Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Q & A => Topic started by: Alice_Drocell on January 19, 2016, 07:59:02 PM
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I have had my chin for 6 months now and he has never done this until a few weeks ago he has been latching onto my hand and biting my fingers have I upset him? I make sure to treat him gently and he isn't barking or making any threatened noises and he isn't avoiding me when I pet or feed him but when we play together he will simply walk up to my grab onto my arm and chew my fingers then run away then let me pet him as if nothing is wrong did I do something to hurt him? Is he angry or just playing around please help by the way he is a young male
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I have two chinchillas and one of them likes to grab and pull with his teeth. In fact he was doing this quite a bit even today. I don't consider it biting though, where he is trying to inflict damage with his teeth. In fact he'll rarely ever do it hard enough to break the skin.
There are two contexts that I've observed. One is mutual grooming behavior. Chinchillas groom by pulling thier fur between their teeth. I'll let both my chins do this to my knuckles and fingers and sometimes they do it too hard. I pull back or flinch and then let them continue. Normally a chinchilla will respond by being more gentle in this context but you're looking at fairly consistently working with them here.
The other context seems to be in the form of playing by pushing or pulling my hand away. To help with this I pick him up or hold him in a way where he can't get me with his teeth. I think pulling away would probably make the behavior worse. The strategy is to distract the chin from the pulling or grabbing. I may even restrain the chinchilla for a few seconds. I've worked with him enough that he doesn't mind being restrained but when he's playing he typically doesn't want to be. This is a type of very mild negative reinforcement. I also have a feeling I'm going to see this problem come and go in cycles with this one but don't expect to be bit to the point of drawing blood.
Another thing I've observed is my chinchillas will feel my fingernails and think they are wood or something to chew on. I typically avoid giving them access to that but the more I handle them and work with them the less of a threat they have become.
What you are describing sounds like he's trying to groom you. Of course if you have food on your fingers (that you just picked up and put in the cage) prepared to get bit hard. Try washing your hands before you put them into the cage.
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I have a very large tan sixteen month old male who behaves in exactly the same fashion. It began at around six months of age and progressed to the sexual act with my jumper/sweatshirt each time I handled him. Testosterone can play a large part in male sexual behaviour and I would not worry too much. Pressure contact with teeth is something I experience from most of my boys, and as GreyRodent rightly stated, chins explore with their mouths, and have predilections for fleecy, wooly or soft clothing to sample.
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How old is he? Chins go through a bratty phase between the age of 6 months and a 1.5 yrs old. Just stay consistent with your handling and he will settle down with time.