How can I catch my chinchilla without him feeling threatened?
I like letting my chinchilla out and playing with him but after an hour I have other stuff I need to do! However whenever I try to catch him he hides and grinds his teeth at me. Any tips?
Tagged with: chinchilla • teeth
Filed under: Chinchilla Persian Kittens
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Please, don’t throw a towel over your chinchilla. I can’t think of a better way to make him terrified of you than to throw this big, scary, dark thing over his head and then drag him back to his cage.
Instead, don’t give your chin his dust bath until you are ready for him to go to his cage. When play time is over, put the dust bath down on the floor where he can see it, and when he hops in, just carry him back to his cage. The plastic dust bath houses or the big round glass jars work really well for this. I prefer to use the glass because they can be cleaned and sterilized, whereas the plastic can’t. Wal-Mart has the glass jars, I believe they are candy jars, for around $5.00.
Another thing you could do is get a small cat carrier. Chins are incredibly curious and if you put a carrier out there, especially with some hay way in the back, he’s not going to be able to help himself. He’s going to go in there because he’s nosy! Once he’s in, shut the door and cart him back to his cage.
You can also "treat train" him. Put a few raisins in a box and when it’s time to go back to the cage, give him a treat. I don’t recommend using raisins, instead give a cheerio, some old fashioned oats, a dried rosehip, half of a bite-sized non sugared shredded wheat, or a nice tasty piece of apple wood to chew on. The raisin box is mainly for noise. Eventually, he will realize that the box rattling means he’s about to get something tasty, and he’ll not be so standoffish for you.
If you’d like more ideas on how to address this situation, and have more questions about chinchillas in general, please join http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com. There is a wealth of ideas on this forum, with lots of experienced breeders and pet owners who love to help.
I don’t own a chinchilla I know nothing about them. BUT! I guess if you just give him treats when trying to catch him
Gently throw a towel over him and gently pick him up. I sometimes had to do this but I left the cage door open and both of my chinchillas eventually started going back in their homes after 30 minutes.
I have a chinchilla (I love him)
Okay, so chichillas eat EVERYTHING so it’s reallly dangerous to let them out without keeping an eye on the little fellow.
Also the chinchilla might not want to come into his cage anymore, in this case you should definently let him have alot more cage time, or better yet get him one of those fancy chinchilla balls so that your little fellow can run around everywhere and all you have to do is open the door so that he can run back in.
Your baby doesnt need that much time out of the cage I am sure that he is eating things he shouldn’t , cords, plastic, wood etc. He feels the freedom of not NEEDING to go back, which in turn is BAD because your bedroom will become a bathroom.
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