Chinchilla Question

[hoppergurl]

So I got a 7 year old chinchilla from a friend a few months back and originally she gave me a everything I needed for him including a brand new cage. I thought the cage was kind of small so when I got the money together about a month after I got him I bought a brand new critter nation cage. Ever since I got this cage he doesn't really want to come out of it. I want to take him out for play time in the hall but he will just go sit in the corner so I can't take him out or run away ( I don't want to chase him because I don't want to scare him). He used to be good with me scratching him but he seems to be more annoyed with me touching him now... any suggestions on how I can get him to warm up to me again? I thought I had been making strides before because he would always come up to me but I seem to be going backwards with him now?

 

[Burnt Offering]

I think Chinchilla's once they get used to their cage consider it their safety net. They get used to it and they take a while to adjust when there is a major change. A new cage is a major change and it will take a while for him to adjust. One thing I did that really helped was when I would walk by their cage I would entice them with a cheerio. Not every time. Maybe one out of three times. Before long they would come to the edge of the cage and be happy to see me. Then I started petting them through the cage and it also made it easier to interact with them during play time. Now I have two Chins that are just awesome. I have a nightly ritual with one. She runs back into her cage after playtime. Then I go over scratch her all over her belly and her neck and behind her ears. Man she just leans into it just like a dog and just loves it. Change sometimes is harder for some Chins than others too. Just hang in there I think he will come around.

 

[hoppergurl]

Thanks ill start trying that too! I was thinking about getting a second chin so he will have a playmate but I'm unsure if it will be good for him to have another change so soon so I'm going to pass on getting another for the time being!

 

[Shenanigans]

He could also not want his big cage taken away-a kind of "if i get out i may go back to the tiny one and not get the space again" type of thing (I know rescue dogs it's happened with)