Chin always runs out of cage

[Drew strickland]

As soon as i open my cage door to pet my chin (oreo) she will run right out, and its a chore trying to catch her as im sure you know!:banghead:

If i try and block the entrance to keep her in she will scratch at my hands and bite me. shes never done this before. ive had her for about 3 weeks and in the past 3 days this is starting to happen.

She gets about an hour of playtime or more a day, and i spend more than that just petting her to give attention. Although these past days i cant even do that because of this! any help much appreciated.

 

[mezarumi]

To fix this with my boys, I just gave them a gentle "boop" (light tap) on the nose and told them "No." whenever they would get too close to the edge of the cage, and it generally works. If that isn't enough because of them being particularly persistent that day, then I will get a finger on their chest and gently push them back, following with the "boop" and a more firm "No.", so they know I mean it. If they don't listen and run out and make me catch them, their usual play outside the cage time gets pushed back as repercussion, and they've learned that they don't like that

Likewise, if they are good, they get outside cage time early.

Currently, this process has worked for my two boys. They are nearly 8 months old. Both of them had a few instances of escaping for a few minutes at a time before they learned how this process worked. It took less than a week for each of them to pick up separately (one started acting up before the other did, so they both had to be taught this at different points).

Hope some part of this might be able to help you figure out something that works for your girl! Whatever you do, just keep it consistent, and she will pick it up

 

[Willow111]

My chinchilla does this when she really wants to get out of the cage. I had this issue with my chinchilla and to fix it I set up cardboard anywhere she could hide. This makes catching her easier. She's kind of grown out of it now that I have a schedule for her. She expects to come out of the cage after my alarm goes off in the morning and at night around 7ish.

 

[LGarl]

Your post doesn't give much information about your chin's cage environment so it's difficult to know why she does this.

Is her cage recommended size?
Does it have varying levels so she can jump up and down in her cage?
Perches, ledges? Chew sticks and toys?

How is her diet? If she's frantic to get out of her cage all the time is could be due to nervousness or anxiety caused by a diet that doesn't have enough nutrients or the wrong kinds of food.



Things don't have to be expensive, just chin safe.

 

[Drew strickland]

Your post doesn't give much information about your chin's cage environment so it's difficult to know why she does this.

Is her cage recommended size?
Does it have varying levels so she can jump up and down in her cage?
Perches, ledges? Chew sticks and toys?

How is her diet? If she's frantic to get out of her cage all the time is could be due to nervousness or anxiety caused by a diet that doesn't have enough nutrients or the wrong kinds of food.



Things don't have to be expensive, just chin safe.

yes. its above recommended size. there are 3 levels. multiple chew sticks, toys, tubes to run through etc. chinchilla food pellets and hay is her diet with about 5 cheerios a week at most. as treats