Every owner of pet chinchillas wants them to be tame enough to pick up and hold. We're no exception. However, chinchillas in the wild are prey for many predators and are conditioned to be cautious.
But all is not lost. With a little time and patience, you can tame your chinchilla enough so that it doesn't run and hide when you approach. The trick is to reward good behavior with a treat such as a raisin. At the beginning, good behavior is something as simple as coming up to you when you sit still near them. Over time as your chinchillas become comfortable with your presence, you reward them for crawling on your hand or leg. Eventually they'll get used to this activity too.
You may wish to someday move beyond taming your chinchilla and enter the realm of actual training. Like taming them, training starts off with simple tasks each of which are rewarded. For example, we've trained our chinchillas to return to their cage at a certain time every night where they'll receive a treat. This is very helpful to us since it keeps us from having to chase them and it also means that we don't unnecessarily stress our chinchillas from such chasing.
We've read about others that have managed to train their chinchillas to jump and roll on demand, but we've yet to see proof of such successes.
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July 22nd, 2006 at 7:27 pm
Do you guys have any tips on how to train chinchillas? Mine don't bite or fight, but they don't come to you or stay still when you hold them.
P.S. Also, if I freeze aluminum foil, and tape it to the side of a cage, will it help stop heat stroke?
July 22nd, 2006 at 7:48 pm
Simon,
Most chinchillas can't be trained. They don't respond to names or "requests". Ours know when to run in to their cage at the end of their play time, but that's about it. As for holding them, they will hopefully get used to you eventually. You might want to try rewarding them with a raisin while you hold them so that they'll associate the treat with your handling of them. Don't go overboard with the raisins though. Consider breaking a single one in to small pieces so you can feed them multiple times.
Aluminum foil is so thin that it'll warm up fairly quickly after being taken out of the freezer. The benefit to your chinchillas will be negligible. Check out the article on emergency cooling for some tips.
August 17th, 2006 at 11:29 am
I have a 10 month old male (Fred) and a female I just bought (Kiwi). The problem is I've never picked Fred up from underneath but instead always from the top so I don't think I'll be able to pick him up. Also, when I get him out he runs straight under the bed. So what should I do with my problems? Also how did you train yours to go back in to the cage?
August 19th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
Oliver,
You're going to have to start from scratch and earn your chinchillas' trust. One way to do this is to sit still in the same room that you allow them to run around in. If they approach you, do not attempt to pet them. Let them sniff you and eventually they'll crawl on you. Only then should you attempt to touch them using very slow movements. This process can take many days or weeks so please be patient.
Also, never chase your chinchillas once they are in their cage. This way they will learn that their cage is safe and will run in there on their own instead of under the bed when frightened.
At first you will probably need to "encourage" them to return to their cage after play time. If you end play time at the same time every night, they will learn to go in to their cage on their own.
We hope that helps.
August 22nd, 2006 at 6:25 pm
I am getting a chinchilla and I am wondering how long will it be until you train them to do something? Like training them to do something different like standing up or rolling over.
August 22nd, 2006 at 6:52 pm
Myles,
It's best if you assume that your chinchilla will be untrainable. I've yet to see one that can roll over on demand. If you have success with that, send me a movie as I'd love to see it.
The closest you're likely to get to them standing up is holding a treat e.g. a raisin above their heads.
January 12th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I "trained" my chinchilla to wink at me when I wink at it. And since I give him a treat afterwards, sometimes he winks when he wants one. That's about it. He also knows the sound of the treat box/bag so that can be used as a training tool.
August 7th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Hey Chinchilla planet i have a 5 month old chin and he has his own room to run but i have to run every where just to put him in his cage and he bites me all the time. i want to train him to go in his cage but i also want him to stop eating the wooden furniture and to go to the bath room in his cage to. i dont know what to do.
August 7th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Nichole,
Generally speaking chinchillas can't be trained. They will run around and chew on anything they find. We've tried a spray that supposedly tasted bad, but it did nothing to stop the chewing. The only solution we've found is to chinchilla-proof a room.
To get your chinchilla to go in to its cage make the cage the safest place in the room. Do this by NEVER grabbing your chinchilla from the cage. That way when scared he will run in to the cage knowing that you won't follow. We're at the point where we can sometimes clap our hands at night and have our chinchillas run in to their cage and await their nightly treat (a raisin).
September 5th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Has anyone had any success in getting a chin to walk on a ferret harness?
October 8th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
i have "trained" my chin to come to me when im shaking her treat box which was fairly easy but she still doesnt trust me - she takes the treat and runs- any ideas to help me earn her trust??
October 26th, 2007 at 12:55 am
We have a three year old chinchilla we got at about one year old. He was terrified at first and it took quite a while to get him to trust us (much time and patience). He was well worth it however and is a great pet. He does know his name and comes when called while in his cage (even midday from a deep sleep in his little wooden "sleep house" he will run out to greet us when called.) We have one other way to call him and that is by running our nails up the bars of the cage. He instantly appears! Sometimes for a raisin and sometimes for a scratch, (he loves to have his throat scratched) or just for a kiss (yes he kisses)!!! I think the key is trust and patience and reasonable expectations. I've never heard of one doing tricks. We never "make" him do anything; only what he feels like at that time. He is also very vocal and "tells" us if he is upset by something and we listen! We are well trained!!!
PS ….you can buy a "cold stone" at the pet store for your chin, keep it in the fridge and offer it on hot days (best to buy 2 to rotate out) your chin will die from heat stroke or end up seriously and permanently disabled.
November 12th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
We've had our chinchilla for about 9 months now and in the last month she has started biting us when we let her out at night. It started with attacking a furry slipper I had then our feet and now as soon as we let her out all she does is try to bite feet, hands whatever.
PLEASE HELP! My husband is wanting to get rid of her because of this.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
My chin is about 9 months old and I have had him since he was 2 months old. My question is how to house train him. I am having lots of trouble with this, the reason I want him house trained is due to he poops everywhere. He only tinkels on me or on the furniture or in his cage, and I want to let him loose I just dont want him using the bathroom everywhere he goes. Any ideas would be great.
July 27th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Hey
I'm Adriana
I've been reading your site here, and I saw that you guys have said that you trained your chinchillas to go back into their cages.
I'm having this problem.
Could you please give me some pointers on how to do his?
Adriana
August 11th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Monica, you can't house train a chinchilla. They will only urinate on the bedding (I don't know the reason of that, but they just do that by their own, with no training), but they will always poop everywhere they go. I heard an oppinion, that maybe they don't even realize they're dropping a poop.
@Adriana: our chins return to their cage as soon as we tell them to do so, because they're always getting a treat after that. For that to work, you have to keep telling them to return (some short "magic" word will do), when they do reward them. If they don't listen to you then hold a treat in the cage, eventually they'll figure out what you want. Keep doing that every time you let them out, and soon they'll know the drill
August 11th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I have trained 1 of my chinchillas to give me a kiss before he goes home he also gives high fives, nock on doors, and sometimes when he's in a good mood i can tell him stand and he will get up on his hind legs. But I have only been able to do that with one of my chinchilla the other two just don't know how and i can't get them to.
August 15th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I got my chinchilla when she was 6 months old, now she is 15 months old. What should I reward her with for doing a good thing?
August 20th, 2008 at 8:14 am
i taught my chinchilla to run up walls
and now by himself h will do back flips every time you say m Dogs name i dont no wh or how he managed to learn this by himself, and when i had two chinchillas you clicked them twice and they would jump over eachother i no this sounds hard to belive but i do not have two chinchillas no more but when i get a new one i shall teach them to do it and i will post a video for my eevidence
September 7th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
a chinchilla generally does not like to be touched, but some chinchillas, after becoming attached to their owners( whitch usually only happens if it rarely sees anyone other than the owner) will allow , and in fact, enjoy, having their throats rubbed and in some cases( like my chin, an ebony called guinness) actually like to be held and petted on their back. it is possible to train your chinchilla to play simple games with you, such as "tug of war" (guinness loves doing this with the drawstrings to my windowblinds). there really is no set way to train your pet, once it(and this may never happen at all, through no fault of the owner) becomes accustemed to you. my chin has no set scheduale for feeding( he always has a full bowl) and i let him out at least twice a day, sometimes as long as 6 hours. as i am always in the room when he is let out of his cage, he has become somewhat attached to me and will come when i call his name, follow me around the room, and jump all over me to get my attention so ill play with him. he will try to climb my pant legs sometimes, until i put him on my shoulder and occasionally even grooms me. im really not sure why he does this, i did nothing to train him, i just sorta treated him like you would a spoiled cat. if anyone can explain his odd( if lovable) BEHAVIOR TO ME, ID BE GRATEFUL.