How do I get my chin to be cuddly?

[SookiFace1]

Shes finally allowing me to scratch under her chin but Sook freaks out whenever I go to pick her up, hold her close, ANYTHING! Am i doing something wrong? neglecting to do something? I know chins have different temperments but after combing through this site I noticed that her and I dont interact as intimately as other chins and their owners.

 

[lola]

some chins are like that. with mine i can only pet her for a little but no scritches! some chins love i some dont

 

[Christina Noraas]

When I had females my one wanted NOTHING to do with any intimate contact with humans. There isn't anything you can do to force them to be snuggly, possibly over time she will just poof decide to do it.

 

[dcfluegel]

best tool I have found is patience - relationship has to develop on its own terms... talk to em, spend time in same room, read to em, sing (you, maybe - not me... my singing would run em off...)... I have been spending a good bit of time putting my hand in the cage and letting them begin to investigate - and they are starting to get comfortable enough to walk out on my hands and hop on my chest/ shoulder, in some cases...

 

[SookiFace1]

Im always spending time with my Sookie pants so I'm guessing with time I'll see if shes going to end up being a cuddler or not. Her and I always jam out to music (Rihanna is her favorite) and Im always having convos with her. She comes when I call, understands what no means, etc. Shes only about 9 months so hopefully shell warm up Thank you guys for responding

 

[LoveBug]

she may warm up and allow it or she may not allow it. it just depends on the chinnie, all of them have different personalities

 

[arf2184]

Very few chinchillas are cuddly. They'll interact with you, they'll enjoy the occasional chin scratch, and they'll tolerate being held, but the majority will never be truly cuddly. They'd much rather be off exploring, bouncing off of you like a trampoline, and tasting everything. They each have their own personalities...some want to interact more than others. You can continue to work with her, but don't expect her to be something she's not. Enjoy her for who she is and you'll both be happier.

With that said, she's still very young. Some chinchillas around her age are quite aloof (think teenage rebellion). She may calm down a bit as she gets older and as she gets to know you even better. Don't expect cuddly though...you'll likely be disappointed.

 

[ticklechin]

The only way is being lucky, you got one that wants to be cuddled, otherwise what Alison said in the above post.

 

[lovemycappy]

At first my chin didnt like for you to pick him up. One way that I found I was able to pick him up was with a treat. I have a log looking treat and I would hold it in one hand and allow him to chew on it while i carefully picked him up with the other hand. He loves the treat so much that he didnt mind getting picked up as long as he could chew. It was a good start and now he has gotten better about being picked up. so you could always try something along these lines. but just dont push your chin and just take it step by step. good luck with you chin!

 

[PetoftheDay]

Patience, patience and patience ... after all, think about it. Like bunnies, in the wild chinchillas are a prey species. If their feet come off the ground involuntarily, it's because someone is about to eat them. If you really want to be able to pick her up, you could try doing it every day, a little at a time, but that doesn't work with every animal. When you do pick her up, make sure you support her feet, particularly her hind feet, the whole time.

With my bunny, I made a conscious effort to make sure I picked her up and held her every single day when she was a baby, so she got used to it. But it only worked with me, because my husband didn't do it every day, throughout her life, when he picked her up, she would either struggle to escape, or "play dead" which nearly gave him a heart attack one day.

Again, it doesn't work with every bunny or with every chinchilla, so you just want to get yourself used to petting her on the ground/shelf, where she is most comfortable. Patience patience and repetition ...