I am worried about my chinchillas behavior towards me.

[hakuwr]

Hello this is my first chinchilla. He was born February 2015 and I got Him April 2015. He has had a friendly behavior towards me until yesterday. I put my hand in his cage and he started to make a noise and what seemed like he was defensive. He would make a noise and look like he wanted to bite me. This morning I tried again and he did the same thing. I don't know if it means he is upset with me or what? Any advice will help. I don't know if it is relevant but I got a new Guinea pig the day before it started.

 

[Chinups]

First, when you bring in a new animal into the family, you should have a quarantine period (about 30 days). It sounds like you brought the guinea pig in and immediately went from touching him to touching your chinchilla, I may be mistaken. I definitely think this has something to do with the behavior you mentioned. In any case, you may have startled the chinchilla.

Chinchillas are very tuned into smells. If you smelled different than what he was used to, you became a stranger, and possibly a threat. Are you keeping the animals in separate rooms? Are you washing your hands after touching one before touching the other? You should not be sharing any of their toys, bowls, cages.

I recommend you take a step back and let the chinchilla get to know you again. Take it slow, but remember to wait a month to ensure the guinea pig is healthy.