File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
so /an/ I adopted a chinchilla from the stray facility I work near. I read up on how to care for them and all, but was wondering a few things I was hoping someone with chinchillas can answer.

The lady at at the Strays place said I shouldn't give her raisins (I asked since I read on several sites that a good treat for chinchillas are raisins) because she had never been fed them before and it might upset her stomach. Is this true?

Also any tips on getting her to at least stand me would be appreciated, it's hard as hell to catch her to get her in/out of her cage because she runs away from me.

She's running around right now in my "chinchilla proofed" bathroom. If I sit really still in there she sometimes comes up to me and sniffs, but when I stand up she goes and hides under a dresser.
>> Anonymous
She'll get used to you over time. Try offering her food treats with your fingers for starters. Then you can gently pet her after a while.

Rasins are good chinchilla treats, just don't give them very many. I used to give my chinchilla one rasin every day. He lived to be over 15 years old and never had any health problems. Other good treats are various kinds of nuts. Mine loved cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts, and especially macadamia nuts.
>> Anonymous
I ended up saddled with my sisters chinchilla when she went off to college. I found that nursing her back to health for several weeks after she broke her leg got her used to being handled.

That's probably not an option in your case.

The advice in>>64862is more useful. Frequent interaction is key, and treats are always welcomed. Raisins are like chinchilla crack. Just use common sense in selecting snacks, if a raw food vegan would eat it, it's probably okay. Oh, and keep the moisture content low. Raisins are on the wet end of the treat spectrum.

Once it's a bit more used to you, try gently scritching around the... uh... jowls and shoulders, I suppose. Pikachu loved that.

I didn't name her.
>> Anonymous
Also, providing a means to bathe is pretty darned important. Clean fur and health are magically linked somehow.

A goldfish bowl turned on its side with about half a cup of Fuller's Earth inside worked well for me, because it didn't mean a thin layer of fine sparkling dust covering every horizontal surface in a five foot radius.
>> Anonymous
Aaaaaalso, being at the bottom of the food chain for millions of years hard wires some fearful behavior in the chinchilla brain. Someplace cramped and secure is essential for reducing stress, and don't go digging the little rabbitsquirrel out of its favorite safe hiding place.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
The only craptastic picture I ever took of the little punk, he lamented.
>> Anonymous
I babysat some chinchillas for a friend a while back and they ate the bottoms of the doors off of my "chinchilla-proofed" bathroom. So watch out. Also, they chewed through the plastic bottom of their cage, I assume because I didn't let them out often enough to exercise.

Their favourite treat was apple tree branches (bought at the pet store). So if your raisin quota is full for the day, try some of those. They loved to peel off the bark.
>> Anonymous
On the subject of sticks and stems:

Buy grapes.
Eat grapes.
Give stems to chinchilla.
>> Anonymous
Someone told me you can't really handle chinchillas, because they're so delicate. Is this true?
>> Anonymous
Well, you don't handle them like you would a pair of channel lock pliers. And I wouldn't trust a small kid with a chinchilla.

I think the primary concern is their coat. The fur is extremely fine and prone to contamination from the oil on your skin, so bathing is important. Bathing in this case means rolling around in dust.

Also they apparently have tender skin, and the fur falls out easily. Pikachu (again, I didn't name her) wore a cast one one of her back legs for several weeks, and it left that leg quite raw and hairless. I had to put ointment on it daily for a while. The fur did eventually grow back more or less normally.
>> Anonymous
how intelligent are chinchillas? are they more or less the typical rodent, or do they respond to their name, chatter to get your attention, and play with you?
>> Anonymous
>>65344
You can handle them, my sister has a friendly chinchilla you can hold, even have sit on your shoulder. They jump around bouncing off walls like crazy, I wouldn't say they're delicate unless you pull on their fur or something.

>>65587
Again I don't own one, but my sister's chinchillas definitely respond to certain words. Specifically, "treats!" mostly. They also say chinchillas love to watch tv. Play time for them mostly means running and around, though if you sit on the floor they'll jump and climb on you. As far as chattering to get your attention, some are more talkative then others. It seems to me like they make the most noise when they are happy, but overall they are quiet. But the most playful one does run up to the corner of the cage you are closest to and hop around (even scale the walls) when he wants to play.
>> Anonymous
>They jump around bouncing off walls like crazy
PARKOUR!

I've heard that they're somewhat delicate to squeezing, so you'll have to be carerful when picking them up. Just something I read.
>> Anonymous
Mine liked to eat hay, and also enjoed this brick of salt. In any case, it takes them a real long while to get used to people, but if you just keep at handling them and what-not, they stop running away as much. Also they like to be scratched under the chin and on the shoulders.
>> Anonymous
Raisins are a good treat.
You can try giving one to her and if it upsets her tummy, dont give it to her again.
DOnt get the damn thing wet.
>> Anonymous
>>66296

Indeed. Chinchillas are something like mogwai in this sense.
>> Anonymous
i give mine raisens all the time, ask pet store lady wtf r u talkin bout