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Q & A / Re: Just looking for a little insight
« on: February 16, 2018, 10:41:24 PM »
I'm glad things are going better for you. I'm glad you've found a comparable food source.
Chinchillas are typically not cuddly animals but that can change with time and handling though each animal will be different.
Now that your pets can be handled without thinking they are being threatened I recommend actually taking them out of the cage, holding them against your chest for 10-15 seconds, then putting them back. Do this 2-3 times a day.
They'll fight you but they should not bite you. Remember when handling chinchillas try to allow them to stand on one of your hands and allow them to face your shoulder. Their natural tendency is to run up your arm. With the other hand hold firmly at the base of the tail. You can suspend the whole chinchilla from there if need to get a better grip. Make sure to stay at the very base and don't go up on the tail. Do not allow a chinchilla to flail around as it can cause itself grave injury. It's either a good hold or do not remove from the cage. Handle the chinchilla low towards the floor. Expect to have accidents because it's a learning experience for the both of you. Minimize the danger of falling and escaping ahead of time.
One thing that helped me with a really wild chinchilla was to sit in a shower stall for about 10 minutes and let the chinchilla run around and crawl on me. I would be mostly still. I did this every day and saw significant improvement, although the animal was too wild to ever make a tame pet. My other two chins didn't need that that extreme.
The theory is to establish a routine of safe handling. If they struggle and fight to get away just ignore it and hold on. Worst case is you get bit. If you have the base of the tail you can reposition your other hand to control the head from below. If you get bit do not let go. This can cause a fall and reinforce the behavior, although it is unusual behavior for most pets.
Take them out for a few seconds, then put them back in. That will not stress them too badly. Eventually the chinchilla will stop struggling and expect to be handled this way but you'll see gradual change over days and weeks. It is a proven effective method. My chins started out about 10-20 seconds at a time. Basically I held them, and put them back into the cage when they took a break from struggling. (Usually it's only after a few seconds) so they know that struggling is not going to free them. Of course mix this interaction with non-stressful interactions throughout the week.
Now my pets will actually jump onto my hand at times, especially after dust baths because that is part of their routine. They can be out over 5-10 minutes now and they don't care. It is only because they are actually handled on a regular basis.
Chinchillas are typically not cuddly animals but that can change with time and handling though each animal will be different.
Now that your pets can be handled without thinking they are being threatened I recommend actually taking them out of the cage, holding them against your chest for 10-15 seconds, then putting them back. Do this 2-3 times a day.
They'll fight you but they should not bite you. Remember when handling chinchillas try to allow them to stand on one of your hands and allow them to face your shoulder. Their natural tendency is to run up your arm. With the other hand hold firmly at the base of the tail. You can suspend the whole chinchilla from there if need to get a better grip. Make sure to stay at the very base and don't go up on the tail. Do not allow a chinchilla to flail around as it can cause itself grave injury. It's either a good hold or do not remove from the cage. Handle the chinchilla low towards the floor. Expect to have accidents because it's a learning experience for the both of you. Minimize the danger of falling and escaping ahead of time.
One thing that helped me with a really wild chinchilla was to sit in a shower stall for about 10 minutes and let the chinchilla run around and crawl on me. I would be mostly still. I did this every day and saw significant improvement, although the animal was too wild to ever make a tame pet. My other two chins didn't need that that extreme.
The theory is to establish a routine of safe handling. If they struggle and fight to get away just ignore it and hold on. Worst case is you get bit. If you have the base of the tail you can reposition your other hand to control the head from below. If you get bit do not let go. This can cause a fall and reinforce the behavior, although it is unusual behavior for most pets.
Take them out for a few seconds, then put them back in. That will not stress them too badly. Eventually the chinchilla will stop struggling and expect to be handled this way but you'll see gradual change over days and weeks. It is a proven effective method. My chins started out about 10-20 seconds at a time. Basically I held them, and put them back into the cage when they took a break from struggling. (Usually it's only after a few seconds) so they know that struggling is not going to free them. Of course mix this interaction with non-stressful interactions throughout the week.
Now my pets will actually jump onto my hand at times, especially after dust baths because that is part of their routine. They can be out over 5-10 minutes now and they don't care. It is only because they are actually handled on a regular basis.