My chinchilla bites my mom and me. We want to stop it so we can hold her. I have tried smacking her, sorta like dog. Is this as effective. What other methods are there? Please don't say "Hey dude, why don't you kill her or give her away" I couldn't bear doing that. So, should I stop holding her? Could it be her cage mate?
2006-08-08 07:46:00 · 22 answers · asked by Uchihaitachi345 5 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Please stop hitting her! Geez. They're wild animals, not domesticated, and they almost ALWAYS bite. They're not good pets at all. They're soft sure, that's why they make coats out of them, but so are foxes, and no one expects them not to bite.
2006-08-08 07:49:28 · answer #1 · answered by Molly 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Generally male chinchillas are more likely to enjoy being held and groomed than their female counterparts.
How do I become friends with this animal I just bought ?
A lot of new chinchilla owners are disappointed by the fact that the animal does not come up to them. This is quite normal behavior, as a chinchilla is a very energetic and curious animal. It will spend a lot of time discovering the new world it has just been released in. To get the animal used to you, leave it in the cage. Put your arm through the opening, thus encouraging the animal to climb on and discover this new 'tree branch'. If needed, you could put a raisin on the palm of your hand, in such a way the chinchilla can only get to it by climbing. After a couple of days, the animal should be quite comfortable on your arm. Then, open the cage and encourage it to walk up to your shoulder. Reward it with a raisin or two. If you have done this for some time, you can take a raisin between your lips, and feed it to the animal. This will help the chinchilla overcome the fear of 'that big thing that comes up to me and talks'. Remember, the typical chinchilla is not a lap animal. It just is to energetic to sit still for more than a few seconds. However, once it used to humans, it will come up to you, climb and walk all over you. It is best if you sit on the floor when you release them, as they will interact with you more.
2006-08-08 15:08:49 · answer #2 · answered by Littlebigdog 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some rodents are nice and some are mean, there's not a whole lot you can do about it. It could be her cage mate is driving her to extreams, so you could try separating them for a few days and see if that helps. Otherwise you can try picking her up by the tail (that's how breeders do it) to calm her down, but she might just start right back up as soon as you let go.
2006-08-08 14:51:03 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Any animal with a mouth will bite. Smarter animals with larger brains, like dogs, can be trained. Chinchillas can't be trained like that. By hitting her, she's just going to think you're attacking her and will bite harder. Some chinchillas, like rabbits and hampsters and guinea pigs, just don't like to be held. Leave her alone.
2006-08-08 15:16:04 · answer #4 · answered by Pink Denial 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It very well may be her cage mate, you might want to seperate them. Also, my moms rat used to bite and we tried the "glove treatment". Whenever you pick her up, wear a leather glove, it doesn't hurt them but they don't like the feel of the glove and no matter how much they bite, they can't bite through the glove. Two weeks after the glove treatment with my moms rat, he stopped biting. He is sooooo loveable now. :)
2006-08-08 14:54:54 · answer #5 · answered by mka1369 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have 4 chinchillas and NONE of them bite. You guys are sicko's the ones who wrote "kick or bite them back". Someone should do that to you to see how you would like it. We handle ours carefully and pet them and they become tame, but it takes time. Our female had babies and we picked the babies up within a day, and they got tame right from the start.
2006-08-08 23:15:09 · answer #6 · answered by CHOPS 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Typically small mammals srent very intelligent and dont really resond to disciplining.
I dont think that chinchillas are meant to be held, so maybe try leaving it in its cage, that woudl definatly avoid bites....
2006-08-08 14:50:32 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you cant handle her, then give her aawy to someoe you know doesnt mind biting. chinchillas are wild animals and there is no way you could ever train them to not be wild. you should really stop hitting her too becuase thats why she keeps on biting. get something simple like a dog!
2006-08-08 14:51:28 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
My daughter has 2 chinchillias and we have has them for over 3 years they have always nibbled on things that what they do because it makes their teeth strong so good luck trying to get them to stop we have tried everything and nothing works
2006-08-08 14:50:04 · answer #9 · answered by xpatriots24x 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On Wikipedia it says that Chinchillas generally don't like to be held.
2006-08-08 14:51:30 · answer #10 · answered by SassySours 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋