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Q & A / Help for a new owner?
« on: December 27, 2009, 09:03:54 PM »
Hey everyone! I'm brand new to the forum, and a brand new chin owner! I live in a college dorm, and in October another girl from my school gave me two chinchillas that she couldn't care for anymore. She actually wasn't caring for them-- her sister was, and she didn't handle them very much. Before that, they lived with another girl who gave them away when she moved to New Zealand. So needless to say, they've been tossed around a lot. One is two, and one is four, but no one remembers which is which. After a lot of handling and patience, Dionysus (Or D, as I call him) became very easy going around me and I could hold him with no trouble at all. Hermes is still pretty jumpy, but he was better then he was before.
When I came home for Christmas break, I brought D and Hermes with me. Ever since then, I have not been able to touch them. D, who is normally the friendlier of the two, will attack my hand. He's drawn blood a few times. And Hermes is more skittish than ever. I know that moving must have been very scary for them, but they didn't act this way when they moved into my dorm. The only theory I have is that they can smell my cats and this makes them nervous. Does anyone have any advice at all for my situation? I want my boys to be happy and feel safe, but I certainly can't leave them at school whenever I come home. I don't want to go a whole summer without being able to touch them, but I don't know what to do. Any help is much appreciated!
When I came home for Christmas break, I brought D and Hermes with me. Ever since then, I have not been able to touch them. D, who is normally the friendlier of the two, will attack my hand. He's drawn blood a few times. And Hermes is more skittish than ever. I know that moving must have been very scary for them, but they didn't act this way when they moved into my dorm. The only theory I have is that they can smell my cats and this makes them nervous. Does anyone have any advice at all for my situation? I want my boys to be happy and feel safe, but I certainly can't leave them at school whenever I come home. I don't want to go a whole summer without being able to touch them, but I don't know what to do. Any help is much appreciated!