Chinchilla for our country is an exotic animal. Not such a large number of pet lovers contains such animals. However, chinchillas are very cute, interesting and cute creatures. And some of our compatriots still decide to make themselves such a charming animal. Such pet lovers should, among other things, know how to teach chinchillas to their hands.
The first steps
Despite the fact that the chinchilla is a rodent, the technology for caring for it is somewhat different from the method of keeping, for example, rats or hamsters. After such an animal is acquired, its owners will need to first try to accustom it to their hands. Such animals look very beautiful. But many pet lovers would like, of course, not only to admire the chinchilla, but also to be able to touch its smooth, delicate fur.
The answer to the question of how to teach chinchillas to your hands, unfortunately, is often difficult. In our country, not so many breeders breed such animals. Moreover, in each such farm animals are usually kept in large quantities. And accordingly, the breeder does not have the opportunity to pay too much attention to each chinchilla. In any case, such animals are almost never tame. To cope with the shy at first and wild character of the rodent, its owners in most cases have to do it on their own.
What to do after purchase
Experienced pet lovers do not advise trying to tame a chinchilla immediately after she is in the house. At this time, such an enterprise is unlikely to be successful. Finding herself in an unfamiliar place, the chinchilla will experience fear. And to overcome a stressful situation, she probably will need a little time.
The acquired chinchilla will need to be planted in a cage prepared in advance for her and left her alone. Of course, in the "house" for the animal, you should first put a box of food and a bowl of water.
What you should not do
Keeping chinchillas at home is relatively simple. However, the owners of such animals, of course, should follow certain recommendations of specialists.
You can start taming a chinchilla in about a couple of days after purchase. Catching the animal in the cage and grabbing it roughly while doing this, of course, should not be. Firstly, in this case no positive result can be achieved in terms of taming. The animal is simply frightened, and in the future it will be difficult to make him trust the owners. And secondly, such an attempt can end in disrepair for the owner of the animal. Like any other rodent, a chinchilla, if necessary, for defense purposes, can use its teeth. Such any animals regard any attempt to capture them as aggression.
Where to start taming
So, how to teach chinchillas to hands? Catching an animal and holding it in its hands should not be forced. Tame such a beast carefully and gradually. First of all, the owners of the chinchilla should open the door of its cage and put on the outside a small piece of food. Chinchillas are very curious animals. Therefore, the accustomed animal, most likely, after some time will want to explore the surroundings. At the same time, food will become an additional incentive for him.
Attempts to escape the first time the chinchilla to make with a high degree of probability will not. The cage in which she had previously spent several days in peace would probably seem to her the safest place in the apartment. As soon as the animal enters its “house”, its owners need to carefully approach it and close the door.
Next stage
Chinchilla owners will need to do a trick with a piece of food and an open cage door several times. When the animal more or less settles outside the "house", you can proceed to the second stage of taming.
This time the animal will need to be trained with the goal of getting used to hands. To do this, take a piece of some food with two fingers and stick it between the bars of the cage.
At first, taking food directly from the hands of the owner of the chinchilla is likely to be afraid. So the owners of the animal will have to show a little patience. If the chinchilla does not pick up food for the first time, the procedure will need to be repeated after a while. Very soon, the animal will get used to it, stop being afraid of fingers and begin to pick up pieces of food.
How to teach chinchilla to hands
As soon as the pet begins to take food from the owner completely without fear and fear, you can begin the final stage of taming. This time, a piece of food should be put on an inverted palm. Next, open the chinchilla cage door and place your hand at a certain distance from the entrance.
The animal, which is no longer afraid of leaving the cage and is not afraid of the owner’s hands, is likely to try to take food from the palm of its hand. Such an exercise when taming a chinchilla needs to be done several times. After a while, the animal will begin to eat the food offered to it, sitting right in the palm of its owner.
From this moment, you need to start raising your hand with the animal located on it. Perhaps at first the rat will get scared and run back into the cage. But gradually, the animal will understand that the host’s gesture does not pose any threat to it.
After some time, you can start trying to transfer the chinchilla in the palm of your hand from place to place in the apartment. The fear of the animal during such actions will quickly pass, and the rat will become completely manual.
Can I iron
If the owners approach the matter correctly, the chinchilla on hand will subsequently feel comfortable and calm. The fur of these animals is so soft, “plush” and tender that to touch it, judging by the reviews of the owners of such rodents, is a pleasure. Therefore, many owners of such animals constantly take them in their hands, stroke their heads and scratch their ears. In principle, this can be done. Chinchillas - animals are not flimsy, healthy and quite hardy.
However, stroking such animals, unfortunately, in most cases brings pleasure only to their owners themselves. Chinchillas themselves from such actions of the owners are, as they say, neither warm nor cold. Such animals do not consider stroking as a sign of attention from the owner, not stroking, but basically only the quality tasty food they offer.
Despite the fact that chinchillas, unlike cats and dogs, always remain indifferent to the owner’s “tendernesses”, such animals can understand the intonations of the owner’s voice very well. Therefore, taming the pet and further communicating with it, its owners should talk in a soothing affectionate voice. This chinchilla is likely to appreciate and soon will completely trust the people living in the house.
Care features: how to equip the cage
Keeping chinchillas, according to many pet lovers, is a snap. In order for the animal in the family to feel as comfortable as possible, its owners first of all, of course, need to properly equip the cage for it.
In addition to bowls for food and water, in the "house" for the chinchilla, two more items must be installed:
The wheel will be very good entertainment for the chinchilla. Of course, not every owner will decide to let the animal go for a walk around the house. After all, chinchillas are brisk creatures and can easily escape either through the front door or in the gap between the structures of the house. Active movement of such rodents, like any other, is very useful.
The question of how to teach a chinchilla to a wheel, before its owners, most likely, will not arise at all. Most of these animals immediately crawls into such a device to begin to actively run in it. True, there are also animals that wait a while and prefer to first make sure that the new object that appears in the cage is not dangerous. There is a small category of chinchillas that do not recognize wheels at all. It’s unlikely that it will be possible to train such an animal to “play sports” with the owners in any case.
Do I need a tray
Of course, when keeping chinchillas at home, it’s worth taking care of the animal’s hygiene as well. In the cage to the animal, you must definitely put a toilet. Firstly, it will facilitate the cleaning of the "house" of the animal. And secondly, in this way you can significantly reduce the risk of a pet becoming infected with some kind of infection.
The chinchilla tray is best chosen from ceramics or metal. Of course, if you wish, you can put a plastic container of this type from the pet store in the cage to the animal. However, such a device will most likely have to be changed soon. The sides of such a chinchilla tray will surely chew.
Advice from veterinarians and experienced owners: how to teach a chinchilla to the toilet
Filler for the animal tray is best used commercially available wood. If the chinchilla does not want to go to the toilet in the container allotted for this and leaves its marks throughout the cage, the owners need to start training the pet. To do this, each time the animal leaves its “mark” at the bottom of the cage, you should take a certain amount of filler, wipe the affected area with it and put the sawdust back into the tray. Soon, the chinchilla, focusing on the smell, will understand where she needs to go to the toilet.
Thus, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to tame a chinchilla to the tray, there is a positive one. But with what frequency is it worth changing the filler in the animal’s toilet? It is advisable to carry out such a procedure every day. In this case, only the contaminated part of the filler can be changed.
Feeding advice
So, how to teach a chinchilla to the tray and hands, we found out. But what kind of food should be offered to such a beast? Chinchillas are most often fed with specially purchased cereal mixtures. In addition to cereal seeds, such products usually include dried vegetables, fruits, and pressed herbs. Sometimes manufacturers add even a little popcorn to this food.
From natural ordinary food, chinchillas are usually given fruits, vegetables, tree branches. Also, animals can be offered tops of carrots, clover, dandelions. In winter, chinchillas eagerly eat hay from herbs. Of the cereals, oats, barley, corn and wheat are most suitable for such animals.
Instead of a conclusion
Judging by the reviews, the content of chinchillas is not too complicated and quite exciting. Animals, according to the owners, are relatively undemanding, smart and interesting. But of course, as we found out, these animals require special care. If the owners of such a pet will follow the recommendations of experts on its content, it will always be healthy, active, cheerful and beautiful.