Gaining chin's trust - interpretation

[Stormcrow]

As I allready mentioned in a topic i started a week ago, I am a new in the world of chinchilla's! Last week, after a period of reading and getting info everywhere I could, I went to pick up 2 male chins (2 and 4 months old).

They only got introduced a week before I went to get them, and allthough I know most of you will say that it's not long enough, the chins are getting along just fine. They play together, eat and sleep together...

Every day, my girlfriend and I go and sit on a big pillow in front of the cage, and since it's a ferret nation with big swinging doors, it's easy to sit in front and nteract with them.
Since the beginning we agreed on certain things like never trying to scoop em up unwillingly, or try to push it in any other way.
Step by step and day by day they went a little step further. 1 paw on the hand, then 2... 3 soon followed and a bit later they trusted their whole weight to my hand.

They react to their names, not saying that they would actually come to me but they can differentiate it from other words i say...
They come to the cage when I pass by or speak to them, they jump down to the lowest level of the cage when I sit in front of it.
They are curious about everything I do, and they allow me to vaccuum their FN cage while they sit and sleep (and somethimes stare at me for a few seconds) just sitting a few inches higher on a platform.
Taking food from our hands is no prob at all, and they jump on our hands as soon as we open em up.

My question is; am I just lucky with these 2 little fellows or am I mistaking their curiosity for trust? Like I said i have no experience with the till last week, but when I watch youtube video's i see a big difference in behaviour when I watch those frightened chins moving nervously in their cage compared to mine...

Allthough lots of peeps have told me to wait with handling them so i wouldn't rush it, and leave them in the cage a few weeks before trying to handle them or even think about playtime...
But seeing how they enjoy our company and like to jump on us, and seeing how interested they look outside the cage as soon as the door opens, i think they are ready for playtime...

What is your thought about this? Could I try giving them a bit of playtime in a chin secire room allready, or are their things I need to do before I can even consider it.

if I could (or even if I couldn't, so i know it for the future), how do you guys get your chins from the cage to the chinsecure room (if it isn't in it obviously )?
My cage is in the living room, bathroom is chinsecure. Could i try getting them into their petcarrier that I bought for when I need to go to the vet? This way I could transport them without risking them to wriglle from my hands/arms and fall while carrying. Maybe, this way i could even get them used to the carrier for when i actually need to take em to the vet...

Just curious about your thoughts.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Cuddlebug]

Kits under 6 months of age should have very limited or no playtime whatsoever. They need to use their energy to grow, not run around like a little maniac. Besides, kits do not know when to stop and have been known to run themselves into seizures. By limited, I mean no more than about 5 or 10 minutes. BTW, no wheels until 6 months, too.

These two are young, that means that they are more willing to check you out and get to know you. Take advantage of that. Since they are so curious about you, spend lots of time with them. You can actually scoop them up, it will not traumatize them. Handle and hold them whenever you get the chance. The more you do so, the tamer they will be. Holding and handling are not considered "playtime".

 

[Stormcrow]

Cuddlebug, thanks for your fast and clear answer!

I did know you needed to take it easy with the wee ones, but didn't know that the no playtime - conserve energy lasted till 6 months. Thought they were ready for it faster! Thanks a lot for clearing this up.

I don't like wheels, i think they are awfull...
When you walk into a pet store and go to the rodents department here, all ferrets, hamsters, mice, gerbils, guinea pigs, degu's and chins are sleeping, except for the 2-3 wheels spinning around making that depressing squeeking sound, powered by a hamster that lost his sanity... I know the wheels for chins are different in size or shape (saucer) but I still fear them hurting them self on the construction itself.
That + the fact that I have time enough to give em playtime when they are old enough for it made me decide not to take one.

Glad you share my idea about handling them, I was also of the opinion that their age makes it easier to "tame" them... And I will try and take advantage of that as much as i can.

The problem I am facing now is; whenever we sit in front of the FN cage and we open the lower doors so we can interact with them, they get so curious and bump into eachother so sometimes they lose balance at the edge or they just want to jump out of curiosity and we can barely manage to keep em in...

The cage itself is in our non chin-proof living room, with electrical devices and cables, other pets (guinea pigs) in an open top cage, and a lot of hazardous things.
I am not sure if i should let them jump out (it's very low, the wheels aren't on the cage) into my lap, or if I should just stop them from doing that (and showing them it is a bad habbit). Sometimes they are even so excited about us being there that they popcorn and wallsurf, but sometimes in their enthousiasm they get very wild and even harder to keep in

I also don't know if, when they jump on my arm, if i should go and hold the tailbase softly (the breeder showed me the correct way and I did need to hold them a few times like that to get them into the container to get them over to my place) or if I should let them roam freely, trying to barricade off things with my hand. (with the risk of them jumping our of my arms/lap and run around the room)

It happened 2 times before, and since we can't convince em with treats we need to scoop em... We are just so scared to traumatize the little critters that it makes us nervous the sec they step to far on our arm cause at that point they risk falling (7 inch on a pillow ) and hopping off...

It's hard in the beginning imo to find the good point in what is "allowed" by them.
Your comment however made me a bit more secure in doing so, and I will keep you updated

 

[jess32247]

You've only had them a short time, you have a lot of bonding to do! It sounds like it's all going very well, hopefully they will continue to bond with you, but it will take a while. I've only had my chin about 8-9 months, but she's finally begining to trust me fully.

As for letting them jump onto your arm and lap, I would advise no. That would lead them that it's ok to jump onto your arm and out of the cage, and since they are still so young, it's a bad idea. Like Cuddlebug said, they shouldn't have play time until 6 months, at least.

And for letting them run around a non-chin proofed room, big no. Chasing them away with your hands when they get near wires won't stop them from getting to them while your not looking. Espeically with two young chins full of energy, you won't be able to keep up with them. Is there a empty room you can let them run around in safely, when they get old enough? Lots of people use their bathroom to let the chin run around in, as long as there is nothing for them to chew on or fall in to.

 

[Stormcrow]

I have a chinproof room, but my prob is that i have no idea how to get the there.
Should I put them in their carrier (they jump in it viluntarily but don't want the lid closed cause then they go bananas? SHould i hold them in my arms and hold the tail?

 

[jess32247]

Getting them used to a carrier is a good idea, to transport them to diffrent rooms. Starting young, like the age they are now, will help for when they are older. As for now though, I would just get them used to the carrier being open for a while, then closing it after they are comfortable with it, but not letting them have play time until they are old enough. After a while, they should see the carrier as a reward and going in it as good and looking forward to the carrier and play time!

I'm not sure about picking them up though, you can try but I would be careful. They are very fragile bones and are jumpy little things, they will wriggle out of your hands in no time. I think the a carrier is a better idea!

 

[Stormcrow]

thanks for the answer Jess, I will try that approach starting from today

 

[Stormcrow]

So just a little update on the carrier.
I went to buy a cheaper cat carrier where I removed the feedingbowl.

The chins are approx 4 and 6 months old now, and they have become quite the characters.
During their evening playing routine (inside the FN with the doors open and me and my gf in front of it) they became more and more playfull, and more eager to escape the cage!
We started to put out a big duvet (i think it is in english, big heavy blanket with feathers in it) on the floor in front of the cage with a flees covering it up to avoid nibbling.

Soon after we started to put the carrier on the duvet aswell, with the door open. The loved to go inside pretty fast! After a few days I managed to close the carrierdoor without them going into frenzy mode, and a few days later picking up the carrier didn't make em scared anymore.

Allthough they are young, we started to give them their daily playtime!
I go to the hallway with the chins in the carrier, i go and sit on the blanket (halfway the hallway) and let the chins go!!!
I set my stopwatch at 10 minutes, wich is my queue to gently start luring them and "guiding" them in to their carrier.
All in all playtime + getting them out of the cage and back in takes approx 15 mins.
I don't think this is too long for the chins, even though they are very young. They don't show signs of exhaustion or overheating but I will stick to these 10 minutes as long as the youngest one didn't reach 6 months (2 more months to go)
As I mentioned i block half the hallway off by sitting there, so the space they have to run around is decent but they don't need to/can't run around all the way (to keep em from overdoing themselves).

For me the carrier method works great, when they are having playtime and get scared all of a sudden (happens rarily, for example when above neighbour's kids run around above us) they rush to the carrier. So, they see it as their safe spot, wich is a good sign right?

I know most people don't advice playtime before 6 months old, but from what I have read this is more out of precaution since some people give em too much playtime and they overdo themselves. I don't see how what I do could be a problem?

Any comments or remarks are more then welcome, just wanted to give you an update. At the moment, things are going superb

EDIT: here are 2 pics of the "castle" I made them out of 5 small boxes. Supplies like the ones you have in the US are harder to come by here and very expensive, thats why I like to make my own

The boxes are build in a sturdy yet safe way, wich allows me full acces and gives them enough space to manoever inside...
It ain't as pretty as the ones I see on the photo's you guys show off here, but the chins seem to like it!

Inside - made ledges by plying cardboard and connections in between boxes are made with other pieces of cardboard. Or as my chins see it: one pile of destructable shizzle

outside

inside

 

[Cuddlebug]

I love the castle! Nice job. With the younger one, keep a close eye on it for signs of getting worn out. If he exhibits any signs, then just shorten the playtime.