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Ok so ill be honest... My chin has only been in my house for about three weeks and hes warmed up to me ALOT compared to when i got him... He would let me hold him and he would jump on me and cute stuff like that but he didnt like to be touched anywhere besides under his chin... Well the other night i came home rather... inebriated and (i dont remember any of this) I apparently chased him around his cage and grabbed him and just held him while petting him ( HE HATES THIS)... Luckily i guess i only did it for a few minutes but he is really iffy now like he comes to me but he doesnt wanna be out of his cage for more than a few minutes... How can i earn his trust back? I feel horrible. Ive been giving his sun flower seeds (his favorite) and letting him run out of his cage into his dust bath whenever he wants to try and earn his trust back but does anyone have any better tips? I know im a horrid pet owner i feel terrible
 
Oh also im just throwing this in but my upgrayedd is SILENT
He made a noise once when i played chinchilla contact noises on my computer but since then and before then hes never made a single noise
Is this normal??
 
I don't think you should have any animals. Hopefully you didn't break any of his bones. Their rib bones are as fragile as toothpicks. Will you please consider giving him up, I'm sure we can find a home for him on here, just say the word.
Oh and the seeds can give him a fatty liver and dust more than twice a week or so (depends on the humidity) will dry his skin and cause him to be itchy.
 
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Stop doing anything with him while you are drunk PERIOD. Stop feeding him sunflower seeds. Honestly you may never earn his trust back. You hadn't had him long enough to gain his trust and you then you terrified him. Giving them a dust bath isn't gaining their trust. They would take a dust bath if the devil offered it to them. They are to dust like cats are to a litter box--it isn't something they enjoy it's something they need in order to keep their coats clean and they know that.

The only thing you can do is to sit quietly in front of his cage and talk to him. Perhaps in time he will come around, but he may not. Most chins do not like to be picked up or held and it sounds as if you did those things against his wishes.
 
First; In time he will trust you again in time. Just give him time to forgive you.
Second; you really shouldn't be giving him sunflower seeds. try cheerios or shredded wheat instead.
yes, I do believe that it is normal for him to make noises if he hears what sounds like another chinchilla. He was trying to communicate with what he thought was another chin.
Hope I helped:)
 
Thank you second two people...
Everyone makes mistakes I was drunk and wanted to hold my pet...
Hes perfectly fine and he is normal with me again (we had play time a bit ago)
And thanks alot about sun flower seeds guys :)
 
Don't get crappy with addicted to chins.Your the one who put your chin at risk.I like to drink every once and awhile too,but I won't even let my boys out of their cage for playtime if I've been drinking.I put their safety a head of what I want.One squeeze to hard or one stumble and you could do damage that can't be fixed.
I don't know about you but I could never live with the fact that I hurt or killed one of my boys because I was drunk.
You showed a lack in judgement now learn from it and take your lumps.
 
Yes, everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is you learn from them and are remorseful. If you never play with a fragile animal again when you are impaired, then you can be proud of yourself. It was a bad thing to do, but since you seem to know that there's no use in lecturing you.

I brought my chin that I recently got to my parent's house when I was visiting for several days because I couldn't find anyone to look after her and I brought her to the vet several days after we got back. I tried very hard not to have to move her around, but I simply had no choice. It was an unexpected visit, I had to go to a funeral so I couldn't prepare. I should have had a couple contacts to pet-sit before I got her though so it was bad on my part. She is way more uncomfortable around me and I feel so bad, but she is slowly (very slowly) relaxing. Though I think it will take a long while to get her to really warm up to me. Feeding her hay through her cage walls helps--try doing that (just no treats...or only one. I use hay or pellets because I can feed her a bunch at a time and she associates me with food quicker).
 
And I commend you for being honest, knowing you would most likely get backlash. It shows that you are actually concerned with the situation and are willing to compromise the impression you make on people so you can get good advice. I think you know not to do it ever again.
 
I just want to make a quick comment - You're talking about getting a female to breed with your pet store male chin, which everyone has already commented on. No one should be SO drunk, ever, that they are a danger to themselves, or those around them, including their pets. What if you had been breeding and this had been a kit instead of an adult? The kit would have died. Intentionally or not, you would have crushed it, stepped on it, smothered, whatever.

I'm going to assume you're very young, because your posting style shows a lack of maturity. It might be a good idea to take a look at your habits and behavior, especially when you are inebriated to the point that you are torturing a caged animal who has no choice but to put up with it. I hope this is a huge lesson for you, and I'm only thankful you didn't kill your chin learning it.

I also hope that you are not pulling the wool over people's eyes on this forum. It would irritate me beyond words to find that you are not, in fact, an even remotely caring chin owner here to learn about your chins, but rather an internet troll here to stir things up. So far, several of your posts have been guaranteed to inflame people and that needs to stop.
 
trust will take time.........some of my chins trusted me after a few weeks, others it took months & months.

sunflower seeds are not good, pick up a box of unfrosted mini shredded wheat and give him 1/2 of one every nite or every other.

dusting too much will give him dry skin.

drinking & chins do not mix. if you cant even remember the event, you can remember how hard you held him. and chasing a chin does nothing but frighten them. please for the sake of your pet.........don't do this again. i can only hope you didnt drive.
 
I am 21 and not much of a drinker since I have a 2 year old but I'm sorry to say but the times that I came home stumbling I would never have thought to take Phoenix or Sedona out. Your chin obviously sensed that something was wrong with you and became scared to death because of it. You may not be able to remember the event but your chin is never going to forget it. I think you had totally ruined the little trust that was there. I think there will always be a part of him that will always be scared of you. I know you probably feel absolutely horrible about it but hopefully with time and patience he will start to come around a lot more. Just remember he may not fully trust you and don't get mad and take it out on him. Chins are really trusting animals but it does take a lot of time and slow movements to get them that way but once that bond is there, you become a chin addict. I'm not trying to be mean or anything but it's the truth. :)
 
Well... here's what I have to say- considering that I myself have had my life threatned by another adult while he was intoxicated I can say that I was terrified and never gained my trust back of that person. I could easily see how a tiny creature that was threatned by an adult would never gain their trust back. Your chinchilla doesn't understand that it was an accident or that you were drunk- all he will know is it's basic instinct of feeling threatned. I think you will have to exhibit a LOT of patience in fully gaining your chins trust back, and this cannot happen again or IMO you will never gain it back.
 
I just want to make a quick comment - You're talking about getting a female to breed with your pet store male chin, which everyone has already commented on. No one should be SO drunk, ever, that they are a danger to themselves, or those around them, including their pets. What if you had been breeding and this had been a kit instead of an adult? The kit would have died. Intentionally or not, you would have crushed it, stepped on it, smothered, whatever.

I'm going to assume you're very young, because your posting style shows a lack of maturity. It might be a good idea to take a look at your habits and behavior, especially when you are inebriated to the point that you are torturing a caged animal who has no choice but to put up with it. I hope this is a huge lesson for you, and I'm only thankful you didn't kill your chin learning it.

I also hope that you are not pulling the wool over people's eyes on this forum. It would irritate me beyond words to find that you are not, in fact, an even remotely caring chin owner here to learn about your chins, but rather an internet troll here to stir things up. So far, several of your posts have been guaranteed to inflame people and that needs to stop.

Agreed. :impatient:
 
Well just so everyone knows hes fine hes being normal again and in my defense I had no idea what i was doing i wasnt impaired i was blacked out... I found a way to lock his cage door so i cant get into it if i end up coming home like that again...
It wasnt intentional and i NEVER hurt him i was actually gentle he just doesnt like being held
 
And how does my posting style show a lack of maturity?
I ask questions when i have them.
I didnt know that that was immature.
Seriously i did one thing wrong im not a horrible person i pick up my pet in a way he didnt like... I didnt threaten him I didnt hurt him I just pet him which he doesnt like so calm down i understand your all assuming the worst right off the bat but thats not the case...
I do love my upgrayedd and i wouldnt hurt him so just chill ok? I realize i did something wrong which is more than i can say for most people who have done similar things with other animals
 
Well just so everyone knows hes fine hes being normal again and in my defense I had no idea what i was doing i wasnt impaired i was blacked out...
If you were blacked out, how do you know what you did?

I found a way to lock his cage door so i cant get into it if i end up coming home like that again...
It wasnt intentional and i NEVER hurt him i was actually gentle he just doesnt like being held
Is this a common occurrence? If it is, you might want to get some professional help.
 
Its happened once and my roommate told me...
She said i just kinda grabbed him and pet him for a few minutes than put him in his hammock...
And id rather be safe than sorry its happened once but i am young i do go out to partys and i do occasionally drink more than i think...
I love him enough where id rather guard against a 1 in a million chance than not...
Like you can all be pissed at me and call me all kinds of things but i just wanted some tips which i got and i thank everyone who actually helped...
 
Well just so everyone knows hes fine hes being normal again and in my defense I had no idea what i was doing i wasnt impaired i was blacked out... I found a way to lock his cage door so i cant get into it if i end up coming home like that again...

If you have to "human proof" a cage, you probably shouldn't have him.

And how does my posting style show a lack of maturity?

Lack of punctuation, incorrect grammar and posting in a way that is generally similar to texting.

I do love my upgrayedd and i wouldnt hurt him so just chill ok?

We don't chill when it is obvious that a chin owner is being negligent in the care of their animal. Accidental or not, it was a mistake that YOU made. We are here for the care of chins, not the owners. As harsh as that sounds, read the posts again, and try to take in just the advice and not get defensive about YOUR mistake.
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