One of the more common questions we get has to do with handling chinchillas. Their jumpy nature can make it quite a challenge to pick them up and this can frustrate new pet owners.
Trina wrote to us with this:
I was just wondering if you can actually hold a chinchilla like you would with a hamster or kitten. Also, can you pet it from its neck to tail like you do with a dog?
Our suggestions consisted of:
Trina,
We have two chinchillas. One can be picked up, carried around the house, and petted. The other chinchilla is not nearly as cooperative. Picking her up is tricky as she'll try to run away. And once we do have her, we have to be very gentle or she'll jump out of our hands. Both chinchillas will only tolerate a short period of being held before getting antsy and wanting to be let go.
The more a chinchilla was handled when young, the more likely the chinchilla will tolerate being handled as an adult.
Like Trina, Jessica too was looking for some advice on handling her chinchilla:
I just got a chinchilla and he is friendly but doesn't like to be held. How can I get him used to us without getting him stressed?
Our answer to Jessica was:
Jessica,
The first thing to accept is that it will take time. What we did was start off by sitting quietly in the same room as our chinchillas as they ran around. After a while they would come over and "investigate" us. When they did we would slowly reach out and pet them.
We also would hand feed them a treat. First they would grab the food and run away, but eventually they would be fine eating while we held on to the treat. And eventually, they would come running when they heard us opening the bag.
Eventually, we were able to pick up one of our two chinchillas whenever we wanted to. The second remains uncooperative most of the time.
Entries (RSS)
April 24th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
How do I tell if my chinchilla is a male or female. I just got mine and its still too frightened to let me pick it up.
April 27th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Scott,
Unfortunately we've yet to put the time together to post an article on determining the gender of a chinchilla. A few searches on Google should lead you to an article though. Welcome to the world of chinchilla ownership!
May 28th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
My chinchilla loves to be held and played with he also loves to go on my shoulder and down my back. I got lucky because my chinchilla has always been like that since I got him. But we got another one and it was not friendly at all it would bark at you if you where three feet within his cage. But he loved Megan so we gave him to her and now he is getting a little better all the time.
May 28th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Megan,
It does sound like you had some luck with your first chinchilla. If the breeder handles the chinchillas when they are young they are more likely to be friendly when they're older. Might be something worth asking a breeder before you buy.
June 25th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
What I do when I pick up my chinchilla is I like scoop him up with my hands it seems to work with him
August 16th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I got my chinchilla around last December. He's really friendly and luvs going in my shirt and up and down my back. He doesn't bite anyone at all, but whenever I open his cage and try to pick him up, he junps away. And the only way to catch him is by showing him my dog. ( he likes my dog and comes out everytime he sees him) How come my chinchilla seems so scared sometimes, but so friendly others?
August 26th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
The only way we can can pick our chinchilla up is by grabbing him from the top. Will this get him stressed out?
August 28th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Juliette,
Your chinchilla will give you signs if you are stressing him out e.g. squirming, barking, jumping out of your hands. Normally, bringing your hand from above will scare a chinchilla since that is how predators would approach.
September 27th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Hi, I have had a chin for almost 4 months now. He has come along way. it took him awhile to even come out of his cage and run around. now he comes out for a good hour to two hours a night and jumps on our laps for treats and follows us around as long as we are moving slow or in one spot. However he HATES being touched or pet or being held. once in a great while i can pet him when he is on my lap if he is preoccupied by a really good treat. any suggestions to getting him used to being handled or just touched?
September 27th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Randi,
There are no guaranteed techniques, but it sounds like you've been really patient and have made great progress. Using the treat is often effective so try different things with it. For example, hold the treat in one hand such that your chinchilla is forced to climb on to your other hand to get at it.
Unfortunately it's possible that your chinchilla will never like to be held for long periods of time. We have one that can't take being held for more than a minute or two while another one remains pretty calm for a good amount of time.
October 8th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
My name is Tara. I just adopted 4 Chinchilla's, all siblings and all 4 months. Is this a good age to start them on being handled? I am a Chinchilla Finatic, I have dreamed of the day that I could own 1 let alone 4. I know it will be alot of work, but it will also be very much worth every second. I read everything on this site and it helped alot, so I now know what to expect. Just woundering if 4 months is a good age to start handling them? Thanks for your time.
Tara
October 8th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Tara,
If the chinchillas have been weaned which it sounds like they have been, we recommend you handle them as much as you can. Handling chinchillas at a young age improves the chances that they will like to be held when they are older.
November 10th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
My chinchilla keeps on biting me. Do you know how to stop him from biting me? Is there any training for this without being bitten? My finger was bitten twice and was bleeding.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Jewely,
We don't have much experience with biting chinchillas so we're not sure exactly how to deal with it. However, many behaviors can be taught with the right reward/punishment. Maybe if you're bitten you immediately tap your chinchilla on the nose. Not enough to cause injury, but enough to cause discomfort so they associate the tapping with the bitting and eventually stop.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
i had my chinchilla for about a year now and when ever i try to pick him up he always forces to get away I don't know if im picking him up wrong or what but if you could help my that would be great. My friend has a chinchilla and when he picks her up he puts tube socks on his hands up his arm. should i do that i meen does that make the chinchilla more comftorable with the sock?
through out the time ive had my chinchilla i would give him a treat when he would climb up my book shelf and hop into his cage and ive let him run around every day for a few hours. I also have a running wheel and some mineral blocks and wood for him to chew on. But all that i do i just think im doing somthing wrong. I bought him from a friend and im guessing he didn't pick him up when he was younger becuase he wont let me pick him up. thank you for letting me share my story and if you could share with me what im doing wrong and so on that would be great.
P.S. if you could tell me how you pick him up that would be awsome becuase i think im doing it wrong.
September 14th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Hi my name is Emily I just got a Chinchilla (He's 3).How do I pick him up from inside his cage without him biting me?He likes to go on my shoulder a lot but I need help picking him up..
October 26th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
We just got our chinchilla a day ago.. and we were told that he was freindly and from conversations with the previous owner know that this one was held and handled.. But he doesn't like for us to hold him and he runs. He wants to be let out but we are afraid we won't be able to catch him to put him back into his cage. Also the previous owner told me to hold him by the tail, but when I did he kept trying to get away. When I put him back into his cage I noticed a patch of hair was missing at the base of his tail where I was holding him at. Is this normal?
October 27th, 2008 at 5:46 am
Octavia,
It'll take time for your chinchilla to become used to you even if he was friendly with his previous owner. Picking up your chinchilla by the tail is not recommended. And chasing your chinchilla will only scare your chinchilla more so try to avoid it as much as possible.
December 20th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
dont pick them up by the tail you will rip it off.