Handling & Making Friends
1. Leave your chin in his/her new home for
about one week before trying to handle or pay
attention to it.
2. Remember, it will take some time before your
new friend learns to trust you. He/she
will soon learn that you are not a threat.
3. Open the cage door & place your hand just
inside the cage, going no further. He may
run away & try to hide, but quietly just keep
your hand there not moving it.
4. If he hides inside a tube or a house or
something else, try removing that item so he will
have to have some eye contact with you.
5. Now, just hang in there. If your
chinchilla is curious or just plain "nosey",
he will start to come towards you. If he
stops in his tracks & comes no further, go onto
the next step.
6. Use a dry raisen as bait. If your
chinchilla has never had one, feed him one
through the cage bars for a couple of days
keeping the cage door closed. Do not
give your chin more than one raisen per day.
More than that can cause intestinal problems.
If he does not take it through the bars,
then just put it inside the cage & don't bother him.
7. By the time you get to this step, he has
discovered the raisen & thinks it is great!
He knows the scent & next time you try to give
it to him through the bars, he'll be right
there without hesitation.
8. Now he knows how to have some contact with
you through the bars. It is time, once
again, to open the door & put your hand inside
the cage. Put a raisen in the plam of your
hand & offer it to him. Just be still &
let him come to you. It might take a few
minutes the first time you try this, but
trust me, he will get quicker at it.
9. Once your new friend decides you have something
he wants, he'll not hesitate to come to you.
If something scares him & he runs away, just
stay there & don't move. He will be back.
He soon will learn that you are not going to chase
him. Eventually, he will come to you,
smell your hand & might even try to give you
a light nibble. It may take several trys,
but he will come to you & may even hold onto
your fingers. If he does that then I
wish you congratulations. You have gained
some trust with your little friend.
10. So, you have come a long way & you want to
pet him/her. Alright, there is a procedure
for that also. Place your hand inside the
cage with your index finger extended.
11. Very slowly, lightly take your index finger
& try scratching the top of his head working
around to the back of the ears. Respect
his space & if he runs away, just stay there,
he'll be back. Be still & proceed very
slowly. Try again to scratch. He
may run back & forth, but each time he comes
back, keeping trying.
12. Each chinnie has a preferance to where he/
she loves to be scratched. Some on the
head, some behind the ears, some under the
chin & some on their chest & under their arms.
It is so funny! The ones that reach this trust
point with you, will love to be petted.
They close their eyes, lift their legs, and
get so relaxed that they practically fall over.
Just remember to be patient. They will all be
different & some will trust you quicker than
others. As you try to earn their trust,
you may find things that work better for you.
You will find that the relationship that you
build with your new friend, will be there for
a long time. GOOD LUCK!!!
TO BE CONTINUED............