Scaredy chins

[Oldmischief]

I picked up two chins in Ohio last Sunday and it would appear they have been handled little to never in their lives. They bark and go crazy (run up the walls of the cage, back flips, all sorts of shinanigins) when I feed, water or clean their cage. And that is an improvement to them doing it just when I'd walk past their cage!

My question to you all is where would be the best place in a house to put their cage. I obviously don't want to stress them out, but I also don't want to shut them in a room with no contact. They are currently in the living room which gets a fair amount of use since the TV and computers are in there (ahhh technology) but it is empty during the night and mid day. I have been trying to spend time near their cage so they can get used to my smell but they mostly sit there, horrified like deer in headlights. One of them, Suri, has been improving and is the one who moves around the cage the most and will nibble on stuff here and there, but Cole doesn't move from the bottom of the cave pretty much ever. She wouldn't even eat a raisin! I have been working with them using positive reinforcements (treats) for coming to the side of the cage I am on or letting me touch them but poor Cole just isn't willing to budge... literally. I know it takes time and sometimes close to never for them to become any type of socialized, but I just don't want her to be so scared. They were a 13 year old girls breeding hobby for two years, until she got a horse, so who knows what horrors they lived through... one of which I know to be living in 1 cubic foot breeding cages!

Sorry for the bad pics but does anyone know what the tufts of fur sticking off of Cole, the black one, are from? She has really short fur with these random tufts sticking out... is that from fur biting? I checked to see that they were not just loose clumps from something but they are firmly attached.

Any ideas, concerns, general gripes?

PS I know the cages look barren, It was before I put the bedding and fleece on the bottom of the cages. They are now happily sharing one comfy, spacious cage.

 

[ChinchillaSteve]

Poor chins

Don't know too much but if you spend enough time with them it surely will improve, just don't over do it. Give them time to relax.

 

[alli713]

If it were me, I'd have them in a quiet room for a couple weeks, just to allow them to get used to the sounds of the house without being constantly bothered by people walking by. After a bit I'd move them to a busier area of the house.

As for the black velvet, it looks to me that it's chewed its fur, although the picture is hard to tell, but that would be my guess. Although the tufts sticking out just look like loose fur. If it doesn't come right off, it could be matted at the base. I'd just give him time to settle in before trying to groom it out. Dust baths should also help with that over time. And he may or may not stop chewing. Some are stress related chewers, some just do it all the time.

And, the flooring on the cage that the black velvet is in is not safe. It could get it's feet caught in the bars and break a foot. Also, are the cages right next to each other? It kind of appears so. You'll want to move them about 6" apart so that they don't breed through the bars, which they can and will do as soon as the female goes into heat.

 

[Oldmischief]

And, the flooring on the cage that the black velvet is in is not safe. It could get it's feet caught in the bars and break a foot. Also, are the cages right next to each other? It kind of appears so. You'll want to move them about 6" apart so that they don't breed through the bars, which they can and will do as soon as the female goes into heat.

Thanks for the fur advice.

As I mentioned, I actually took that out and put aspen and fleece down. both are females so there will be no canoodling for them and they are currently living together since it seemed to help Cole out with her shyness

 

[alli713]

Ah okay, I assumed when you said breeding project that they were a male/female pair. And the name Cole can go either way )

Glad to hear that you changed the flooring too. I'd hate for them to get hurt!

 

[Oldmischief]

Ah okay, I assumed when you said breeding project that they were a male/female pair. And the name Cole can go either way )

Glad to hear that you changed the flooring too. I'd hate for them to get hurt!

Yeah she had 5 of them, 3 femals and 2 males ! She actually thought Suri the mosaic, was a male. The females had rings around their necks and everything so the males could come and go from their cages but they couldn't leave, poor girls (the runs were closed and had been for a good while as far as I know).

Sorry for the confusion, I like obscure names to say the least.

Those pictures where when I first brought them home. They had pee all over them and I just put them in unprepared cages real fast to get them calmed down a little and cleaned off.

 

[chins1222]

awwww

i saw your post on repticzone just didnt get around to posting

just in case they are preggo gestation usually last around 110 days or so

who knows what they went through
i agree with the dust baths and hoefully that will get anything out of their fur that white girl looks aweful and i am sure the black one looks just as bad probably just cant tell b/c she is darker

good luck with them

 

[Oldmischief]

I am hoping the fur issues will clear up in time. I will offer them dust baths a few times a week and see if that helps. I was looking at Suri a few mins ago and I think she does the fur biting as well. Her backside is all uneven and patchy. They are already very cute little girls and hopefully in a few months they will be not only cute but beautiful too

 

[mishellyshel]

i rescued a chin recently and he had the same type of tufts of fur. i never have seen him chew his fur so i believe it was from sheer lack of neglect and lack of dusting.
i got him in mid july and almost all of the tufts are gone except one closest to his tail. he looked so unkept when i got him and now he looks fabulous!
he was also very jittery & scared when i first got him, so i put him in my finished basement away from my other boys for a month in quarantine and let him be for about a week. i would put my hand in the cage for food & cleaning, etc. it took a couple months but i now i can not keep him in his cage! he jumps right on me.
it all just takes time. with lots of love and dust baths they will be just perfect!