211
Q & A / Re: Possessiveness/ jealousy?
« on: December 30, 2013, 09:04:47 AM »
My chin doesn't really like chin scratches or belly rubs... Any tips?
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212
Q & A / Sharing some tips/tricks I learnt!
« on: December 30, 2013, 08:59:57 AM »
2 tricks for new owners!
1. Someone said something about instinct to chew things being natural chinchilla behaviour. While true, I found that it *IS* perfectly possible to teach a chin what NOT to chew... such as electrical wires and paint. A strong solution of peppers will do this. Treat a piece of wood with pepper solution, let your chin have a NIBBLE ONLY, then take it away. It will learn that pepper is BAD, and hate the smell of it from now on.
Then treat the surfaces you want the chin to not chew.
Chins are surprisingly smart, doesn't take long at all to associate the smell with "tastes bad"
2. If your chin is uncomfortable being touched, try this trick!
All chins love playtime, as far as I know.
Let your chin out to play for a week by just opening his cage or something.
Then for a few days, at playtime, only open the cage partway, and stick your arm in so he has to brush past you yo get out. ... Prepare a good book to read while waiting for him to gather courage.
Let him get used to that... Then try arrNging it so the only way out of the cage is by climbing your hand/arm. Again, be prepared to wait. Zzz.
eventually, you can get it so that your chin will hop onto your hands and let you carry him out of the cage for his playtime. Yay!
... From what I gather, patience is the biggest factor here... Chins are like children... If they feel you are trying to force them to do something, they can be stubborn like heck! If you let them think it's their own bright idea though... Lolz...
1. Someone said something about instinct to chew things being natural chinchilla behaviour. While true, I found that it *IS* perfectly possible to teach a chin what NOT to chew... such as electrical wires and paint. A strong solution of peppers will do this. Treat a piece of wood with pepper solution, let your chin have a NIBBLE ONLY, then take it away. It will learn that pepper is BAD, and hate the smell of it from now on.
Then treat the surfaces you want the chin to not chew.
Chins are surprisingly smart, doesn't take long at all to associate the smell with "tastes bad"
2. If your chin is uncomfortable being touched, try this trick!
All chins love playtime, as far as I know.
Let your chin out to play for a week by just opening his cage or something.
Then for a few days, at playtime, only open the cage partway, and stick your arm in so he has to brush past you yo get out. ... Prepare a good book to read while waiting for him to gather courage.
Let him get used to that... Then try arrNging it so the only way out of the cage is by climbing your hand/arm. Again, be prepared to wait. Zzz.
eventually, you can get it so that your chin will hop onto your hands and let you carry him out of the cage for his playtime. Yay!
... From what I gather, patience is the biggest factor here... Chins are like children... If they feel you are trying to force them to do something, they can be stubborn like heck! If you let them think it's their own bright idea though... Lolz...
213
Q & A / How do I get my chinchilla to cuddle me?
« on: December 30, 2013, 08:43:29 AM »
I've had my chin for almost a month now, he was I think a few months old when I first got him, pet shop said he was used to humans.... I don't know...
I get confused daily by his behaviour, but I'm sort of working stuff out as I go along... Finally figured out that his running and hiding is a game, not being scared of me or avoiding being caged... (He is pretty comfortable with me as a human jungle gym and he goes into his cage on his own when he feels like it...)
I can get him to rub noses with me. Sometimes.
One thing I've managed to train him is playtime. When it's playtime, I stick my hands into his cage. When he climbs on, I take him out for playtime! Trained so well now that he waits for my hands first even when I open both cage doors.
Trouble is... It's been a month, and he's still not fond of cuddling! I can stroke him and scratch him a little, and pick him up, but he's just not into cuddling! This worries me, as I read that you need to bond while they're young or they'll be shy when older...
I try to interact with him as much as possible during playtime, but he spends almost the entire duration playing hide and seek with me, there is hardly any physical contact at all! ... Should I wait until he's exhausted before moving onto cuddle time? What am I doing wrong?
I get confused daily by his behaviour, but I'm sort of working stuff out as I go along... Finally figured out that his running and hiding is a game, not being scared of me or avoiding being caged... (He is pretty comfortable with me as a human jungle gym and he goes into his cage on his own when he feels like it...)
I can get him to rub noses with me. Sometimes.
One thing I've managed to train him is playtime. When it's playtime, I stick my hands into his cage. When he climbs on, I take him out for playtime! Trained so well now that he waits for my hands first even when I open both cage doors.
Trouble is... It's been a month, and he's still not fond of cuddling! I can stroke him and scratch him a little, and pick him up, but he's just not into cuddling! This worries me, as I read that you need to bond while they're young or they'll be shy when older...
I try to interact with him as much as possible during playtime, but he spends almost the entire duration playing hide and seek with me, there is hardly any physical contact at all! ... Should I wait until he's exhausted before moving onto cuddle time? What am I doing wrong?