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So I have done the entire chinchilla purchasing against almost ALL the advice here. Fluffy (my 5 years old gets all pet naming rights) was an impulse purchase, with very little knowledge. Didn’t get a big enough cage, so had to move her again after only 3 weeks. But even through it all Fluffy was a champ! While she really doesn’t like to be pet, she does like her chin scratched. She LOVES oats, and will climb all over me to get to them. She loves to perch up on my shoulders. She is the best pet you could ask for. I am a fully disabled vet with PTSD, and she helps me be calm and laugh every day. While I might have done it all wrong to begin with, I’m supper happy to have a chinchilla.

Chinchillas are not as docile as other pets like guinea pigs or rabbits. They need to be handled regularly and socialized because their natural tendency is to find a dark place and hide. You're going to have to start out by jumping in and just making it happen or this problem will only get worse. I recommend short sessions. Just take your pet out of the cage and hold it for about 10-15 seconds and put it back.  Use proper restraining technique. This means support the chinchilla's back feet and secure the base of the tail. If it tries to bite you support under the jaw. This might happen the first few days until your pets get more used to being handled. You can suspend by the base of the tail if you are afraid of dropping it. Absolutely do not handle further down the tail - only the very thickest part of the base.

After that time play with your pet through the bars of the cage or in the cage so you have some positive interaction time, and then do it again later in the day. Chinchillas usually like to be scratched under the chin and think they are being groomed. This can also have a calming effect.

The chinchillas will learn that being restrained is not going to hurt them, and that they are not always going to get their way. This should be part of their daily routine. After a few days of this you should see your pets becoming more calm, and you can incrementally increase their time being handled. Be careful not to overheat them because they are going to squirm and fight at times as they are learning. Eventually your pets should stop trying to fight you and might even crave being picked up, although that can take a few weeks. My pets can usually take it or leave it but both can easily be picked up and carried around without showing any signs of stress. At times they will jump into my hands to be carried around.

Be extremely careful not to drop the animal onto any hard surface. Try to release at floor level. If the animal is fighting you be certain you can control it before removing it from the cage.

Hello everyone.
I'm sure this subject has popped-up in the past. I have two Chins. Got them when they were 3 months. Even then they would come on my lap for treats, but just hop away when I tried to touch them. It has only gotten worse. They are 18 months now, and I can't get close to them. Never mind holding them. I've only ever been gentle with them. Never forced them. I did have to grab the one for some medicine in the past. He went absolutely ballistic and squirmed like crazy

And yes, I tried the "lure" them with a treat". I just can't believe that I must have my loves in my house for 15 years and never hold them.

Is there absolutely nothing I can do?
Thank you
Renier

Animals of any kind have their moods and hormone cycles and behavior patterns can change with age. Chinchillas normally don't travel gracefully although I've never heard of an chinchilla doing itself damage by biting the wiring on a travel cage so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Hi guys, I had one more question.  Normally, my little guy has been good with traveling (I have 2 houses I travel between ~6-8 times/year), but this past time he seemed very anxious and was trying to bite the wiring of the cage.  I was worried that he might chip a tooth because he was biting the wiring fairly hard.

I know that you are not supposed to travel with chinchillas, but Dex has been very good with it the past few years and has never had any issues.  The night before traveling, I perform a "fire drill," which basically means I'll put him in his carrier cage for 15 minutes so he can acclimate to the carrier cage and understand that traveling will happen tomorrow.  But I am unsure why he did not do as well this past time, for there wasn't a significant amount of time between traveling trips.  Thanks for the input.

Chinchillas are mostly sensitive to ultra low frequency sounds, pressure that is felt more than heard. They are also sensitive to changes in environment. I think you mentioned you changed something in the cage a few days ago. It could take some time for your pet to adjust to that if it was a significant rearrangement. There could be construction in your area, or large vehicles like garbage trucks. Mine don't like trash day. You can run a fan in the room (do not blow it through the cage) to generate some white noise.

Also check that the water is dispensing properly and food is available. If that doesn't help I wouldn't be concerned about health unless you're seeing weight loss.

Hey guys, Dex has been doing his alarm call off and on for upward of 10-15 minutes now.  I've never had his alarm calls go this long before, so I wanted to make sure he's okay.

I am 100% positive this call is his alarm call, instead of an injury call or fear call.

Cedar is toxic to ingest and inhale for any kind of rodent. It is irritating to the lungs and can cause acute pneumonia, and ingestion can cause liver damage over time. Long term lung irritation can put animals at risk of respiratory infections. It is the oil in the cedar that gives it its distinctive smell. In fact, it is advisable to prevent exposure to anything that has a strong scent such as air fresheners or scented candles to prevent fatalities from pneumonia. So you probably don't want this to be in the cage with the animal actually gnawing on it.

If wood is used white pine or aspen is advisable. If possible, it is advised to have an all metal cage with a wire floor with replaceable pine shelving. If the wood has a coating such as lacquer or clear coat it is toxic if ingested. Any pine chip bedding must be kiln dried.

Update: the spot on his ear has almost completely disappeared.  All that remains is a very faint small spot (not so much red but more so a faded black/gray).  Thank you for the advice I fixed some trouble-spots in his cage so hopefully it doesn't happen again!

My daughter wants to buy an old armoire to make a cage out of,  and it might be cedar. I see everywhere cedar is toxic to chinchillas,  but to what extent?  Chewing on it,  breathing it?  Being anywhere near it? What if the cage is coated? What if the insides were wrapped with wire where they couldn't chew it? I've seen so many cages on Pinterest that had to be made of cedar,  just wondering to what extent the toxicity is.  After all,  the wood needs to be kiln dried in order to make furniture out of it. Any thoughts are welcome.  Thanks.