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Chrischin

New member
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
2
Hello Everyone,
A few days ago I bought my first chinchilla! I am a junior in college and wanted a pet that was a little different then the rest. I did plenty of research before buying a 3 month old female, standard chinchilla. She has been settling in her new cage and seems to like it a ton. She has a large wheel in there along with a aspen house and a few ramps to get to each level. She loves to play by herself i will place my hand in her cage and she will crawl on it then quickly jumps off and runs to the corner and hides. Most of the time when i place my hand in her cage she gives a little nibble which i read was a good thing....

My Questions are....
1. How long does it take for a chin to become some what use to their owner?
2. When will she feel comfortable enough to let me hold her for more than a couple seconds?
3.Do i let her come to me or should i try and pick her up when its time for her dust bath?
4. Should her exercise wheel stay in her cage 24/7?

Thanks,
Chris
 
1. That depends totally on the chin. Much like people, chins have different personalities. Some are mellow, others are more hyper. Just be patient and give her time to adjust.
2. You may never be able to hold her for very long. Most chins are not clutchy, clingy pets. First, they overheat too easily. Second, they are rodents not puppies. It's a whole different kind of critter. Again, just have some patience. She's pretty young yet and it's a new house, new human, new everything. Once she settles in she may be different.
3. You could just put her dust bath in her cage. That's what most people do. Or, you can pick her up and put her in it.
4. I would not give her a wheel at all yet. She's young and she needs calories for growing. Adults that use wheels can really start to lose weight. I would wait until she's at least six months old before I would offer it to her.

Welcome to CnH. :)
 
Thanks tunes for the helpful information. I've heard people say you should have them take the dust bath out of the cage so they can bond with the owner.
 
hey chris, i just got my baby that's about 2 and a half months a few weeks ago and he's been opening up to us alot. i always give him run around time for about an hour or more sometimes and that helped with him feeliing comfortable. i love watching him take a dust bath so i put the litter box filled with dust in the middle of his running area and he dives right in. just spend alot of time with her watching her run and do her chinny things and she will warm up as time goes by. i still haven't held chance for a long time but he will occasionally eat a treat and sit on my hand and let me pet himi while he nibbles on a treat. hope it all works out and keep us posted on how she is doing
 
Ok here are the answers to the questions that you asked

1. it depends on how old but with what i see it should be a month or so
2. that could be a couple months yet and shouldnt be a problem for you
you should put it in the cage and take it out after 15 minutes

There shouldnt be an exersize wheel because she can burn way to many calories. Give it to her after about 6 months of age
 
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