all. I have my first chin who after years finally took a scritch recently. It is just how she is. Time and patience is the key with chins.

Most are never going tolerate being picked up or handled. Some chins will bark even after they settle in. I swear I have a few that just like to heard.

 

[exoticmama25]

Hello yes I do try to sit with them and talk with them through the cage but they chatter there teeth at me and if looks could kill I also let them play in my bathroom but all they want to do is hide behind the toilet..they never come near me. I know this is kind of a bad question but I have them in a single level FN right now for the time being until i move into my new place in about a month. do you think this will be sufficent enough for them until unt I can buy the add on level for them next month? they have ledges and such so they have places to climb. please let me know about this because its really bothering me. thank you.

 

[mknoblich1]

Like the posts before this say it will just take time. Be patient and don't try to rush things. I sit next to the cage and read to my girls so they get used to my presence and get used to hearing my voice. I also will leave the tv or radio on for them so they don't get as easily spooked when I'm not there during the day. It took me about 6-7 months before one of my girls got comfortable enough to not absolutely freak out when I would put my hands in the cage. Now she hops right in my hands when I put them in the cage.

 

[Godofgods]

Might want to try giving them more time to adjust before letting them out. I'm sure they are freaked out enough as it is from the sudden change in environment. I know i would be scared as **** if i were suddenly relocated and thrown outside'

 

[exoticmama25]

hello yes I do sit by the cage and talk with them through the bars but all they do is chatter there teeth at me..if looks could kill I also let them out in my bathroom but all they want to do is hide behind the toilet..I spoke with the owner and asked her why she had lied and said they were extremely socialized when in reality they are the exact opposite and she said that she forced them to be social with her and her family when she had them! I know now why they hate human interaction.. I have another question I am concerned about. would they be okay in a single level FN until I can buy them an add on cage when I move into my new place next month? I have ledges and perches and a hide box and a fleece tube in there cage so they seem happy but I know now that chinchillas need lots of heighth to jump and play but right now finacially I cant do it until I move. Will this be okay for the time being?

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

They will be fine in a single level FN.

 

[Dragonflye]

I don't have a single level FN example to show you, but I have housed 2 chins on one of my 3 level FNs and they are fine. If they have a hidey house and a few small shelves to jump on, all will be well.

 

[obcsed]

OK now you know they are not as socialized as you think. It is going to take a lot of time and patience to get them there. I have had several surrenders who have been just like you say yours are. It took weeks for them to learn to trust me. They all turned into sweethearts. Keep talking to them and once they figure out you are not going to chase them around the cage and try to catch them, they will settle down. If at all possible, arrange it do they can come and go into the cage on their own rather than being chased down for playtime. Try teaching them to climb into the dust bath or a carrier for transport to the play area if you can't do it where the cage is.

With my spooked guys, I sometimes even have to leave the room to get them to come out and play. I try not to catch or handle then in the cage except for emergencies. Once they understand that they have one safe place where no one will be grabbing them, they will start to seek you out.

It will take a long time, months maybe before they will trust you but once they do, you will have a great bond.

 

[exoticmama25]

thank you dragonfly for your reassuring post. I have felt bad about that since the day I put them in there but now I know they will be okay until i can get them a add on level. I stil have alot of supplies to get them because the lady gave me a small ziplock bag of foodwhich I have no idea what it is..and a nasty chewed up dust bath house along with a fleece tube that the fleece was literally covered with fur..one small water bottle a tiny metal bowl that would be pushing it even with bird..I just feel so sorry for these little ladies.. I plan on really decking there cage out here in the next few weeks. the picture the lady sent me showed me that she really didnt care about them or what type of cage they were forced to live in. I just feel like if your going to bring an animal into your home you should have enough respect to provide the best home you possibly can. they are violets as well I know this to be a fact because on the way home the sun was shining down o n there fur and it was a beautiful purple color. I couldnt stop staring at the color of there fur the whole way home.

 

[AZChins]

They've only been with you a short time. Sometimes it will take a few weeks or even a couple of months for chins to settle in. Chins will act differently in a new environment and it is often a huge mistake to push them into doing anything they don't want to do. In the first week new chinchillas should definitely not have out of the cage playtime. Letting them out to play and all the chasing that is necessary to get them out of the cage and back in can really stress out new chinchillas.

The previous owner didn't necessarily lie about them being socialized....they are in a new place and everything is different. You need to give them time and you need to take everything very slowly with them. They will act totally different with you than they acted in their other home. You will have to put the time and effort into them to get them to be good pets for you, it may take awhile...a week is not enough time!

Keeping them in a smaller cage would be an excellent idea for now because you want them stay calm and get used to you being around. The best thing for you to do right now is keep them in the cage for a week or so and be gentle and patient with them.

 

[MyzarandGemma]

First and foremost: thank you so much for adopting rescue animals. Second, bonding just takes a while as people have said. However, try in these first months to talk to them and sing and just be around to aid the process.

 

[3CsMommy]

Yay! You rescued them!

Now's the hard part-- NOT trying to bond with them intensely right off the bat. See, even though they're in a safe place now, they can sometimes take a long time to get used to a new environment, and the more *stuff* you change-- even though it's safe and good for them-- the more they have to adjust to, and then readjust to as it moves/ gets added to. As hard as it is to NOT think "I have to be a million times better than how these poor wee things lived before! Here are ALL OF THE TOYS and ALL OF THE FURNITURE and ALL OF THE STUFF"-- take a slower approach to spoiling them rotten. The single level cage is great for now-- too much space can lead to fear-based aggression, and in females, can help trigger pee attacks. Two hides are a great idea, as are two dishes of food, water bottles, and sources of hay. But, beyond providing that, make adjustments slowly until you see their personalities turn around.

Also, when they're out: 1) If you provide them a way back into their cage, you can start working on training by tapping a shelf etc. and then putting down a safe treat like some rolled oats. They'll eventually pick up that before you tap, there aren't treats there, but after the tap, there are treats, so they'll go there when they want to go back into the cage for the night. This saves you all the stress of chasing around the room and wriggly man-handling back into the cage when they're not 100% sure of you yet.

2) Stay smaller, low, and quiet while they're out. Stuff that's up in the air and moving fast often signals "threat" (aka: predator) to a small prey animal like a chin. Crawling is pretty much necessary. But, it's also a good way to tell they're getting comfortable with you when they stand on your foot and sniff it all over/walk up your chest and taste-test your nose/paw through your bangs and lick your eyeshadow off (yeah, that's weird!).

3) Sing to them. Read them stories (or make up stories for them!). Just tell them about your day. The more they see how you move, hear you speak when you're calm, and are otherwise exposed to you, the sooner they'll come to trust you. They don't care if you can't carry a tune in a bucket. They don't care if it's the TV Guide or Thirty Shades of Whateverthatbookwas you're reading. They don't care if you re-tell the story arc of Star Wars because you hit the only source of television programming for the entire town with your car; they just need to figure you out on their terms.