Handling new chinchillas

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Jeremiah Love Shelton

Jeremiah Love Shelton
Joined
Dec 4, 2018
Messages
5
Location
Louisville KY
Me and my wife recently got two 10 week old baby chinchilla males.

We have been trying to handle them everyday, and I was just looking for advice on how often to try to handle them. I don't want to stress them out but I also want them to get used to being handled. the more skittish one will bite me every now and then when he's stressed out but not hard enough to break the skin I think he's just telling me to put him down.

I had a mini Rex and every time they bite you you're supposed to eeep!! Real loud and they'll stop biting you. I was curious if something similar applied to chinchillas or not?

Any advice would be great thank you so much!!!

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I think one of the best ways to get them use to handling is, rather then trying to take them out and hold them, it's better to allow them to investigate you at first. Put your hands in the cage and let them come to you and explore your hands, climb your arms, etc. As they get comfortable with that slowly scoop them up and take them out for a minute or two. Chinchillas are smart, you need to slowly earn their trust over time, you are building a friendship, which just like human friendships, takes time (sometimes years) for a solid bond to form, you can't rush it. Other things you can do to get them use to you is read aloud to them, talk to them, sing to them (chins like music), and just go about your daily life so they get use to what is normal (sounds, smells, etc) and they can observe you. If they came from a good breeder that handled them early on they will likely only take a couple weeks to settle in and get to know you. If they came from somewhere they weren't handled I would give it at least a month.

I would not intentionally make any loud noises, it will likely just make them scared of you and break any trust, biting especially in kits, normally means something. You can say "ouch", and pull away though, so they know you got the message. Is it a bite or a nibble? Chinchillas do nibble on you to "groom" you, it's a sign of affection. If it's actually a bite though (which from your description it sounds like) it's a sign they have had enough and are getting overwhelmed or scared. Although chins and rabbits are both prey animals, chins don't really have a way to defend themselves. Their primary defense is to bite, slip fur, and/or flee (females can also spray pee), where as a rabbit has powerful legs and claws that can do some real damage.

Chinchillas are not really that much like rabbits other then in appearance and are nowhere near as cuddly and most don't like cuddling at all. Also, being use to handling and enjoying it are not the same thing. Depending on personality, with some chins the best you can get is for them to tolerate being handled for brief amounts of time, like to get taken to the dust bath or out to play or to be moved when you clean the cage. They are sensitive to heat, and humans body temp is hot so staying in your hands or cuddling is not something that is really that comfortable for most. Even if the room is cool a chin can over heat being held against you for too long, most chins don't like to have their movement restricted for long anyway, they tend to panic.

One other thing, in case you weren't aware, kits under 6 months should not really have playtime or a wheel. They can over do it and become exhausted and/or have a drop in blood sugar, which can kill them. At most only allow 5-10 minutes a day of out of cage time, they should get enough exercise in the cage.
 
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