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Hybridmoment

New member
Joined
May 27, 2011
Messages
4
Location
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Hi guys, i bought my chin two weeks ago from a breeder, and he told me she is 3 months.

He gave me a small cage, which i plan to change soon.

I have her in my room, next to my computer desk, so i can check on her and she can see me. The first 2 days when she got home, i only opened the cage to try to touch her head and give some food/change water. She seemed a bit shy but wasn't nervous. The 4th day, my boyfriend came home and helped me with the playtime, i really felt her cage was small so i wanted to let her have some fun around the bathroom. She was curious but a pain to get caught ><

The next days she seemed to have progressed with her bonding, i was able to feed her on my hand, and touch a bit of her head. She was pretty noisy during the night, and sometimes she would make a sound, which i assumed she was lonely or wanted something, so i tried to give her some food and the sound stopped.

I started to give her a half raisin when i take her out of the cage, and the other half when she lets me get her (after her playtime).

My boyfriend usually comes during the weekends, so the chin is not used to him, but when he opens the cage she comes to his hand, lets him pet her, and also during the playtime, she seems to be comfortable around him and not me ( i feed her, spend time with her the whole week, clean her cage).

Now i feel that the whole progress has gone backwards, when i try to touch her head, she pushes me with her paws, or even tries to bite me. She does't like being carried. Last week she was coming to my hand so she can go out, but now she refuses to.

She is kind of random. Yesterday i took her out of the cage, and rub behind her ears, and she was still and making noises ( i thought she liked it) but now she refuses to do anything around me. Oh btw, she never sprayed on me, she only pushes me with her paws or bites me but not hard enough to hurt me.

I know i have to give her some time to get used to me, my house, my schedule and all. I know she is not a dog and every chin has different personalities, but it worries me that my boyfriend comes twice a week and she seems to be more attached to him than me :(

Sorry for the long post, and crappy english
 
My bf sometimes seems to have more luck with my chinnies than i do, i just keep trying. I would just go over to the cage often and say hello to her and i would also let her come to me, when she comes out for playtime sit on the floor with her and let her get used to you. When i had Dotty she would let me hold her and cuddle, but now she has found her independence she would rather come over to me when she feels like it.

Chinchillas are not cuddly animals and would rather play than be held, i tend to go over to the cage and give my chinnies head a little scratch (sometimes they want it, sometimes the dont) Just keep trying.

Also i would cut out the raisins complety, they are full of suger and are unhealthy for your chinchilla. Try giving plain shredded wheat or rosehips instead. You say that your chin is kept by your computer so i would be careful of overheating and your chinnie eating the wires. :D
 
I have no advice, but would like to say.... Welcome to the forum and please do not apologize for your "crappy" English. Your English is very good.
 
Just a head's up. If she's only 3 months old, she shouldn't be having playtime for another 3 months. Young chins needs their energy to grow. :)
 
Welcome! Chins are weird animals and sometimes take a long time to get accustomed to their environments. I had a similar scenario with my chin not coming to me but coming to other people. I realized that I was trying so hard and was so bothered by it that my chin was sensing my anxiety, thus making her nervous around me. I had to make myself relax a lot and just took it slow. I would simply sit on the floor next to the cage (chins can get scared if you're higher up than they are) and just talk calmly to my chin. Eventually, I would just place my hand inside the cage and wait for her to come to me and sniff me. Then I would leave the cage door open sitting with my knees just below the opening. Finally one day she would jump out and sit on my lap just for a few minutes.

Chins take lots of time and patience but it's so worth it!

And also, no raisins. They're really bad for them. Try some of the treats Siany mentioned. Chins also love bits of apple wood to nibble on as treats.
 
Hi and welcome! Congrats on your chin! Was your breeder a male? Maybe she is used to men more than women. Patience is definitely the key. I got my 3 year old female chin from a family that claimed she was very friendly and they could hold her. It took a month for her to settle down in my home and to let me touch her. It took a lot of sitting next to her cage, and getting her used to my presence. It does pay off. She is a total love bug now, I just had to wait a while for her to relax enough to come check me out. Let her be in control of the progress. Don't push too hard. And treats can be helpful, but no raisins or any fruit or veggies. Plain cheerios, shredded wheat, rosehips, are ok to give sparingly. And apple woodsticks can be seen as a treat, too. Good luck!
 
maybe your chin just prefers men? Rhino is definitely a 'boys boy', lol. seems he tolerates me but whenever my sweetie is over or my best friend (who is also a guy) is over, he seems much more friendly towards them, sitting on them, using them for a human jungle gym, and 'loving' their feet! hahahaha! with me, Rhino will allow scritches, allow me to pick him up, and generally puts up with me, but it seems he cares more for those that don't do anything as far as tending to him on a daily basis, as long as they are male human beans. even with my daughter, who is around all the time, but doesn't help with feeding or cage cleaning, Rhino seems rather indifferent.

as others have mentioned, no raisins. part of a spoon sized plain shredded wheat, a rosehip, a small piece of dry spaghetti, or even a new stick to chew would be great treat choices.

have patience, your chin should come around and start 'tolerating' you more, lol. the day they come boinging to the front of the cage when you enter the room is the best day ever! :))
 
Welcome!!

I also got a kit when she was young - she is 4 months now. I think a lot of it is just time and patience. She was a little scared for a while being away from her siblings and mom for the first time, but as she got more comfortable with new noises, surroundings and smell she came around! As for the biting - Zoey STILL nibbles - but I think it's because they're still learning what is food and what isn't. Whenever she bites me I say "OUCH!" and I have found that it has helped when she realizes she shouldn't do it!

The pushing your hand away with her paws - that's alllllll attitude!! My two do it fairly well - and with quite a bit of persistence! Sometimes they like to get attention, other times they want nothing to do with you. :)

I'm sure she'll come around!!

Good luck!!
 
Hello and Welcome and your English is just fine. First of all raisins can be deadly to chinchillas despite what you read in books or might be told by a vet. They are high in sugar which can lead to damage to their liver. It is better for them to have different treats. Here in the states we can find plain shredded wheat cereal--the bite size pieces are best and then break them in half. We also have plain Cheerios, and a tiny pinch of old fashioned cooking oats--not the quick kind--this is also called oatmeal but it has to be the old fashioned or slow cook and not quick cook. Chins also love dried rose hips crushed or whole. These are much better treats for chins.

But your chin is 3 months old so really no treats should be given to her because she is still a baby. Same goes for playtime and a wheel in her cage. Chinchillas continue to grow until they are almost one year old and some grow even after that. Treats should not be allowed until after 6 months of age playtime should not be allowed until at least 9 months of age.

You can take her out and hold her, or pet her in the cage, but to help her grow completely and well please don't allow playtime or a wheel until she is older.

Patience is always the key with chinchillas. They are prey animals and it's born into them they need to be very cautious and wary. She doesn't know you love her and want to protect her, she's not sure if you plan on eating her or not. So spend time with her daily sitting beside the cage and talking to her. The more you do this the more she will realize you are her friend and not her foe.
 
Wow guys, thanks a lot for the replies. This is such a great community, so warm :3.

I've been so misinformed by my breeder/vet, and people around the internet. I have been told i have to give her one raisin per day, and let her play around. I even bought a huge plastic ball so she can run around, but i wanted to wait more, glad i did it ><.

Don't worry about the chin getting overheat, its winter here, and im not using any heater, and during summer i use my air conditioner, she is not near the cpu ( is that correct), she is near my monitor, but not too close.

I will try to spend more time with her near the cage and avoid playtime at least till she grows.

And yeah, her breeder was male, guess thats why she likes my boyfriend more than me. Today before i left for college i was trying to touch her and again she pushed me away and bited me lol, she just wants to go out by her own .
 
Hybrid this forum was formed because of those issues--this misinformation which is out there on the internet and even in vets. Many of us have learned through trial and error about what's best for a chin and luckily we are able to share it with our forum members.
 
Hybridmoment said:
Wow guys, thanks a lot for the replies. This is such a great community, so warm :3.

I've been so misinformed by my breeder/vet, and people around the internet. I have been told i have to give her one raisin per day, and let her play around. I even bought a huge plastic ball so she can run around, but i wanted to wait more, glad i did it ><.

Don't worry about the chin getting overheat, its winter here, and im not using any heater, and during summer i use my air conditioner, she is not near the cpu ( is that correct), she is near my monitor, but not too close.

I will try to spend more time with her near the cage and avoid playtime at least till she grows.

And yeah, her breeder was male, guess thats why she likes my boyfriend more than me. Today before i left for college i was trying to touch her and again she pushed me away and bited me lol, she just wants to go out by her own .
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get rid of the plastic ball. They can be deadly to chins. I had one for my chin before I knew how deadly they were, and my chin just sat in it. They really can't use them properly, and they end up urinating and pooping all over themselves in it. They can also overheat very quickly in these balls. Unfortunately there is a lot of bad information out there, but this forum has a lot of people who have owned and bred chins for years and years, and they offer the best advice out there. Good luck with your baby!
 
Hybridmoment said:
Awwww i feel so bad, i've been doing everything wrong :tantrum:
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Don't feel bad!!!! We've all been there. There is so much bad info out there, that it is hard to figure out what is right and wrong! This forum is so great, though, and you will find people really know what they are talking about, and that they are happy to share their knowledge! :)
 
Really don't feel bad at all! I did TONS of stuff wrong in the beginning. I found the forum and made the corrections. Your lucky in that your baby girl is still young. I had chins for almost a year doing things wrong lol!
 
Well guys, i wanted to thank all of you for the good advice.

I cut the raisins and playtime. The first two days she was really mad lol.

I started opening the cage and sit in front of it, just talking. Since it wasn't her first time with me, she wasn't that shy. I do this everyday, and she seems to be a lot more comfortable with me, im just letting her come to me when she wants. I put my hand around the cage and she jumps and when she feels she jumps to my hand so i can pet her. Then when she starts moving a lot i put my hand over the cage slowly and she jumps off.

Now im able to scratch her head a little, and she lets me, she doesn't push me back anymore! So im really happy. Oh but, she is so afraid of loud noises, for example if i drop something or i move fast she gets scared ><
 
chins are prey animals (read: food for predator type animals), so loud noises and fast movements will make them nervous and scared. she will get used to the noises around your home in time. heck, i can run the vacuum right beside Rhino's cage now and he'll be up at the front sticking his nose out at me, but when he first came he would cower under his log house whenever i turned the vacuum on.
 
Hi! I'm a new Chin owner too. My Chloe is four months old and is semi friendly half the time. She doesn't like to socialize before 8pm! If she is active early in the day I like to pet her or talk to her. But like in the evening is when she really shines. It get her out of the cage I let her climb onto my hands. This way she is willing, not scared, and getting what she wants. She is very active at night, jumping around, and whatever else chins do while in their cages.

So maybe ur chin is more reserved in the daytime too.
 
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