Chinchilla's eating/chewing habits - Paw Talk

alexander27 · #1 10-11-2008, 08:38 PM

Adam is my chinchilla and he seems to want to eat everything. All of the framing around our windows and doors are nearly rounded out.
What I would like to know is how do I get him to stop eating our things? We give him little wood chewables but he doesn't want them.
Also, he tends to hide a lot in darker corners and when you try to get him out he barks, bites and usually sprays. Any tips from fellow chin lovers? Thanks for the help!

Chinchi · #2 10-12-2008, 04:54 AM

You can't stop him eating things when he is out.
The only way to do this, is to make sure he can't get to the problem places.
You can get them to learn that sertan words, like no, means that they are not allowed to do what they are doing, but it's something you have to say over and over again.

About the hiding thing. It sounds like you should stop having him out, and get to know him better.
The things you describe, is because he is scared for some reason.
So keep him in his cage, until he trusts you.

alexander27 · #3 10-13-2008, 02:55 PM

I've actually had him for about 7 months now. He didn't used to get mad when he hid, but now he does. I'm not sure if its just a puberty thing he's going through or not.
Also, he shakes a lot. His head will twitch sometimes - although that has relatively stopped - and his body will shake, whether it be cold or hot in the room. Any ideas?

ChipNOreo · #4 10-13-2008, 10:41 PM

Could anything have happened that might have scared him? Do you have dogs/cats? Maybe tunder or loud noises? My uncle visited once and brought his cat... who we lost in the house and found attempting to paw at my chinchillas through the cage.... my chinchillas were a little skiddish for a while. Made sure that never happens again

As for the chewing... good luck? I just try to keep mine away from whatever they like chewing on. Usually they will try really hard to get at it once i have blocked it off but will give up trying to get past my barrier in a week or two. Then they move on to something new.

Keep me busy....

Chinchi · #5 10-14-2008, 06:21 AM

How old is he?
When they are about 8-12 months old, they get in the "teenage age".
But this only means they begin to try things out, they wouldn't normally do (like bite you when they don't get their way and so on), but the whole spraing thing, is a very good sign of something is wrong.
They only do this when fighting with each other, or when they are very scared.
I've never had a chinchilla that would spray at me, no matter the age... maybe he is sick. Or it could be the noice thing that ChipNOreo talks about

alexander27 · #6 10-15-2008, 11:34 AM

Actually, he has been starting to bite a little more. Usually playful, sometimes it looks like he gets annoyed lol.
I guess for the chewing, I'll just deal with it. He's pretty much demolished the room already anyways, I'll fix it some other time.
I'm starting to wonder if the reason he acts so scared might be because of the place he came from. I'm not sure exactly where the person I bought him from got him, but when we got him I've never seen something so sweet look so afraid of anything but the dark corner. He had bite marks in his ears and fungus on one of them.
I'm glad we got him out of there but the last thing I, or my girlfriend, want is for Adam to be afraid of us. We try to give him space and stuff when he barks, but he's starting to learn our tricks to lure him out of his corners (like getting his dust bath, or shaking his treats) and he's not falling for them anymore.
He is about 8 months old now, so I'm not ruling out puberty haha.

Chinchi · #7 10-15-2008, 12:43 PM

Try not letting him out for a couple of weeks.
Talk to him, every time you go past the cage, in a sweet voice.
Open the cage, put some treats in your hands, and let him come and take them on his own. When he begins to sit in your hands, you can try having one hand over him, and placing one hand over him, and taking him out. When he relaxes, set him back in, and give him a treat.
So if he is relaxed from the start, don't wait with putting him back, just take him in and out, and then give him a treat

Sometimes things happen, and they will lose their trust in humans.
If you treat it earlie on, it will not be a problem in the long run

***Jade*** · #8 10-16-2008, 02:43 PM

Pia gave good advice regarding the re-bonding.

This might help, too:
http://www.paw-talk.net/forums/showp...55&postcount=7

Also - are you sure he's a he? I've never been sprayed by a male, only females. Females are very often mistaken for males. This site has great pictures: http://www.huggablepets.com/huggablepets/sexing.html

alexander27 · #9 10-17-2008, 11:50 AM

Thanks for the information both of you!
I'll make sure Adam is definitely not Eve haha.
And thanks for the bonding tips.

alexander27 · #10 10-17-2008, 08:33 PM

Okay, so I checked out Adam and I'm not too sure he's Adam rather than Eve.
My chinchilla has what looks like girls parts completely, except the Urethral Cone or whatever is a little bigger than the ones in pictures. But the main thing I'm seeing is that there is not that significant gap between the anus and penis like there is with guys.
Any ideas??
Thanks for all the help by the way everyone, I really appreciate it.

***Jade*** · #11 10-17-2008, 08:55 PM

I'd bet female.

The space in a male is very pronounced. At this age, you'd probably be able to see testicles, too.

If in doubt, post a pic. We can probably tell you.

alexander27 · #12 10-17-2008, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jade


	I'd bet female. The space in a male is very pronounced. At this age, you'd probably be able to see testicles, too. If in doubt, post a pic. We can probably tell you.

Haha, I sure am glad you all know what you're (I'm) talking about.
I'll definitely post a picture as soon as I can catch.. her.
Her genitalia are similar to a baby males/adult females.