To You ...
Speak softly, be patient, place your hand either at the door opening
or on the cage floor, be very still continue to speak softly and have patients ... their curiosity will eventually bring them to you. You must earn their confidence in you!
Allow them to climb into your hand or on to your arm, move slowly, speak softly words of praise. Chinchillas love to please!
You may slowly scoop them into your hands, being careful to support the hind legs at all times, hold it close to you, not at a distance. This is a way to show your little chin it is safe with you.
Never, never, never grab or grab at your chin, raise your voice or hit your chin ... their memory is much like an elephant's ... they do not forget! Confidence once lost takes a long time to get back!
To it's New Home ...
This is the easiest of introductions. Place him in his cage and let him explore it and all the things inside it! (Hint: Make sure the cage is completely prepared before you put your chin inside.) This way he can explore it without interruption.
To Friends and Family ...
Only after he has adjusted to you do you introduce him to others. Please introduce them one at a time and use the same steps as you did to introduce him to yourself.
To Family Pets ...
This one is approached with much caution. As a general rule most animals that are kind and gentle can be gradually introduce to each other. BUT, keep in mind to most larger animals such as a cat or a dog the chinchilla may appear as a tasty morsel, while at the same time some cats and/or dogs will accept and even protect your little chin.
There is one very strong precaution I would like to inject at this point ... Please make sure all of your animals are kept up to date on all of their shots. Chinchillas have no inoculations available to them, so please protect your chins by making sure your other animals are safe.
We have 3 dogs and a cat. One dog, Rex, is not even allowed in the same room, his loud barks frighten them. One dog, Little Bit, is a bit curious and will sit and watch the chins, but will not approach them. Our third dog, Buster, loves to be near them. He will go to each cage and allow the chins to crawl over him and paw at his face and even give him "sugars". Once I left the room only to come back and find Buster guarding the door and Snuggles, the cat, laying in the chair, finding his attention to be directed to a particular corner of the room. As I looked around I realized one of the chins had learned to open it's door and had escaped. In the corner, under the shelves, peered a pair of very large eyes looking straight at me. She did not want to cut short her free run of the room, so she was not ready to come to me just yet. We played for a while, then when it came time Buster gently nudged Smokey in the side with his nose and headed her in my direction. Snuggles, the cat, was content to just watch us play.
To a New Food ...
When you pick up your chin, if you are not going to be able to maintain the same brand of food that the chin is use to or you want to change its food for what you believe will be more acceptable, for whatever reason, be sure to get enough of his original food for at least five weeks. During these five weeks you will be substituting 20 percent of his/her regular food with the new food, increasing it by 20 percent each week until you have a pure mixture of what will be his regular diet.
To Another Chinchilla ...
This can be tricky. The longer the introduction period is usually the better. Chinchillas tend to be very territorial, so introduction is best done on neutral or common territory. Neutral being a cage neither has occupied. Common being a play area used for both. Even swapping them back and forth between their own two cages. There's several accepted methods.
(1) Placing the cages about 2 or 3 inches apart, just close enough to allow them to familiarize themselves with each others' scents and allow them to get acquainted.
(2) Dust baths, Vicks Vapor rub on the noses, or baby powder used to help mask the different scent of the other chin (to be used on both chins).
(3) Daily free run times together ~ Closely Supervised!
(4) A cage designed especially to introduce chins and to allow them safe visitation while momma chin raises the kits.
As you can see if you look closely, what appears to be two cages is actually two in one. There is a solid divider wall with a 3 inch square cut-out at the top center, which is covered with the same cage wire as the cage itself. The solid wall prevents the chins from mating prematurely and from causing damage to each other, yet at the same time, allow them to get acquainted with each other and to visit. With the cut-out at the top the chins would find it quite difficult to mate and impossible for an older chin to harm the kits since they can not reach the cut-out.
Most of my chins are allowed several months to become acquainted this way because I usually purchase chins at a young age and do not allow them together until they are of breeding age. If I purchase an older chin, one of breeding age, with this cage, I can usually introduce them within a week or two. Keep in mind some chins, as with people, will never get along!
Remember, when introducing your chin to someone or something, have patients. All good things come in their own time. |
