New Chinchilla!

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

darwinparrot

New member
Joined
Jul 10, 2015
Messages
2
Location
Northeastern PA
I just got a male chinchilla from someone I go to school with. They bought him from a pet store that claims he is young and then 2 weeks later her mom wouldn't let her keep him. He is in a large bird cage for now until I can get something better with levels. He doesn't seem to afraid of me and seems eager to explore. He will sit on my lap and hop around and will jump off to go on to a table but isn't trying to run away unless I try to pick him up. He took two nibbles of a nut from my hand so I think we are on okay terms. He also ate a little bit of his pellets and I gave him hay and hay blocks. I also gave him some apple tree twigs and a few wooden blocks to chew on. Any advice on how to form bond with him?
 

Attachments

  • DSCN1797.jpg
    DSCN1797.jpg
    92.7 KB
just an fyi; things like nuts and fruits & veggies are not very healthy for them. (The apple twigs are fine tho.)

Bonding just takes time. You can try things like reading or talking to him. Lets him get used to your presence and voice.
 
If you really want to give a treat try plain old fashioned oats.
 
I will avoid treats from now on. I read that in several places. But here's the thing: he doesn't really seem afraid of me. Of course he avoids being picked up but that is a natural instinct. When I take out his hut so I can see him he will bounce around a little but then he will come up to the cage door and look at me. He will also eat and drink in my presence. If my arm is in the cage he will swoop under it but brushes against me while doing so. And when he is on my bed he doesn't avoid me. He will even crawl over my legs or run up my body to get where he is headed. Do you think he was a well socialized baby or is this just typical of a scared chin. I mean when he's on my bed he has the option to hop off and hide under a dresser. But he just stays near me for the most part. I can't imagine him being too much more tame then he is now except for allowing and enjoying chin scratches. I was told he is young. He doesn't look full size to me but I have nothing to compare him to.
 
As said nuts are no good for chinchillas, they should only have pellets, hay and water. They can't properly digest nuts, fruits, veggies, or dairy (or any animal products like meat, eggs, hide, or bones). Treats like slow cook oats, plain cheerios, rose hips, or rose petals/buds are ok in moderation (no more then one treat piece a day, but ideally less often), but unless he is near full grown (at least 6months) then it's best to give no food treats so he has only good stuff to grow with not junk food. Good "treats" for young chins are hay pieces, some chins really like the fluffy hay heads, or just a different type of hay then normally fed for example, works well, also twigs are good as "treats" too. The great thing about giving hay or sticks as treats is they aren't really treats so there is not limit on how much they can have.

Now more to your question, bonding takes time, the best things to do is talk, sing, and/or read to him, sit near the cage, if he allows handling (which it sounds like he does) then holding and petting him. Just like the no treats before 6 months you also don't want out of cage playtime before then either (or at most 5-10 minutes max a day), they can easily tire themselves out (which can cause a drop in blood sugar leading to seizures and death) and burn calories needed for proper growth. Mostly though a bond takes time, they aren't animals that normally form close bonds quickly, you have to earn their trust (they can live 20+ years so they have time to develop trust over time). Also try to stay on a schedule helps too, so they know when to expect things to happen, like when they normally get dust baths, when you bring fresh food and water everyday, or when they get their daily sticks. They commonly quickly pick up on when you are normally at their cage and will be waiting for you.
 
Back
Top