new chin

[Bosco Lam]

my new chinchilla i got today is very energetic, he loves to climb around and play with his toys, however he might be " a bit too energetic," i opened the cage door to adjust his water bottle and he escaped out, whenever i even go close to his cage, he climbs towards the door. i spent over half an hour trying to catch im in my basement. are there any "tricks" to prevent him from escaping or easier ways of catching him? i had to throw a box on him (not very nice but i was desperate) and obviously, he was not willing to wander in by himself.

 

[kerri101]

hes very curious and getting used to his new environment congrats on your new chin!!!

when I first brought my chin home she would run to the door what I did was since she was new was to place here in her carrier while I did cage cleaning, another thing to do is to place some chew sticks or a a toy in the cage for distraction even a cheap thing such as a bamboo finger trap/stick will keep mine nosy for a few minutes...another thing is when I refill the hay holder she runs to that for a few minutes new hay is exciting I guess...also to get him back in the cage easier you could put the dust bath out wait for him to go in it and carry the dust bath with chin in it to the cage ....this works for me a lot and is a time saver....chins never want to go in the cage lol...there are a few who have trained there chins though to come to which is sooo cool!!!

 

[ChinnieShop]

He is excited in his new environment, what I have learned with mine when they do not want to get caught is I usually have a Cheerio and hold it in my hand until they come up and I grab them.

 

[chinchillin2005]

Easiest way to catch a chinchilla ever, for me: I always used a huge plastic box that had originally had rows of tennis balls in them that kind of looks like this

(I searched it on google) for his dust bath, and he knows the sound of the box and comes running over every single time. I just halfway close the lid and put him back in his cage. I give my chinchilla dust baths every 2-3 days because his skin gets dry so he comes running. By the way, my chinchilla (when we had the wire cage, we had to paper clip the doors) has escaped over 100 times in his whole life. He opens the door himself at night and runs around the whole entire house while we're sleeping even upstairs. We wake up in the morning and there's poop everywhere on the sofa, etc. Again, we just get the dust bath box and make the sound and he comes running over as fast as he can and than we catch him. I let him out in the house all the time for his playtime (I swear he's like a dog), he doesn't go underneath the sofa since he's not scared, he runs everywhere and all the doors are closed, and he's fine. We watch him him for him not to chew anything. He's like a rabbit and dog, he just runs around the whole house. Than we catch him by the sound of the dust bath.

 

[chinchillin2005]

My chinchilla always tried to escape the cage door too when we first got him. What you have to do is at first open the door slightly and never be scared of touching the chinchilla. Once you are scared of him, he will sense your fear and be scared of you. Gently push your chinchilla back in his cage, that's what I always did, he got the idea, and he never tries to escape, cause I do the same thing every time. He's superrrr tame too and wants people to pet him. He does get scared when people run around trying to catch him. that's the worst, he sheds fur and makes sounds when he's scared like if someone comes over and tries to catch him. instead, give him a routine and get him used to coming over himself. don't give your chinchilla dust baths every single day, may be like every 3 days and they will consider it as a treat and come running over. they're really intelligent animals and know the sound of treats and dust baths instantly.

 

[ChinnyMom]

my boys are learning 'stay in' when i open the cage door.

if they come right up to the door as it's opening, i put my hand up and say 'stay in' and give them a very gentle push back if they try advancing out the cage door. it can be challenging when both are trying to get out, but that is why us human beans have two hands, lol.

the past week, all i have to say is 'stay in' and they don't even advance to the door unless i say 'ok, come out' when it's time for play time.

 

[chinchillin2005]

my boys are learning 'stay in' when i open the cage door.

if they come right up to the door as it's opening, i put my hand up and say 'stay in' and give them a very gentle push back if they try advancing out the cage door. it can be challenging when both are trying to get out, but that is why us human beans have two hands, lol.

the past week, all i have to say is 'stay in' and they don't even advance to the door unless i say 'ok, come out' when it's time for play time.

exactly what i did.