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People have one interesting feature: we all perceive a fluffy animal as a completely harmless cute creature. And we constantly find ourselves in unpleasant situations. The same thing happens with chinchillas. A cute furry creature just bought from a breeder suddenly screams, shoots urine, and even bites. But the man only wanted to stroke his new friend. How to accustom a chinchilla to the hands?
None of the videos on the Internet show a scene with a chinchilla attack. And the breeders assure that these animals do not bite. Why does the newly acquired animal attack? He's just defending himself.
Chinchillas very painfully endure a change of residence and owner. It is always very stressful for them. An unfamiliar place, perhaps a hostile environment, and then someone else is approaching with incomprehensible goals.
Trying to scare a potential predator, the unfortunate animal first screams and fires aimed jets of urine. If this does not help, the rodent rushes into the last battle, trying to sell his life at a higher price. It takes a lot of time to accustom chinchillas to the hands.
Do chinchillas bite in a familiar environment?
When communicating with any animals, trying to tame them, you must always remember the rule: if you have teeth, it means that it bites. Beasts always weigh their capabilities against the forces of a potential adversary. The chinchilla, if possible, will not fight with a person, since people are much larger.
But in relation to relatives, these animals are often very bloodthirsty. Since females are larger in chinchillas, it usually goes to males. Breeders admit that sometimes, when they wake up in the morning, they find only the female and the bloody pieces of the male in the cage. So we can say with complete confidence: if desired, these rodents bite. And very much.
But an animal that feels safe has no reason to be aggressive. In the usual environment of people, the animal does not really bite, preferring to throw out its irritation not on a person, but on relatives.
What to do to avoid being bitten
In order not to get hurt trying to tame a chinchilla, and not to be disappointed in its friendliness, several important rules must be followed.
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When buying a new animal, you cannot immediately try to stroke a chinchilla and pick it up. It takes a rodent at least a week to get comfortable and feel safe in a new home. It is best not to bother the animal at all for 10-14 days.Important! You cannot try to catch and forcibly hold a chinchilla.
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After the animal gets used to it and stops panicking, you can slowly begin to accustom the pet to the hands. No violence can be used. Patience is a key factor in taming chinchillas. The animal is lured with a treat. No one can tell how long it will take to tame the animal. It depends on the nature of a particular individual. Some remain wild. If an adult chinchilla has already been purchased, it is likely that it will never get used to the new owner.Comment! The younger the purchased individual, the easier it is to tame it.
- When the animal itself goes to the person when the door is opened, they begin to teach it to go into the hand. Here, too, it is important not to rush and gradually encourage the rodent to move further and further.
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After the pet begins to calmly eat the treat, sitting on the hand, you can start stroking the animal. Chinchilla's sensitive areas are the neck, chest and area behind the ear.Important! You cannot stroke the back, sides, stomach and especially the tail of these animals.
The rodent always shows whether he likes a weasel. If the chinchilla does not want to scratch, she is indignant and pushes her hand away. There are individuals who do not like being touched at all. But even if you do not scratch your pet, then you need to teach him to go into his hand. It is necessary to be able to take the animal for examination or veterinary procedures. You can also teach the animal to "walk" around the house, sitting on the shoulder of the owner.
How to train a chinchilla
Chinchillas do not lend themselves to training. They can only develop conditioned reflexes using their love for delicacies. But on the Internet there are videos in which chinchillas perform simple tricks. The training is based on food rewards.
So you can train a rodent
- "kiss";
- come up to the call;
- sit in the gopher pose;
- give a paw.
Approach to the nickname
Every time you feed or give out a treat, you need to call the chinchilla by name. The animal develops a conditioned reflex: he heard a name - came up - got a tasty bite.
"Kiss"
To accustom your pet to this trick, you will have to catch the animal when, out of curiosity, he reaches for his cheek or lips. First, you will have to give the necessary command after the action performed by the animal and immediately stretch out the delicacy. Slowly you need to ensure that the rodent "kissed" after the command given. After the trick, the animal must be given a reward.
"Give your paw"
Learning to this command is similar to how the animal is taught to "kiss". After waiting for the moment when the animal, for some reason, stretches out its paw and touches the palm, they say: "Give a paw!" - and then they feed the delicacy. Gradually, a connection is formed in the rodent: the command - touched the palm with his paw - received a tasty morsel.
Gopher pose
One of the simpler tricks. The chinchilla is forced to reach up for a piece and is given the treat as soon as it sits on its hind legs.
What is important to consider when training
Chinchillas should not be overfed, so the rate of treats during training should not go beyond the daily. In other words, while training a chinchilla, she is not given additional delicacies. The feeding that the animal should have received as a daily rate, it receives in the process of training. And the tidbits should be very small.
It is also impossible to psychologically overload the animal with long activities. It is better to train your pet twice a day for 5 minutes than once for 10 minutes.
Conclusion
Among rodents, chinchillas are long-livers. If the owner manages to establish rapport with this animal, he will find a good friend for many years.
