Handling and Taming
Taming
Chinchillas are by nature quite timid creatures that are easiest to tame if acquired at a young age. Developing a bond with your chinchilla takes time and patience. You should start by putting your hand inside your chinchilla’s cage. After he gets used to it being there, he may begin to sniff and nibble at it. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that he is going to bite you! Him trying to ‘groom’ you is a positive sign.,
entually, he should climb onto your hand. Before removing him from his cage, you should give him a chance to feel comfortable. Although chinchillas are extremely cuddly to look at, they generally don’t like to be cuddled. Once tame, they may be happy to sit on your knee or shoulder when not leaping and racing around!
Handling
It is essential that your chinchilla is used to being handled, so that you can check his health and in case he needs a visit to the vets. When handling a chinchilla, pick him up with two hands, one around the shoulders and another supporting his rear end. If necessary, chinchillas can be restrained by also holding the base of the tail. However, no other part of the tail should be held, as it will break off. Chinchillas tend to shed fur or urinate when frightened so it is important that you make the handling experience as unstressful as possible.
Training
Chinchillas are intelligent creatures and some can be trained to come when called and go back into their cage when requested. Teaching your chinchilla to come when he is called can be done using treats as rewards. It is not advised to give chinchillas many treats per day, therefore it is best to give halves of raisins or broken up slices of dried banana as rewards. Keep training sessions short as chinchillas have a short attention span and get bored easily. Once your chinchilla has mastered the trick, you will be able to reward him in other ways, such as verbal praise and making a fuss of him.
