How to hold a chinchilla

Chinchillas don’t like to be hugged tightly. This does not mean that they don’t like physical contact with people. They prefer to sit on your hand compared to being hugged. Be pampered on the palm of your hand or on your shoulder. Of course chinchillas are also different. Some chinchillas are total snugglers, while others won’t even be touched.

It is important to learn how to hold a chinchilla. Of course you must wait until he is tamed and accustomed to you before you can start holding him.

Before you hold your chinchilla, you can talk to him softly, in a soft and gentle voice. Chinchillas feel more comfortable with such sounds than fast and loud sounds.

Hold the back of the chinchilla's body with one hand (butt or hind legs in the palm of your hand), and place the other hand gently on the chinchilla's head. This will prevent it from running away without causing the chinchilla to run away. Holding on too tight. (Personal experience of the original poster: After opening the cage door, my little one will jump on his hands when he stretches out his hands, and then he will be hugged using the above method, usually sitting down. He will try to escape in various ways. Hold it with one hand, and block the direction it wants to escape with with the other hand. When there is no intention to escape, gently touch the head along the fur. Each cat may be different. The place where Xiaoxiao likes to be tickled is at the base of his two ears. Hold it close to the back) Be careful not to let the chinchilla jump to the floor. When your chinchilla starts to struggle, don't scare it. Put him back in the cage and wait a few minutes for the chinchilla to calm down before trying again. If this struggle continues, your chinchilla may not be tamed enough, and you need to continue to work hard to make it trust you. When you are walking around with your chinchilla in your arms, wrap your hands around his chest close to your own body so that your chinchilla has support and support.

Some chinchilla farms always scratch their tails when catching chinchillas. This phenomenon should never happen to pet chinchilla breeders. First, chinchillas don’t like being caught like this, and second, it will cause harm to chinchillas. If for any reason you need to restrain the chinchilla tightly, you can hold the chinchilla at the base of its tail with your fingers and hold the chinchilla against a fixed surface with your other hand. Never lift a chinchilla by its ears.

If your chinchilla has not been tamed in place and you want to take it out of the cage, try entering the cage with both hands, place both hands on both sides of the chinchilla’s body, and pull it close to your body. chest until you can hold him firmly.

Even the best-tamed chinchilla has a hard time catching it when it's running across the room. The best way is to lure him into a corner. When in a corner, you can place your hands on either side of the chinchilla's body and hold it to its chest.

If your chinchilla is hiding and you can't find him, shake the bathtub filled with chinchilla powder and place the bathtub next to you on the floor. Basically, chinchillas cannot resist the temptation of sand bathing. When the chinchilla enters the bathtub for a sand bath, you can put him and the bathtub into the cat cage.

Chinchillas are social creatures (my personal understanding is that like humans, many chinchillas will form a small chinchilla society SOCIAL CREATURES together), so they are easy to be domesticated. Even adult chinchillas that have never been held can easily learn to trust and play with their owners.

The first step in taming a chinchilla is to get it used to your presence. Give him a few days to get familiar with his new cage and surroundings. At the same time, you have to feed him food and water with your own hands every day, and put the sand bath tub in his cage when he needs a sand bath. This will help get the chinchilla accustomed to your presence by moving gently and slowly around the cage and speaking to the chinchilla in a soft voice when you do these chores.

It is best to do these things regularly every day, especially at night after the chinchilla wakes up. This can establish a safe and regular living habit for the chinchilla in its new home.

Slowly you will find that your chinchilla has become accustomed to your presence. When you open the cage, he no longer hides in the nest, but rushes out. When you put your hand into the cage to do housework, he will observe you carefully. At this point you can proceed to the next step of domestication.

Cut a raisin in half, then hold it with your fingers and reach into the cage to feed him. Once your chinchilla starts taking food from your hand (don’t feed snacks more than twice a day, control the amount and don’t challenge the chinchilla’s digestive system), you can then feed him food by placing it on the palm of your hand that is pushed away. . The chinchilla can only reach these delicacies by placing his two small hands on yours. Gradually, he will become accustomed to physical contact with you. When your chinchilla touches your palm to feed, please keep your palm still and speak to it gently at the same time.

Slowly place the snack farther and farther away, first on the wrist, then on the arm. Your chinchilla is ready to be cuddled when it climbs onto your arm to get food. If your chinchilla is frightened and runs away when you hold it, you need to repeat the above process again, and it will take longer for him to adapt.

You can't teach a chinchilla "come", "sit", "stop" these dog training commands, but you can train your chinchilla to perform some simple tasks, which will make you Life with him is simpler and more interesting.

Because the digestive system of chinchillas is fragile, too many snacks can easily cause gastrointestinal discomfort, so be sure to Limit the amount of snacks you use during training. Therefore, it is best to train your chinchilla only one movement at a time. You only need to reward with snacks at the beginning of training, and simple praise and encouragement for subsequent training are enough for chinchillas. When you start training your chinchilla, snacks should only be given at critical times. During the training phase, do not give snacks except during training.

To make your chinchilla run to you when you call him, you must first choose a gesture, letter or phrase that you like. You hope that your chinchilla will run to you when he hears or sees it. It can be "XX, come here" or "Here are the snacks" or other sounds or actions you want, but it shouldn't be too long or complicated. ("XX, come to Daddy, there are raisins to eat here" is too long, and it is impossible for chinchillas to learn and understand.)

When chinchillas are in cages or in dedicated ventilation rooms, snacks are hidden In your hand, stay close to him and softly say your chosen words as you take the treat out to your chinchilla. At the same time, you can also make gestures to deepen his impression of the words. The chinchilla may quickly take the snack away from your hand, regardless of your instructions and actions. But if you do it twice a day for a week or longer, the chinchilla will know that these instructions and actions have special meaning. Eventually, when he comes when you call him, you can just praise him with your eyes or voice or give him a dust bath without giving him a snack.

Don’t make the chinchilla unhappy. For example, if the chinchilla runs over after hearing your instructions, you will immediately put him back in the cage or reprimand him. In this case, he will think that if you call him like this, he will do something that makes him unhappy, and he will run faster when he hears the command.

You can also train your chinchilla to return to the cage when commanded. You can place the cage on the ground to make it easier for the chinchilla to enter and exit, or build a ladder to enter and exit the cage. Treats must be used to train chinchillas to obey orders and return to the cage. Conduct training at the end of each chinchilla's daily exercise session. Choose a command (such as "return to cage"), say the command and take the chinchilla back to the cage and reward it with a small treat. After a few times, when the break is over, place the treat in the cage and give the command. Soon the chinchilla will find that it can find snacks in the cage after receiving the command to return to the cage every day. Eventually you can stop putting treats in the cage. A light touch on his ear or a vocal encouragement can also strengthen the effect of the command.

Chinchillas can also be trained to roll or dance on command. These behaviors will obviously wow your friends. The same training still needs to be assisted by his favorite snacks. Make sure the chinchilla can see you have the treat in your hand, then gently wrap your hands around the chinchilla's head while saying "roll" or "dance" (or something else). The chinchilla's body will move or turn according to the movements of your hands. Once he completes the desired action, reward him with the treat in your hand. Repeat the above training until the chinchilla masters this command. Eventually, you'll be able to get him to act on command without the need for treats. But please also give him loving encouragement after his perfect performance is completed.

Training chinchillas to urinate at designated points is very beneficial to maintaining hygiene in the cage. You may not be able to train your chinchilla to poop and pee in the same way that cats use cat toilets, but luckily you can also teach them to pee in a fixed container that is easy to clean. First find out where your chinchilla likes to pee in the cage. Chinchillas like to pee in the same place in the cage. Once you find the "pee spot" in the cage, place a container there, preferably a ceramic jar, with his pee-stained bedding inside. With any luck, your chinchilla will soon understand your intentions and pee exclusively there every day.

Once the chinchilla knows how to use the toilet, you can put cat litter (without deodorizing function to prevent ingestion) or other organic mats inside. Please make sure these toilet mats are odorless, as deodorized cat litter can be harmful to your chinchilla's health. (Little Black Cat: In China, we mostly use pet toilets for rabbits or guinea pigs. It should be noted that if there are too many mats that chinchillas can reach, please make sure that these mats are non-toxic and trustworthy to chinchillas. There are also The metal grid on the toilet surface should prevent the chinchilla’s feet from getting stuck)

Training you Before your chinchilla can do the following five movements, it must first learn to stand. As long as the basics are good, other movements will naturally be easier to master. The method of learning is to first let it stand on the palm of your hand and lean it in front of your heart, then hold its palm and gently pull it up. After practicing a few times, it will be able to stand on its own, as long as it can maintain it for a few seconds. To be successful, just maintain contact for five to ten minutes every day.

Chinchillas learn things very quickly, but it is best to start learning when they are young. Pay attention to giving clear instructions for each action. Shouting the same and simple slogans is most effective until it recognizes it and does it every time. After completing the action, reward it with some snacks. If it can't do it, don't give it until it does it. Be careful not to hit it if you don't do it well. It will hold a grudge. If it doesn't want to do it, take a rest.

Five stunts

Performance 1: Fifteen and Twenty

Totoro also has good hearing and memory. As long as it is well trained, it can play with you. It’s guessing game! When shouting (one hand), pull it lightly; when shouting (two hands), pull its two hands at the same time; when shouting (no hands), put down its little hands. After repeated practice, chinchillas will keep it in mind and respond naturally, just like a parrot learning to speak. If you change the slogan to (fifteen or twenty), you can play guessing game. But remember, when it gets it right, give it a little food as a reward, because it will be very difficult for it to stand for too long; don't force it if it doesn't want to play.

Performance 2: Expressing feelings

Chinchillas are curious by nature. As long as you get along with them for a long time, if they trust you and put small objects in their palms, they will take the initiative to pick them up. To play around with it, in the early stages of training, it is best to use lightweight, small, non-glued cards, and it will be able to do it as soon as you have it. If you write some words or draw figures on the card, it will be most suitable to express your feelings.

Performance 3: Stand by the pen

This trick is the same as the training method in performance 2, except that the prop is replaced with a pen holder, put it vertically in front of it, and it will press the pen The pen tip looks super cute when it stands up. Note that the pen body must be thick enough so that Totoro can stand firmly.

Performance 4: Give money to the owner

It is also the same as the above training method. As long as you put the coin in front of it, it will pick it up playfully, but it is too thin. Coins are difficult to hold firmly, so the thickness and weight of a one-yuan coin are most suitable.

Tug-of-war gameplay:

Take out a piece of wood from a large colored wooden skewer or other teething toy, tie it with a long rope, and then you can tease the cat. Dagger the wood in front of the cat, and the cat will be super curious. Then he will bite this unprecedentedly flexible new toy. After two bites, he will drag it into the nest. Then he can play tug of war with it.

Note:

Don’t make the rope too thin to avoid being bitten off by the cat. Don't use plastic ropes either. When teasing, be careful not to use too much force to hurt the cat's teeth or trip the cat's legs. Just be as strong as the cat. Don't play in a cage with too much furniture to prevent the cat from playing. Tangled.

In addition, if you cat friends find that the cat is not interested during practice, there is a sure-fire trick: rub the biting wood with something like raisins, and no cat can resist it. La!

How to train your chinchilla to perform simple movements? What should you pay attention to before training?

During training, if the chinchilla does the right action, it should be rewarded, such as snacks for each person. However, if the chinchilla cannot do the action, it should be trained patiently and never be beaten. Scolding or scolding your chinchilla will only make it afraid of you! Instructions from the owner should be brief and clear. Such as "shake hands" and "sit up". Do not issue too many instructions or train too many movements at once, so as not to confuse the chinchilla. And the movements should be simple, not too complicated. You can’t teach your chinchilla to open the door for you! Training should be carried out indoors and in smaller rooms, and remember to take good care of doors and windows, block all dark corners where chinchillas can hide, and put away objects that may be harmful if eaten by chinchillas. Each training is only suitable for a short period of time. Avoid continuous training and let the chinchilla rest. In fact, if a chinchilla feels tired, it is likely not to do the actions it already knows. Even if your chinchilla has learned how to stand and shake hands in the pet store, don’t expect your chinchilla to do the same actions when you get home! Because whether you can train a chinchilla to do movements depends on how much time the owner has to take care of the chinchilla. In pet stores, store clerks also spend a lot of time playing with chinchillas every day, and chinchillas are naturally more obedient. Generally speaking, it is difficult for owners to spend a lot of time taking care of chinchillas every day, so it naturally takes a longer time to successfully train chinchillas. Owners must be patient!

How to train chinchillas to do some simple actions?

I would like to state here that although chinchillas are spiritual and intelligent and can be taught some simple movements, you never want to train chinchillas to be as obedient as dogs. Because chinchillas are very independent, if they don’t like to listen to you, don’t force them. Totoro is just as cute even if it hasn't learned how to move! Corporal punishment or scolding chinchillas is most frowned upon! Moreover, beating and scolding the chinchilla will only make the chinchilla afraid of you and become more disobedient! He may even hate you as the master.

Use your left palm to support its buttocks, let it stand safely on your palm with its feet, then gently touch the back of its hand and say "shake hand", and give it when it lifts your hand Reward, over time, when you say "handshake", it will automatically lift its hand even if you don't touch the back of its hand. Remember, whether you can train a chinchilla often depends on its personality. Some smart and obedient chinchillas can learn to stand and shake hands in just a while, while some chinchillas can't learn it no matter how you teach them.

Tips:

1. Chinchillas are timid and alert. When you first bring them home, they will appear very uneasy.

2. When holding a chinchilla, you should always hold it gently with your hands to prevent it from falling.

3. Be gentle before holding your chinchilla. Put your chinchilla on the palm of your hand to give your chinchilla a sense of security.

4. When you get to know your chinchilla, he may be afraid of you. Gentle movements or soft words around him make him feel that you are safe.

5. You can train your chinchilla to climb on your arm, and reward him with small snacks when he behaves well.

6. The combination of voice commands and snacks can help chinchillas concentrate better during training.

7. Don’t feed too many snacks during training, as it may be counterproductive and may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and refusal of staple food.

8. Sometimes you can also train your chinchilla to do some stunts, such as rolling or standing on its hands and legs. Every time Totoro completes a stunt, reward him (not necessarily with snacks to count as a reward).