Regaining trust?

[koopashark]

Before we had to bring Koopa to the vet last week/weekend, he was pretty tame. We had done the slow start where we put our hands in the cage to let him sniff/move a treat up the arm etc. and he had really warmed up to us. If you put both hands in the cage, he would climb on and let you pick him up without a problem. Now, if I open the cage and put both hands in, he goes flying past me and I have to try to catch him. Once I manage to pick him up to carry him to the play room, he's so squirmy and bites the whole time. He also spends more time hiding under his wheel from us.

When we were at the exotic vet this weekend, he was very squirmy and bitey for the vet, so she asked how we had been handling him. We said we gently picked him up out of the cage and then put him down to let him play. She said we needed to get better at holding him and then proceeded to stuff him into a towel to try to hold him down. I know some people burrito them to give medicine, but she said that we should burrito him for 5 minutes a day to get him used to being held. I didn't like that at all but wanted to see what others think.

Other info: his quarantine ended last weekend so we moved him to the other room because he seemed like he was doing well. His cage has been next to our other chinchilla's cage for a little over a week now. I also tried making him a cuddle buddy but he just threw it off his shelf and then never touched it lol.

I'm guessing he's either mad at us for putting him in the carrier and taking him to the vet twice last week, or he's not happy being next to our other chinchilla. Should I just leave him alone for a few days? If so, how should I give him the medicine the vet gave us? Should we move his cage back into the other room and start from scratch? I know we should backtrack something to regain his trust again but I'm not sure what.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[koopashark]

He's just about 6 1/2 months old, could he be hitting puberty which is causing this behavior?

 

[beige chin]

Why did the vet give him medicine if he is healthy enough to be moved into a room with your other chin?
I cant answer your question because i am just new to chins too but i do know that chins do NOT like to feel trapped (like when you wrap them up in a towel) and they will do anything to get away and make sure that it never happens again. If you do wrap him up like the vet suggested then your chin will never let you near him... hopefully somebody more experienced can help you more...

 

[koopashark]

The medicine was to help alleviate any potential constipation he was having, which didn't start until after we moved him - it might have been a little bit of stress from getting moved. He's perfectly healthy other than that though.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I would not burrito a chinchilla for 5 minutes a day to get him used to being held. Instead, I would just pick him up and hold him for a few minutes, several times a day. Picking them up and holding them will not traumatize them and it will get them used to being handled. The more you handle them, the tamer they get.

 

[Spirit Chaser]

If he's actually lost trust, you should probably start from square one, just keeping a hand in his cage, talking to him. All that stuff they tell you to do when you first bring them home as often as you can. Doing whatever you did the first time around. Hopefully, if he liked to be handled before, you can get him back to that point.

Sadly if it's the only way to hold him to give him the meds, you may have to burrito wrap him, but I would be inclined to avoid it myself if possible. I have a cat who has to take meds he hates, (First they gave me pills I couldn't get down him, then they gave my fish hating cat meds in fish oil) and it's distancing him from me, it could be a similar thing with the chinchilla, hates the meds, hates the way he's handled to receive them, and he's associating you with it now, so hopefully the course of meds isn't a permanent thing, and when it's done he'll be happier too.

 

[Riven]

I tell everyone who asks me that you should treat them from day one like you're going to treat them forever. If you pussy foot around them they're going to learn that's what you're going to do.

Not saying a chin is like a puppy but so many people treat a puppy different than a dog then they get dogs who think they get to do whatever they want and owners who send them to the pound because they can't control them.

Put a towel or long sleeve shirt on and hold him on your arm and keep a hold on his tail, that will allow him to bite you, when he realizes it doesn't do any good he'll stop, it will also allow him to hide his head in the crook of your elbow.

 

[koopashark]

I've been taking him out every morning and just holding him for a few minutes while gently speaking to him. When I first started out, when I held him firmly by the base of his tail and let his body rest on my arm, he thrashed about. I learned pretty quickly to start wearing long sleeves!

Once he calms down, I offer him an oat, tell him he's a good boy, and put him down so he can have play time. He's gotten progressively less bitey over the course of a couple days, and less squirmy as well. Today, I found him standing excitedly at the front of his cage with his paws on the bar, ready to come out. He didn't bite at all when I took him out for play time, and only a few soft bites on the way back to the cage. Progress! I will keep working with him.

As far as medicine, he actually loves the stuff so he'll take the syringe right through the side of his cage without needing to be burritoed at all, which is awesome.

Thank you everyone for the advice! It's very appreciated.

 

[PetoftheDay]

Just remember to be consistent, and make sure you make it a habit to handle him every day. Never get complacent! Trust earned is not to be taken for granted!

 

[JessiLynnCVT]

While to burrito method is great for teaching new owners how to properly restrain without causing harm to their ribs and back for medications. I wouldn't recommend toweling them for general handling nor would any of the 100% Exotic's vets I worked for and with. Then again with clients I always recommended that holding them for a few minutes a few times daily is a start. Something else I always recommended is getting them used to syringes when they are healthy. With mine I would wet the tip of a syringe with some water and dust it with some healthy chin safe herbs or very occasionally stick a raison on the end. This way they get something delicious from them. It makes medicating a sick chin in the future much less stressful. I don't have to put any of my 7 chins in towels or even hold them to give them meds now. I pull out the syringe and they come running to the front of the cage! As for this one you will need to towel him while he is on the medications so gaining his trust will take a little bit more time while he is on the gi meds. But he absolutely needs to get them.

 

[beige chin]

also, I wouldnt feed him anything through the bars on the cage, many animals will learn that treats come from through the cage bars and if you (or anybody else, like a young child) decides to put their finger through the bars then the animal will bite/grab your finger thinking (or maybe not thinking at all!) that the finger is a treat! I used to feed my critters treats through the cage bars all the time till they started doing this, because the ONLY way to stop them from grabbing your fingers through the cage bars is to avoid putting your hand there in the first place, I have tried training but it would never work...