Playtime

[ashleynicol3]

How do you get your chin out for playtime and get him to the playroom? I've only given my chin playtime twice, for a very brief period of time. I put his dust bath house in his cage and when he jumped in and started to roll around, I put my hand over the opening to keep him in and carried him to the spare bathroom. I'd love to let him out in his room, but it's also my office and there are too many things he could get into (cords, my crochet, knocking things off shelves, plus the hamster cages are in there too). There's nothing in the bathroom and it's really cool (cold to me) since it has an air vent and we keep the door closed all the time, so the cool air stays in - and the tiles are very cold. I thought that would also make it a good place for playtime because he would stay cool while running around. Anyway, playtime has gone pretty well. He jumps all over me and parkours (lol) and generally runs around like he's nuts! To get him back into his cage, I put the dust bath out again and when he climbs in, I hold my hand over the opening and carry him back to his room.

The only problem is that he bites my hand to get out of the dust bath when I hold my hand over the opening and it kind of hurts. I don't pull my hand away because obviously I don't want him to escape, but I've been saying, "Ow!" and, "Gentle!" (things like that) and transporting him as quickly as possible, so hopefully he'll get the idea that it's not as bad as it seems. What do you think? Is there another way to get him to the bathroom? When I set the dust bath house out at the end of playtime yesterday, he looked at it for a while before going in. I don't want him to associate the dust bath house with negative things because he LOVES dust baths and they make him so happy. I just don't know any other way to get him out of his cage when I need to. He's becoming more and more comfortable with me, but I doubt he'd let me pick him up and I don't want to freak him out.

When I put him back in his cage, I try to leave the dust bath in for a bit so he can truly roll around without worrying about where I'm taking him. I also give him a stick or something as a treat once he's back in, so hopefully he'll have positive feelings about being back in his cage. It's a double FN with all kinds of ledges and toys, so I'd love it if I were him (lol)! Last night, he started eating and drinking once he was back in, so I waited until he was done to give him his "treat," to make sure he got all the good stuff first.

 

[MyzarandGemma]

Ok, so here's the thing: if you don't get your chinchilla used to you picking him up, he will never get used to it.

I would just grab him and take him to the playroom. Eventually he will equivocate the two. The Ferret Nation gives you full movement to grab your chin, which is nice. It will be hard, you will feel bad, he will run and you will have to chase him. The best thing that I have found to do to get the chins used to being held is to pick them up when they are sleeping. They aren't as quick and they are usually so relaxed that they don't immediately freak out in your arms. The worst thing you can do, however, is to corner him. If you corner him, he will most likely bite out of fear.

However, when he bites you, say "no" firmly and tap him (not hard, just enough to get his attention) on the nose. He will stop. Believe me. I was so scared of my chins for a while there because every time we put our hands near them they freaked out and bit us. Now they wouldn't dream of it

As far as the dust bath thing goes, I know a lot of members here also do that. It all depends on how dry of a climate you live in. I made the mistake here in Arizona of giving two baths in one week and the chins were itchy and scratched themselves all week, which could have led to other bad stuff. So just be careful of overdoing the dust baths.

I would just keep reassuring him with the sticks, pick him up yourself, and get him used to a routine that brings him happiness. He will realise being picked up is a small price to pay for the fun he is about to have!

 

[MosesMomma]

I do the exact same thing, AshleyNicol3. Put the bath house in the cage, and once he is in I pick it up and tilt it so the house is vertical (with the opening on top). Mose can stick his head out, but he can't get enough traction to climb out. We don't carry him far--bedroom to bathroom--and he doesn't seem to mind now.

I can't carry him between the rooms because he gets scared by the dogs in the hallway and will bite my hand into oblivion trying to escape from my grasp. Oh well, our system works. He lets me pick him up when he is getting into things in the bathroom (e.g. attempting to chew on the shower curtain, toilet, cabinets...) so I'm not worried about him being unable to be handled.

As for the negative association with the bath house: I don't think that's going to be a concern. Mose still gets excited whenever he sees the house, regardless if he knows he's about to be "trapped" in it.

 

[Rainierainbow]

I had this problem too, because at first he would squirm and try to jump out of y hands (he even escaped in my room a few times). My solution was to use one of those cardboard box pet carriers that they usually give you when you buy a pet at a pet store. I think petsmart even sells them. But I would take him out of the cage and hold him for as long as I could with the box open on the floor. Then when he was getting too hard to hold plop him in the box and just take it to the bathroom. After a while he started to calm down and get used to me holding him so I could carry him. Hope that helped!

 

[Godofgods]

Guess im lucky there. There cage is in there play room.

 

[ashleynicol3]

I've been sitting up close to the cage and letting him climb all over my hands and arms, sniff my face, etc. He jumped up on my shoulder & sat there for a while. He bites at my glasses and my jewelry and my clothes, lol. Finally, he got the courage to jump off my shoulder and onto the floor. I have just been letting him out in my office now instead of trying to carry him to the bathroom. He seems to be doing just fine. He likes to run around in big loops around the room & he couldn't do that in the bathroom because there's not enough room. He jumps over me and onto my back sometimes & he sat on my head yesterday, lol. I've been setting the dust bath house out when I'm ready for him to go back in his cage, but tonight, he was looking up at his cage and seemed like he was trying to figure out how to get up there, so I set his dust bath house near his cage & he used it as a jumping point & went back in his cage all by himself! I was very pleased! He gets a rose hip if he's a good boy. He wouldn't take it from my fingers tonight because I had painted my nails a couple hours earlier & I guess he could smell it, but he snatched it up when I set it down for him. I think he's getting into a routine now, which is great!

 

[ashleynicol3]

I just watch him closely since there are so many things in my office. All he really does is run around in circles and jump off the walls, but if he's near something he shouldn't be, I tell him no firmly and/or tap the floor with my hand and he scampers away. He is too darn cute! I love him to pieces!