ChinchillaBehaviorAndTraining

How Smart Are Chinchillas?

Chinchillas are smarter than a lot of small animals and much more fun than the average small pet. They are different than dogs, cats, ferrets, birds, etc.

Chinchillas memorize their trails, they have great memories. If you frighten them, they will remember it for a fairly long time, and you will have to regain your trust.

Chinchillas are excellent with mazes and figuring out where to go. They are able to come out of almost anything. Their actual body under all that fluff is really small in diameter. Unlike hamsters, rats, and mice they need no time at all to come out of a maze.

Behavior and Training

How Do I Know If A Chinchilla Likes Me?

Chinchillas become attached to their owners and will even rub their heads on them to show affection. They will welcome your arrival with a soft chuckle. When you open the cage door they will jump into your hands or simply let you pick them up. Socialized chinchillas love attention and will play with you for hours, but they can take up a lot of your time. You may want to consider buying a companion for your chinchilla if you don�t have all the needed time. This way it will trust you and still have a friend to keep him or her happy.

To stay healthy, happy, and maintain happiness with you, your Chinchilla needs supervised exercise periods outside of its cage. Before you let the animal out of its cage for its playtime, remove any breakable objects and block off access to spaces behind refrigerators, ovens, cupboards, and basically any place they can get into. While the Chinchilla is exploring watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't gnaw on electrical cords or your furniture because they love to do this!

Can I Get A Friend For My Chinchilla?

If you decide to add another Chinchilla to your home, introduce them gradually. You may want to keep them in separate side-by-side cages for a week or two, so they can get used to each other. When you place them in the same cage, observe them closely to make sure they're getting along. If they nibble on each other or snap at each other it is just their way of getting to know each other, but if you see fur fly start the process over again. If by the second process you have no luck they most likely will never get along. Chinchillas love to cuddle with each other and sniff each other, especially around the rear and tail. This is their way of identifying each other.

Caution should be used when introducing a Chinchilla to other animals such as cats and dogs. Some owners have great success keeping these animals together while others end up with disastrous results. I believe it depends on the breed of dog or cat you introduce them to. Keep in mind that ferrets and snakes are natural enemies of these gentle fluffy loveable animals.

If you decide that the Chinchilla is the pet you've been waiting for, try to set up all the equipment you'll need before you bring home your new pet. Your Chinchilla will appreciate coming home to a cage that already has all the supplies it will need. Another thing to note is that you can pair them up normally without problem, but if you want more friends it is a lot harder because either the 2 girls will fight over the one male or the 2 males will fight over the female. The only way that multiples really work is with the same gender, so if you put together 3 females or 3 males without the opposite sex present or around them they should be okay. The safest bet is just to pair them up, but some people can�t have enough Chinchillas in their house and try to bunch them together. In the wild they travel in herds of 20-30 Chinchillas, but in the wild they can come and go as they feel while in a cage there isn�t room!!!

What Are Their Behavioral Habits?

Chinchillas are nocturnal, spending much of the day sleeping. They will be active during the day if there is something interesting going on around them like a TV or radio or if you want to play with them. They love to run on wheels, especially at night, so you don�t want to be keeping your chin in your bedroom because the noise from the wheel will try you mad. They make noises to let you know you are not paying enough attention to them so be on the lookout for this as well. They are very social and can be hand tamed to play and interact with you if you are willing to spend time with them and show then that you love them a whole lot.

Chinchillas are adaptable and if the time that you want to play with them is in the afternoon, then they will be more than willing to accommodate you providing you are fun to play with and consistent in your play time. They can wake up in the day time and then doze again, just make sure they get their proper amount of sleep in total. This is provided you give them a consistent schedule. When they sleep don�t be alarmed but they will look dead as they lay on their sides a lot stretched out. When we first started we would get scared that one of our chins had died, but then realized that they were sleeping. Chinchillas hate change and prefer consistency. If you move them, give them time to get used to the new surroundings, please don�t move their cage all the time unless you have no choice.