Few questions about my 11 weeks old chin

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AsSaSsinR92

Member
Joined
May 11, 2017
Messages
13
Location
Otago
Hi,

I finally got my little cutie from the breeder, he's turned 11 weeks today. I named him NoteBook (I know, it's strange eh lol). Given this is my first time owning a chin, I thought I'd ask if the behavior I observe is quite normal.

Although he's 11 weeks old, I do let him out to play since his cage is still not fully decorated and he (I think) gets bored sometimes. I've had him for 5 days now and I think we're bonding well. When I let him out he runs and jumps around, he'll do that for 15 minutes or so and then retrieves back to his bed and fall asleep or sometimes will fall asleep on the lava ledge or wood shelf in his cage. Do you think his just tired from all the bouncing around? But could he over exhaust himself to the point it gets him sick or something? He naps for few minutes and then begin the bouncy journey all over again, lol. The reason why I let him out is because the breeder said I can for 10 minutes, but he rattle his cage or try to squeeze through the bars as asking to be let out. Do you guys think I should ignore this behavior? I was told on this forum not to let him out until his 6 months old, but I worry about him getting bored since his toys will arrive in mid June. I'd appreciate your thought on this.

He's more than adorable, he's got me hooked already haha. I think we're bonding well, but he's still nervous and a little anxious. The signs I notice is that he comes to me when I hand him a hay/pellet as a treat. He either takes it and eat it close to me or retrieves with it back to his shelf. When I call out his name or talk to him he comes out (this mostly happens when his active at night). He still doesn't let me scratch his or reach to grab him, yet. I always back off if he wince. He likes to use me as a tower or elevator at night. He's mostly engaging with me at night, during the day however I have to tip toe around him.

I also noticed when he's out playing, he'll come and nibble my feet or hands, climb on top of me. He bit my toe it pierced the skin and blood came out lol when he was playing, luckily he went back to playing and didn't bit that hard again.

If you guys think I shouldn't let him out, what are other ways to keep him interested until his toys arrive?

I apologize for writing too long.
 
So far is all sounds pretty normal, and like you are getting a good bond established. It does take most chins at least a week just to settle in to a new home, so I wouldn't worry about a bit of nervousness. Unfortunately you really don't want to allow more then about 5-10 minutes play time out a day since he can over exert himself, kits can't regulate there blood sugar as well as adults so they can over do it and have a dangerous drop in blood sugar, which can cause seizures and death. It doesn't happen to all chins but you don't know if your chin will be one to have an issue until it has one. You can definitely continue playing with him in the cage, and even hold and carry him if he lets you though. Rattling his cage and acting all neglected is really a ploy most chins use to train you to do their bidding (in this case let him out). You have to ignore it or you are just teaching him that that gets him what he wants.

You can try just picking up some cheap toys at a hardware or grocery store like food grade popsicle sticks or untreated wooden clothes pins either the solid wood or the clip kind with the metal removed. Empty food boxes and small paper bags can also be a fun cheap thing to play in. You can stuff the box or bag full of hay and then the chin has to chew it's way in to get it for example.
 
Thank you, Amethyst. I do worry about him getting over exhausted. I owe the good bond establishment to the breeder. She takes good care of them and she probably held him and interacted with him a lot when he was a little baby. I always try to hang out by his cage and talk smoothly to him when his active as I read this help with the bonding.

I'm noticing he's getting adventurous and boldly, and the little naughty boy he is waits for me to open the door where he dangle half his body out to jump and play whenever I change his food, lol. Hard to push him back as he gets temporary moody, which brings me to my question, how do you discipline a chinchilla without causing him stress or anxiety? For example, I was stuffing a wood ball with hay, he jumped out, but refused to come to me when I called his name. Then started running around the living room jumping and mostly hiding so that I don't put him back in his cage hahah. I think he may have eaten something under the couch as I noticed his poop was a little soft than usual late at night (same color but can be squeezed without sticking to your fingers).

I guess not hand feeding him a pellet or hay when he does a bad thing is one option, but what other things you guys do to discipline them? Or is this a normal behavior that can't be fixed at this age?
 
You can't really discipline a chin, and they generally don't come when called (unless they are in their cage and think they are getting something, lol). If at all possible I would try to chin proof around the cage, with a pen of some sort so if he does jump out he has no where to go. If you are able to confine him and get him back in the cage he will learn that jumping out is useless. You can also try distracting him with food or a chew stick before you open the cage so he isn't right at the door.

The poop can change slightly though the day depending on if they just woke up or not. So long as it goes back to normal within a day and isn't actually mushy or smelly it's probably nothing serious.
 
Yeah, playpen would work to stop him from running outside :) I tried the snapping fingers technique on him last night, he was asking to be out and the good thing is that it does make him stop and doesn't make him run and hide from me. Hopefully, he'll learn that the sound pops when he does an unwelcome behavior.

His poop did go back to normal.
 
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