Question about holding chins

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Marcham93

Marcham93

Chinchilla Lover
Joined
Mar 15, 2013
Messages
51
Location
New York, USA
Hi everyone!

Just picked up a adorable Chinchilla yesterday; his name is Gizmo.

I have a question about chins and being handled. As time progresses will I be able to pick him up when needed and move him around? I am very used to parrots and other animals which can be tamed extremely well. Gizmo is adorable and loves to run around the room and explore (don't worry, the room is chin safe and I'm always there), but when I need to pick him up for some reason it does involve a bit of a chase around the cage. Obviously he is new to the family, so I stopped as I don't want to stress him out. Over time will I be able to handle my chin as needed or are chins on there on and there truly is no taming them in such a sense?

Thanks for the help!

PS- A Chinchilla book from Barron is on the way from Amazon to supplement what I've already learned from many FAQS on the web about these little guys.
 
Hmm, there will probably be better advice on the way but you need to have him used to you and trust you enough for him to permit you to carry him before you actually consider letting him out of the cage. This way, you don't have to chase him to put him back into the cage. As you mentioned, chasing him gives him some stress and probably affects the trust level as well.

As for gaining Gizmo's trust, try putting your arm into his cage every now and then so he gets used to you/your scent. You can also sit near the cage door with your shoulders and he if feels comfortable, you may experience a chin sitting on you! (Just be careful not to stand up while the chin is on your shoulders...he may get hurt if he accidentally falls off due to such a tall distance from the ground.)

Eventually, hopefully you will be able to hold Gizmo without any problems. I usually scoop a chin up with both hands, one on each side while facing each other. Then I position one hand (with the palm) underneath the chin and use 2 fingers to firmly pincer onto the base of the tail for support (make sure only at the base and not further up the tail, or else the tail may break if he struggles!).

Good luck with your new chin!
 
tranquility said:
Hmm, there will probably be better advice on the way but you need to have him used to you and trust you enough for him to permit you to carry him before you actually consider letting him out of the cage. This way, you don't have to chase him to put him back into the cage. As you mentioned, chasing him gives him some stress and probably affects the trust level as well.

As for gaining Gizmo's trust, try putting your arm into his cage every now and then so he gets used to you/your scent. You can also sit near the cage door with your shoulders and he if feels comfortable, you may experience a chin sitting on you! (Just be careful not to stand up while the chin is on your shoulders...he may get hurt if he accidentally falls off due to such a tall distance from the ground.)

Eventually, hopefully you will be able to hold Gizmo without any problems. I usually scoop a chin up with both hands, one on each side while facing each other. Then I position one hand (with the palm) underneath the chin and use 2 fingers to firmly pincer onto the base of the tail for support (make sure only at the base and not further up the tail, or else the tail may break if he struggles!).

Good luck with your new chin!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice. Gizmo seems to be adapting well, as he will take a rasin from my hand without worry. He also will come up to me at times if I'm sitting on the floor. His cage starts on the floor so he easily will run back when he feels like it. :)

It's only day two so I know trust must be built, but I was very curious if I would be able to ever pick him up and its good to know that in time I will.

Thanks again!
 
Godofgods said:
raisins are not rly safe for chins. You might want to stop with them.
Click to expand...

+1

Raisins are really bad. Chins love sweet stuff and will nibble/eat anything. They should have a really boring diet consisting of water/grass/pellets, that's it. I think that you can have unlimited safe snacks like apple twigs, which are good for his teeth, but other than that, his diet should be quite limited.
 
It's only been a day that this chin has been with you. It would be best if you let the chin settle in first before holding him and taking him out of the cage. Generally I tell my customers to leave their chins alone in their cages for a week or so. It takes awhile for chins to acclimate to a brand new environment, they are usually very scared the first few days so it's a good idea to not push them too much. It is definitely too early to let this chin out to run in the room.

Over time your chin will become more used to being held. NEVER chase a chin around to pick it up, especially not in the first month or so of going to a new home. This makes chins fearful and teaches them to run away, of course. After the chin is more settled you will want to take him out and hold him as much as you can. You have to earn the chin's trust and teach him to not be fearful of you or his home.
 
tranquility said:
+1

Raisins are really bad. Chins love sweet stuff and will nibble/eat anything. They should have a really boring diet consisting of water/grass/pellets, that's it. I think that you can have unlimited safe snacks like apple twigs, which are good for his teeth, but other than that, his diet should be quite limited.
Click to expand...

Can you recommend other healthy treats over rasins? I picked up some Timothy Hay Biscuits by Kaytee (A brand I have trusted for a very long time), they are "crunchy oven baked treats made with all-natural, ground timothy hay with added bits of real carrot."

I have heard cheerios can be a good treat, is this true?

P.S.- I do have Apple twigs for him. :)

P.S.S- Gizmo is actually adjusting extremely quickly! He is very comfortable with my hand and will climb into it already. In fact he is climbing on me as I type this. I'm going at his pace... but his pace is fast. The cage is on the ground and the room is chin proofed. He actually is accustomed to waiting at the cage door when he wants to come out already; he is a doll. I have parrots, but I've never seen an animal adapt so quickly.

:thumbsup:
 
Eh...Don't buy treats from pet stores, buy them from people on this forum. If you go in to the chin supplies for SALE section, there is a sticky at the top that has everyone's info/websites that you can contact them through. I buy my stuff from Susan (AZChins) and will continue to buy through her for as long as I have my chinchillas (Which will be a very long time :p) But yeah! Pet stores in general suck, the apple twigs there are way too expensive, and who knows what they've been sprayed with... As far as handling goes, I still have to make an effort to pick up both of my guys, one's almost a year, the other is older than that (not really sure since my friend gave him to me.)
 
Marcham93 said:
Can you recommend other healthy treats over rasins? I picked up some Timothy Hay Biscuits by Kaytee (A brand I have trusted for a very long time), they are "crunchy oven baked treats made with all-natural, ground timothy hay with added bits of real carrot."

I have heard cheerios can be a good treat, is this true?

P.S.- I do have Apple twigs for him. :)

P.S.S- Gizmo is actually adjusting extremely quickly! He is very comfortable with my hand and will climb into it already. In fact he is climbing on me as I type this. I'm going at his pace... but his pace is fast. The cage is on the ground and the room is chin proofed. He actually is accustomed to waiting at the cage door when he wants to come out already; he is a doll. I have parrots, but I've never seen an animal adapt so quickly.

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I only know of apple twigs so I'll let others provide more advice re healthy snacks. Probably not a good idea to buy any snacks at the pet store in general.

Yes, raisins are not good, please refrain. They probably will shorten a chin's life over time.
 
No fruits, no veggies, no meat, no dairy, no nuts, no seeds. All of these items can cause digestive problems as well as other health issues which will shorten the life of your chinchilla. Drying any of these items only removes the water and not the parts that are bad for them.

Good options are plain shredded wheat squares, plain cheerios, old fashioned oats , not the quick cooking or instant varieties, rose hips, apple wood and pear wood. And yes, they like the wood some much that they act like you are giving them a treat.
 
All of my chinchillas love plain shredded wheat squares, old fashioned slow cook oats, and wood chews as treats :)
 
Thanks for some of the great suggestions!

I'm looking through Susan's store right now at the treats.

Thanks everyone! :D
 
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