please help i’m losing sleep because of my chin

maeryn.k.b · Apr 25, 2020

i got a new chinchilla named Mochi about 3 weeks ago. the place i got him at said he was about 6 months to 1 year. at first he was really skittish but only for a few days. he already lets me scratch his chin and under his ears BUT he is so persistent! he does not take any firm “no’s”, light “pushing” to try and sweep out his cage, or blowing which someone on this site suggested. if i do any of those, he stops for .3 seconds and keeps going. he’s also CRAZY about humping my arm. he’s got lots of toys and a wheel (i’m working on getting a bigger one). i know he needs play time and i have purchased a playpen barrier for him to run around. but again my main problem is him being so persistent. i have a pee pad under one of his cage liners and he’s OBSESSED with chewing on the pee pads and obviously i don’t want him to do that bc they could be toxic. so, i cut strips in the cage liner and tie it to the cage but he keeps finding ways to get to it. he’s seriously stubborn and gets mad when i don’t give him more than the recommended amount of food. please anything will help i’m losing my sanity trying to stop him from chewing these pee pads. i’m also working on getting him a new (male) chin friend because ik they’re supposed to be in pairs or groups. could that be why he’s “acting out”?. there’s also this recent thing that he just did a couple times as i write this: i hear thumps in the cage and then a squeak like he got hurt. i’m probably definitely being overprotective but i wanna make sure he isn’t bored enough where he’s throwing himself around the cage

Crazy chinchilla lady · Apr 25, 2020

Try shavings instead of pee pad

Amethyst · Apr 25, 2020

Starting at around 6 months chins start going through puberty, and just like human teens they can get moody, stubborn, and hump things. So basically he sounds like a completely normal chin for his age. You can try getting him a chinnie buddie to help with the humping, it's a chinchilla shaped fleece stuffed animal, for some chins it helps. Although chins are social herd animals there is no guarantee two random chins will get along, and you need to quarintine the new chin for 30 days in a different room before even starting intros. The 30 day quarintine not only allows any illness to show up before exposing your current chin it allows the new chin time to settle in to their new home and for you to get to know it. So if you get another chin get one because you want one not just because you want your current chin to have a friend. It is entirely possible that you could end up needing to house them separately forever, meaning two cages, two play times, etc. So long as you are able to spend at least an hour a day every day with your chin he shouldn't be lonely, but a human can never really replace another chin.

How much food are you giving him? and by food I assume you are only talking about the pellets, hay should always be available unlimited. Although 2 tb worth of pellets is the average amount an adult chin eats some do eat a bit more. Also unless he is refusing to eat hay (should eat about a handful a day) or is getting fat then there is no real need to ration out his pellets. I like to measure the pellets I give purely so I know they are eating, if the bowl is empty I put more in it.

I would just stop using pee pads, then there will be no worry of him eating them. I don't know what your set up is but I use fleece liners (the only fabric considered safe) and just have 3 layers, one pillowcase style layer to cover the plastic pan and two extra layers to absorb pee, they also have a litter box they pee in most of the time. If your chin chews fleece though you will have to go with aspen or kiln dried pine shavings.

Another thing I can think of is, what do you have in terms of toys? There should be plenty of chew toys, both toss and hanging, and just like with a dog they should be rotated to keep things interesting. You say he has a wheel but if it's not a safe one (solid metal and at least 14-15") I would just remove it until you get the new proper wheel. Wheels that are too small will cause long term damage to his back and plastic ones can cause a blockage or damage the gut if chewed and bits are swallowed. A wheel is not a requirement and no wheel is better then an unsafe one. I've found it is sometimes easier to use pens as barriers rather then a pen to contain the chins. So instead use the pen (or pens) to go around furniture so he can't go under it giving him more roam of the room and nothing that he can jump over to escape. You can make cheap additional barriers with cardboard. Other people use a small room like the bathroom for playtime instead since most don't have much in them and are easy to clean up.

maeryn.k.b · Apr 25, 2020

he’s got a lot of attitude lol

maeryn.k.b · Apr 25, 2020

Amethyst said:
Starting at around 6 months chins start going through puberty, and just like human teens they can get moody, stubborn, and hump things. So basically he sounds like a completely normal chin for his age. You can try getting him a chinnie buddie to help with the humping, it's a chinchilla shaped fleece stuffed animal, for some chins it helps. Although chins are social herd animals there is no guarantee two random chins will get along, and you need to quarintine the new chin for 30 days in a different room before even starting intros. The 30 day quarintine not only allows any illness to show up before exposing your current chin it allows the new chin time to settle in to their new home and for you to get to know it. So if you get another chin get one because you want one not just because you want your current chin to have a friend. It is entirely possible that you could end up needing to house them separately forever, meaning two cages, two play times, etc. So long as you are able to spend at least an hour a day every day with your chin he shouldn't be lonely, but a human can never really replace another chin.

How much food are you giving him? and by food I assume you are only talking about the pellets, hay should always be available unlimited. Although 2 tb worth of pellets is the average amount an adult chin eats some do eat a bit more. Also unless he is refusing to eat hay (should eat about a handful a day) or is getting fat then there is no real need to ration out his pellets. I like to measure the pellets I give purely so I know they are eating, if the bowl is empty I put more in it.

I would just stop using pee pads, then there will be no worry of him eating them. I don't know what your set up is but I use fleece liners (the only fabric considered safe) and just have 3 layers, one pillowcase style layer to cover the plastic pan and two extra layers to absorb pee, they also have a litter box they pee in most of the time. If your chin chews fleece though you will have to go with aspen or kiln dried pine shavings.

Another thing I can think of is, what do you have in terms of toys? There should be plenty of chew toys, both toss and hanging, and just like with a dog they should be rotated to keep things interesting. You say he has a wheel but if it's not a safe one (solid metal and at least 14-15") I would just remove it until you get the new proper wheel. Wheels that are too small will cause long term damage to his back and plastic ones can cause a blockage or damage the gut if chewed and bits are swallowed. A wheel is not a requirement and no wheel is better then an unsafe one. I've found it is sometimes easier to use pens as barriers rather then a pen to contain the chins. So instead use the pen (or pens) to go around furniture so he can't go under it giving him more roam of the room and nothing that he can jump over to escape. You can make cheap additional barriers with cardboard. Other people use a small room like the bathroom for playtime instead since most don't have much in them and are easy to clean up.

thank you so much. his wheel is 12 inches and i know that’s too small so i’ll take it out. i’ve gotta order anti pill fleece too. i worry that he’ll be depressed if he doesn’t have a friend but i also am around 17 and it’s my moms choice to buy a whole other cage and chinchilla. he gets 2 tablespoons a day and i don’t usually see him eating hay but it always goes fast so i guess he does. he had so many toys and even a bed that he likes to drag around when i’m sleeping. it’s really funny seeing it in different places. i’m trying to get a chin buddy and some barriers because my room is not chinchilla safe and our bathrooms are rather small. i hang out with him when he’s most hyper around 12 but i go see him a lot too. i think he’s just going through “puberty” like you said lol but i’m so worried he’s gonna be like this the whole time because he’s lonely without a friend (he used to have a friend but someone bought only one so they were separated). thanks for your help!