Nipping

[Leowyldemi]

Hello again,it looks like i may have a nipper on my hands,Kishi likes to nibble nip and chew on my fingers,and twice she has bitten the ends of my fingers,not enough to break the skin yet, but i would like to stop it before it gets to that level, she does this every time i feed her, change her hay rack or clean out her cage.Is there anything i can do to break her of the habit?

 

[Cuddlebug]

Do you stop and remove your hand when she bites? If so, stop reacting and just continue with whatever you were doing. Most chins will stop after a few tries that don't get a reaction.

 

[SSGSteane]

I have a nibbler as well, I will try this.

 

[Leowyldemi]

most of the time i let her investigate my hand,climb on me whatever she feels she needs to do to feel comfortable,then i keep doing what i was doing,but she got me on my thumb hard enough to make me go "ow!" and withdraw my hand,mostly it's a little nibble, not to bad,no big deal but then she decides to give a good chomp, and that's what i would like to stop.

 

[jmdebb]

They say if they are biting to wear leather gloves and for some reason (I don't know what it is), but this will stop the biting.

Good luck,
Jean

 

[oxchincerelyxo]

My girl Lena has a bit of the same problem. Like she somehow confuses my finger tips with hay or food pellets *sigh*

Now when she does it I say OUCH or NO kind of loud, just enough to get her to look at me like "What?!? I just wanted a bite!" it seems to be working. If your chin does it hard enough that it bothers you, try wearing leather gloves like Jean said or slightly blowing in their face...these should make them stop:thumbsup:

 

[Leowyldemi]

that's a good idea i'll try that when she gets naughty, thanks

 

[cherylslittleangels]

I usually just let out a loud OW if mine get too overzealous. Its really kinda the same thing as they do when they kack when another chin is chewing on them. I don't think they mean to bite so hard... at least the nibblers don't. You'll know it when they really intend on BITING you. I've noticed in mine, that the nibbling gets alot softer the older the chin gets.

 

[Leowyldemi]

well usually she's pretty careful, but she likes to chew on everything from my fingers to my hair,she is snuggly but so nibbly, i think she just might have gotten overzealous too, she is very young,and she's got bite marks all over her hears so you know she had a bitey cagemate in the past so that may be where she learned this behaviour from,i'm just hoping i can get her to break the habit of hard bititing and hair chewing(i don't want her to get a hairball)

 

[6Dusters]

Sometimes it depends on how long you have had your chin. New chins can sometimes bite harder then another chin you have had for a while. If you have just the one "new" chin then it may time some time for a "grooming of your hand" vs a harder bite. Time is the key. I've had a little girl here for almost a year and she was a hard biter!! We finally have her down to an investigative nibble. When its a bit hard then I pull the finger slowly back but not out of the cage and let her return to try a "softer groom". So far so good! You could also try a bit of oats flakes placed flat in your hands. Chins seem to find out the hand is not a good as the oat. They will also lick your hand for any little flake. So don't jump. I've found this to be a good part of bonding.

 

[JennyBug]

When we first brought Minnie home, she was a TERRIBLE biter (at least of me - the woman who owned her was rough with her, so I think it was an association thing). We had some theories on what might be causing it:
1.) How do you give her treats? Minnie bit hard enough to break the skin in two places on the meaty parts of both my palms (where I would balance treats). We think she might have thought she was getting a treat, then got upset when there was nothing but hand there. I now only give her treats held between my fingers, and she hasn't bitten me since.
2.) Do you sanitize your hands before you put them in the cage? My husband works at an alcohol distillery, specifically around the juniper berries needed for gin (have you ever seen a chinchilla fall in love with a pair of pants? I have - apparently they like the smell of the berries). He still gets bitten if he doesn't have his hands well washed.

To deal with biting a breeder in Cleveland told me to VERY VERY lightly blow in her face and softly say "no." A chin might immediately "test" you again to see if you'll react the same way, so you need to be prepared to do it a couple of times. Some breeders/owners really advise against this method, so check around and see if you can find one that works for you. Just remember to BE CONSISTENT!

Good luck!!

 

[Diva Chins]

I've learned how to perfectly imitate a kack. It's AWESOME! Whenever one of mine nip or bite me that isn't in the loving way, I can kack at them and they stop. Bubbles likes to kack at me for random reasons, sometimes I walk too close to her cage, she kacks. Sometimes I reach for her food bowl the wrong way, she kacks. Sometimes I apparently anger her by emptying out yesterday's hay and putting in new, she kacks. Now, I kack back and she gets a look like "...What?" So maybe you could try imitating kacking?

 

[Cuddlebug]

The leather gloves work really well if she is biting really hard. I think it has to do with the fact that they either don't get any satisfaction out of it or don't like the taste. It stops it really quick. Cacking back works, too. I used to tell people to blow in their face, but I've heard that it makes some chins mad at you. I have had four biters and all of them have stopped. Now if I could just get my one girl to stop spraying:thumbsup:

 

[Diva Chins]

The leather gloves work really well if she is biting really hard. I think it has to do with the fact that they either don't get any satisfaction out of it or don't like the taste. It stops it really quick. Cacking back works, too. I used to tell people to blow in their face, but I've heard that it makes some chins mad at you. I have had four biters and all of them have stopped. Now if I could just get my one girl to stop spraying:thumbsup:

Oh yeah. I tried the lightly blowing method and got sprayed in the face lol! Kacking seems to work well for me though.