New Chinchilla Kit nibbling/biting

[ElliesMama]

Hi There,

I just got an adorable 2 month old chinchilla. She is extremely social and friendly. However, in the past 24 hours she has nipped by fingers repeatedly. At first it was when I would put my fingers into her cage to pet her, but today she has done it while I was holding her as well. She only has been biting my index finger (so far).

My gut tells me she thinks I have a treat since she has been given treats by hand since she was born by her breeder (and I have done the same). She nibbles, but sometimes hard and she has torn skin and she drew blood once when my boyfriend was petting her through her cage.

Some forums I was reading were saying she could be just getting used to us and her new environment, but she is so friendly and lets us hold her and she jumps around and seems to be very happy. My gut is telling me she is biting so hard because she is a baby and may not realize how hard she is doing it, and thinks we have a treat for her.

Ultimately, I want to know the most effective way to stop this habit now. I heard tapping them on the nose and saying "no" will help.

If anyone can provide input on why she may be doing this and what the best way to stop her habit of nibbling/ biting I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

 

[javachin]

Its possible that she thinks your fingers are treats. I would avoid petting her through the cage bars or sticking your fingers in the cage. It just peaks her interest and she's probably biting you to figure out what you're sticking through the cage. To avoid that, open the cage to pet her. Hopefully she grows out of it.

 

[seachin]

First, make sure your hands are washed of food residue before handling. Second, you bought a very young chin and they can be a handful as they figure out and test their limits. Taming chins takes time and one thing that you can try is when they do a behavior such as nipping or biting, blow a puff of air on their face and say no. But, you also have to keep holding the chin so they don't think all they need to do is nip and they get out down. It's not all that dissimilar as training little humans. If they cry and get what they want, they know to continue to cry whenever they don't get their way. Little brats. Hahaha. Anyhow, try that, but remember, taming takes time and persistence!

 

[ElliesMama]

Thank you for the advice Javachin and Seachin, I really appreciate it.

I actually think she is finally getting the picture that nipping/ biting is bad. I did realize she usually did it after I had either a treat, hay, etc. in my hand which makes me think it was the food residue. She also recently started crying when she wants us to take her out and play. When she does this I ignore her and I do not take her out. I will wait a while before I do take her out, so she doesn't connect crying to getting her way. They really are like little humans!