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Post by janicesthohk on Mar 23, 2009 0:09:47 GMT -5
I am a new chin owner. I just bought my first two chins home last 2 week. One is a 6-mth old, another is a 4-mth old. They are both females. They are doing ok, but I guess they are still very sensitive to surroundings. The bigger one sometimes would jump onto our hands while eating, she lets me pat, but I don't know how to do massage for them. I just rub her neck softy, yet she jumps off fairly soon and she poops on my hand! And sometimes she pushes my hand away.  Another smaller girl is still very shy, she never let me pat her hand, doesn't jump on my hand and bites me quite often. I wonder what I can do to let her (them) feel more comfortable around me. And can anyone teach me how to hold them closely? Or is it still not yet a good timing to do so? Thank you!! |
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Post by cloudchaser on Mar 23, 2009 7:43:56 GMT -5
I got my first two in Nov and they still don't let me hold them. They will sit in my hand or on my arms but I can't hold them. Time and patience is what everyone on here will tell you. Chins are pray animals so they are very shy until they learn to trust you. Give them both time and they will come around  |
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Post by dawn on Mar 23, 2009 8:03:05 GMT -5
Chins can take a long time to become tame, just keep working with them and they will more than likely come around in time. 2 weeks is WAY too soon for most chins to become friendly, being prey animals they think everything is going to eat them.
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Post by ◊ Willow80 ◊ on Mar 23, 2009 9:24:05 GMT -5
ive had one of my girls for years now and she still sometimes pushes my hand away when i try to pet her! lol hopefully your girls will warm up to you in the future but some chins really just dont like to be held so we have to respect that |
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Post by puddlesandchubbs on Mar 23, 2009 10:55:16 GMT -5
I've had Puddles for 3 years now and I still can't hold her without her putting up a "fight." She will take scritches from me and I can pet her on her terms but nothing more than that. She pushes my hand away when she's had enough as well. |
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Post by lithade72 on Mar 23, 2009 13:45:11 GMT -5
I've had Brody for almost a year, and he still doesn't even like me petting him He also is usually unruly when I try to hold him. Just give them time. |
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Post by dawn on Mar 23, 2009 15:35:09 GMT -5
Not to sound discouraging but it took Spice almost 6 years to warm up to me!
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Post by rabe on Mar 23, 2009 16:27:41 GMT -5
I've had Isabella for a year, and I still can't hold her. She isn't even a big fan of getting scratched, but she does let me pet her. I doubt she'll ever be a cuddly chin. Juliet loves getting her chin/neck scratched, but she won't let me pet her. Both of them will push my hand away when if they don't want to be bothered at the moment, but not always. It just depends on the individual chin's personality. Just be patient with them and work with them. That's really all you can do. They'll each come around in their own way eventually.
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Post by saras on Mar 23, 2009 16:41:45 GMT -5
Scrat is one of my five year old boys and he won't let me touch him... no pets, no scritches, no pats, no holding... NOTHING. Some chinnies just don't like to be handled, they would just rather do their own thing. He will climb all over me and hop into my hands when it comes time to get out of his cage, but other than that, I get the push away. Just be patient and you definitely just have to interact with them on their terms.
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Post by janicesthohk on Mar 23, 2009 21:54:50 GMT -5
Thank you for all your comments. I hope they would like to live with me & my family. I hand feed them every night if I am not so busy with school stuff. Although I don't really enjoy cleaning up their mess, I do like them, they are adorable! And I am thinking about buying a bigger cage for them next month. I have a budget around 150. Which one is better, Marshall folding mansion or Feisty Ferret Home? Thanks |
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Post by mistywaterwoman on Mar 23, 2009 22:30:41 GMT -5
You can get the Midwest Ferret Nation for $186 this month at PetsMart, if that is within your budget.
If not, go with the Marshall Folding Mansion, those cages are a good size for the price!
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Post by janicesthohk on Mar 23, 2009 23:11:05 GMT -5
Yes I see most chins owners use FNs, and I think the FN is in a good size too. But since I want to leave some money for wood shelves and exercise wire, I'd better buy a cage under 150.
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Post by tinam on Mar 24, 2009 8:25:01 GMT -5
Some I can give scritches and some try to eat my fingernails. I get the little hand pushing me away also. I only have one chin out of 5 that I can hold and carry around.
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Post by mistywaterwoman on Mar 24, 2009 16:59:05 GMT -5
Just to show you what you can do with the Folding Mansion, here is Chico's cage (Tara's chin):  |
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Post by janicesthohk on Mar 25, 2009 2:52:05 GMT -5
Yes I am thinking about setting up the cage similar to Chico's. I may need to add some additional wood shelves since mine are still not very good at jumping somehow. but yea that cage looks nice with the set up  |
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Post by vafurries on Mar 25, 2009 9:51:35 GMT -5
Don't worry about the jumping too much. Your girls are still pretty young. Again it varies with chins too. One of my boys can clear a 3 ft. fence and I'm lucky if the other one will jump up 10 inches.
If they seem a little clumsy it's even more important to make sure there's enough shelves so that they can't fall far. Try to look in your cage from the top after you set it up to look for gaps where falls could happen. Sometimes you have to put a hammock or bridge across the middle to break up the distance.
Like everyone's said they vary in how much they tolerate you petting them. Most will eventually tolerate or even love scritches behind their ears and around their neck. Often they don't like their backs petted because in the wild they are prey for birds which attack from above them. This is also why you can help out a skittish chin by covering the top of their cage. They'll feel more secure.
Oh, and as for the poo in your hand, don't take it personally. These little buggers just poo constantly and they don't care where they drop it at! lol
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Post by Tara on Mar 26, 2009 15:59:37 GMT -5
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Post by janicesthohk on Mar 28, 2009 3:47:20 GMT -5
thank you tara. actually the cage is big that it still has space to jump around even though there are lots of shelves.  |
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Post by secondchancechins on Mar 30, 2009 7:25:07 GMT -5
A couple things you'll need to realize about chins. First, it's the RARE chin that is "cuddly" and likes to be held. Most are happiest to come out of the cage to run around and come visit you (if you sit on the floor with them) on their terms and then off to explore again. Second, you'll need to get used to the "mess" of chinchillas. You WILL find litter and poops all over. Chins are almost constantly making droppings, and them being on your floor is a fact of life. Don't be offended when the poop on you. It's not a comment on your character or anything, it is just what chins do! You're welcome to look at the page we have on our rescue website for some tips on gaining your chins trust: www.geocities.com/secondchancechins/gainingtrust.htm. Maybe some of the suggestions there will help you. The real key is to be consistent with them so they know what to expect. Try to keep the same routine each day for feeding and working with them. |
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Post by dawn on Mar 30, 2009 8:01:21 GMT -5
I disagree, the more you handle them, the more tame they become. I have 6 cuddlers and two that passed away that were cuddlers. I handle all my chins daily, that is the problem with alot of people, they won't handle them, they think the chin does not like it, the chin never gets tame and the circle continues.
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