Tortured by children chinchilla

[bondiferous]

HELLO~ Very new here but have been lurking for a while. My application came back from a chinchilla rescue up north and they like it! YAY!

They matched me with a mother and her neutered son. Mom is very workable and already taking treats and scratches. The male chinchilla has been traumatized by the previous owners 3 small children. They explained to me that almost 4 times a day since his birth the children ripped him from his cage (not carefully by any means), roughed him up and terrified him with inappropriate handling. He does pee frequently but does not bite or bark. He's very quite, simply pees and runs away. One of the members voiced a concern that his health might be at risk and despite 4 months of working with him in a very slow, calm and quite pace he has not made any progress. He enjoys outside cage time but as soon as he sees a human he flies back into the cage. Which is sad because he's being described as a very skilled acrobat!

To be flat, I am perfectly fine if he never wants to accept humans. I have worked with animals that simply have gone past the point of return. However I would like some input from other experienced chinchilla owners. Have you ever encountered a chinchilla that doe not turn around? How is everyday life with this chinchilla? What happens during emergencies and cleaning? Do they like outside cage time?

 

[AZChins]

Give him some time after he comes to live with you. I have a chin like him...this chin bites and charges at people. It's taken 8 months to get him to not bite, but he still charges. Sometimes it will take a few months or even a year or more, most chins come around. Some don't, and the best thing to do is give those chins their space so they don't get too stressed.

Life with a chin like this little guy is still interesting and fun, just be nice and calm with him and he will learn to trust you. He will learn to put up with cleaning and having you around, don't worry, you won't be stressing him or torturing him by being around. It's a real shame that he was traumatized so much. Honestly, some chins that are like him never really are all that comfortable coming out of the cage. Let him stay in there if he finds it comforting to stay in his cage and let him come out on his own...never force him. Never chase him around the cage to try to catch him because that will reinforce his idea that people aren't trustworthy.

Four months isn't enough time sometimes...he could still come around.

 

[addictedtochins]

Sammy was just like that. When I got him he was sad, scared, depressed and lunging/biting. He still bites sometimes but with utter glee and joy! He is truly a happy boy and loves his scritchies. I have had him at least 2 years. I don't remember how long it took. btw he is housed with 2 other boys and those guys get along so well

 

[Thirstywhale]

That's so sad, your poor chin. I hope he does come around. Good luck.

 

[ticklechin]

My two tough nuts came from a teenage boy who tortured them, the one had brain damage from being tossed in the air and was hit by a ceiling fan blade, he dumped them off at a rat rescue right after since he did not want to pay for a vet. She never came around before she passed and her sister took 6 years to trust humans enough to be held without fighting.

 

[DaddyslilDimwit]

Oh my Gosh. Kids are INSANE today. No respect for living creatures.

 

[Godofgods]

The first chin i took in was Chico. He had been passed around from so many owners that i have no idea who/where he originated from. I also have no idea his exact age.

I took him in from my brother who had to move. He also had two new kids. And i can tell you, words like calm, respectful, QUITE, are not in their vocabulary. But what do you expect at that age.

Needless to say, chico was stressed out beyond belief. The first night he was in my place, if you even walked near his cage he would freak out, bark like mad, and get extremely defensive. Touching him wasn't even a possibility.

But over the course of the next year, he calmed down significantly. He gained my trust and since then has become the most lovable chin of all. (I have 5) Its truly remarkable how much he changed.

So some chins can change their behavior. But it takes a lot of time and patience.

 

[mydoublechins]

This is sooo sad. I took in a hamster with the same past and issues, and did manage to tame him. Taming him was my goal but I then realised....he didnt actually enjoy being handled, so then left him to live out his life with minimal interaction and on his terms.

I felt at the time it was important he could be handled should he ever need medical attention, and also so I could groom him as he was long haired. We all loved him the best of all our hamsters and he interacted with us through the cage bars on his terms.

I have just bought two baby chins from a pet store and one is incredibly timid. I've seen good progress in the few weeks I have had them and wish you much joy in your relationship with your troubled fellow.

Mel xx

 

[bondiferous]

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to reply and that this is short. Ive been incredbly busy getting my spare room chin proofed and ready to go. It's easy since theres nothing in there but I'm triple checking everything.

Thanks all for the replies. AZchins, your very helpful!

All of your replies have been more than helpful and I appreciate it. From your comments I have hope for him but I will let him do as he pleases. A chinny like this shouldn't be subjected to anymore stress. He needs a retirement home at age 2!

Im terribly glad his Momma is going to be with him. All of the photos of them together are of him being groomed and hiding under her (well trying!). His neutering has helped him as he has stopped being so aggressive but he is terrified still. Poor baby. OH did I say his tail is a nub? It has broken off TWICE due to the children yanking on him.

It's a shame that parents dont teach their children respect towards other living creatures. He deserves a happy life and he was tortured instead. Ticklechin, that is terrible. I cannot believe the parents didnt stop that! How could they let that even start?!?

 

[3CsMommy]

I have one that was rescued from a bad situation. He's lived here for 18 months. He doesn't get out of cage time because I have no safe or reliable way to get him back in that doesn't result in flying fur and me bleeding. He learned how to run on a wheel in about an hour, and flat-out flies on it! But, he lets my fiancee pet him and love all over him (a man did a lot of his initial socialization, so he likes him better), will occasionally sniff at me (mostly when I have treats) and on Thursday, he let me kiss him on the forehead. He's not fond of me petting him, but he'll tolerate it. Picking up can be tricky. I usually have to grab him first and go quick for once overs, etc. He bites when he's really stressed, so 'quick' is best for both of us.

Slow going is often just that-- s.....l.....o.....w. But, these guys are in the most populated part of our apartment, they hear us talking and laughing and singing all the time, so they're comfortable in the environment. And since you don't have unsupervised and ill-behaved children to worry about, I'm sure your little guy will adjust if given enough time and security. (Also, orchard grass and oat hay make GREAT bribery. )

I swear by singing to chinchillas, which have a similar range of hearing to that of humans. Each of mine has his theme song (each is named after a song, so that helps) that I sing to him when he's getting loved on, and the jumpy one in particular sits up to listen when C. plays his guitar. (I think his rescue dad plays guitar too.) Music has been proven to do a LOT of good to all kinds of creatures. So, when he moves in, perhaps your first present to him can be a radio?

 

[bondiferous]

Im not sure if my posts were received earlier. I wanted to say thank you to all the members who gave me advice and told me their stories. I find this to be a great new adventure, more so than a problem. Regardless, thank you all again. It was incredibly helpful. I forgot to mention his tail has slipped off twice now.

Also, where is the best place to buy a chinchilla safe wheel? I feel he would be happy with one inside the cage.

I swear by singing to any nervous animal. This is funny to me, all of my nervous animals have enjoys Rufus Wainwright (sp?) Hallelujah. I love to sing it and it seem to have enough low to high calm tones that they dont find it offensive. Ive also read tvs and music help chinchillas rehab and cope with nose. I hooked up a radio and put a nest box with a wire bottom upside down on it. I plan to place it in the hallway during playtime so no one even has a chance to touch the outlet. (all outlets have blocker plugs in them!)

Also, what type of pen or gating system would be best? I am reading Marshal is a farm and I dont want to buy from them but I am impressed by their pens. I want Momma to start out slow and not be let loose asap.

 

[mydoublechins]

I have trained my degus and chins to jump in a big lasagna/casserole dish which is their dust bath for moving them round. Wherever they are if they jump into this when offered they get a treat and can go back in their cage or wherever I want them to be.

It has turned out to be a great thing to have taught them, especially if you have any that dont like to be handled.

 

[DoGooder]

bondiferous, it's sad that your male chin endured cruelty. I believe animals can teach children to be caring and responsible, but parents must guide that process. Though I'm merely a beginner at caring for chinchillas (less than a month) I'd like to offer possible solutions for handling the traumatized male.

During the first week my chin was living in my home, she loved being out of her cage and even hugging me, but she couldn't stand being picked up. I found that the least stressful way to get my chin out of her cage was to catch her in a butterfly net. She has a big cage with gate doors so I just placed the net over her, petted her for 30 seconds (through the net), then led her to the pointy end of the net, tightened my fist around the opening so she couldn't escape, and lifted her out suspended by the baggy part of the net. Then I would carry her to the play area (see attached photo of chin in net).

I don't know if all chinchillas are like this but my chin prefers to be petted through a net, so much so that that's the only time she purrs. She feels safe, happy, and content in a net, but she can't stand being in a small carry cage and tries to rip the cage apart with her teeth. So now if I need to carry her in my bag or clean her cage, I put her in a zippered laundry lingerie bag. At first I caught her in the butterfly net then placed the lingerie bag over her and zipped it shut, but now she's so used to the lingerie bag that I just open the cage, slip it over her, and carry her to the destination.

The great thing about the lingerie bag is it contains about 99% of her poopies. So I watch movies with her sitting on my chest (in the bag) and never have to worry about poop on my shirt. After play time I release her into her cage then dump the poopies in the garbage. Also, the bag decreases chewing and movement, so if you need to place your chin in an unsafe area he can still walk around in the mesh bag but will move slower and not chew as much.

I have a clothes hangers with clips on it and I've found that the safest, happiest place for my chin when I'm not watching her is to put her in a mesh lingerie bag and hang the bag from the clips. Suspended high up she lounges calmly for a long time looking down at the room. Basically I just pay attention to what she likes even if it does seem strange. I just want her to be happy and I hope this information was helpful.

DoGooder

 

[lauralynne]

DoGooder, you can't be serious. That is the most asinine thing I've ever heard.

 

[Claire D]

Dogooder, I'm astounded by your post. Few things astound me on chinchilla forums after all these years but you've certainly managed it.

You do realise your poor chin is a prey animal, right? That by putting her in a bag you are effectively capturing her? By suspending her from the ceiling in a bag you're trapping her (which is incredibly stressful, however you like to try wording it to the contrary) and that could be seen as the same as torture in the context of this thread?

 

[Sandi]

I have a clothes hangers with clips on it and I've found that the safest, happiest place for my chin when I'm not watching her is to put her in a mesh lingerie bag and hang the bag from the clips. Suspended high up she lounges calmly for a long time looking down at the room.

I wasn't sure what to think other than "holy sh..." this cannot be true, but then you added the photo of your chin and I am completely mortified. Please stop this behaviour with her now! God bless your poor chin

 

[cindyv3737]

:facepalm: Why would you think that putting a prey animal in a nylon bag is ok? Do you want to sit in a bag?

 

[tunes]

I had to walk away for a minute, take a breath, and return.

I honestly wasn't sure if you were a troll or not with this post. I had seen you post in another thread and thought perhaps not, but now I am unsure again.

I know of ranchers who use butterfly nets to catch escaped chins, but anybody who cannot reach into a cage and pick up their chin doesn't need to have a chin. I have a chin here who is learning manners. She bites, sprays, and attacks you the instant you open her cage. Even with her, I would never think of using a net or a bag. I have a hand. If she runs around the cage, she won't die. I will eventually catch her. Then I HOLD her, so she gets used to me. I don't stuff her in a sack because it's more convenient. I don't know how she was handled before she came to me, but I'm making sure she knows how she will be treated here.

Please, for people reading this thread who might not know better, don't think that this is either normal or acceptable. This is pretty much the stupidest thing I've heard of with chins, and I've heard way more than you can imagine. Suspending your chin from a line with clothespins? Why not just take her outside and hang her in the sun for a while. I'm sure she'll enjoy that too.

DoGooder - Chins POOP. If you're worried about some poop landing on you, get rid of your chin. Who cares if you get some poop on your shirt? It's firm, it doesn't stick, and it doesn't smell. Big deal.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Oh, man -- I'm taking Percoset while recuperating from surgery and I thought I was not really reading what I just read!!!

 

[DoGooder]

Lauralynne, Claire D, Sandi, tunes, Lynn and the Chins,

I understand your concern because you've never heard of people picking up chins in a mesh bag, but I ask that you believe me that this creates virtually no stress for my chin. I think the combination of something completely new being done by a novice is what is causing the alarm. If it was something new recommended by an exotic animal vet than I would be considered more authoritative and more people would see this is a helpful technique.

I like inventing things and am currently working on a mesh harness because my chin doesn't like the string small animal ones. And I'm working on a mesh sling to carry my chin like a human baby in front of me because she doesn't like carry cages. I make these things because the material is soft, flexible, breathable, and therefore gentle on her rather than the hard, harsh alternatives of the tough harness ropy fiber and metal cage.

Also, I tried other methods of getting my chinchilla out of her cage. In the beginning picking her up was very traumatizing for her and she would twist in odd positions and I was afraid I would hurt her. I tried the dustbath method I saw on YouTube where I leave the dustbath in her cage then when she goes in I remove her in the dustbath, but sometimes she didn't want to go in the dustbath. The butterfly net method enables me to pick her up very, very gently with my hands.

Basically I just place the metal ring around her so that the breathable cloth falls gently on her. Then I cup her in my hands placing my hands under her tiny feet and tiny hands for 100% support, then I lift her out. She doesn't twist as much as when picked up by hand, so this is much safer for her than picking her up by hand. I observer her reactions and notice that she likes being wrapped in breathable cloth and only purrs when wrapped in it, and her breathing is so calm I can't see or feel her breathing.

So the final judge is my chinchilla. Whether it's food, cage, toys, or carry methods I look to my chinchilla for what makes her happy. The harness made her shed a lot of hair and she was shaking so no more harness. She shakes, breathes heavily, barks and bites her metal carry cage so I rarely put her in there except to train her in small timeframes to be comfortable there in case I need it to go to the vet.

cindy3737, you said, "Why would you think that putting a prey animal in a nylon bag is ok? Do you want to sit in a bag?"

We live next to a swamp which is mosquito territory so I actually wear a mesh that covers half my body when I garden outside and I breath just as well inside the mesh as without it. My mosquito jacket is what gave me the idea to try this method. My chin is so used to the mesh I no longer use the butterfly net and just put the mesh bag on her to keep her limbs safe when carrying her. Her purring in the net (which she never does when I hold her without it) is what confirms that she likes it and I know it's totally safe for her body.

DoGooder