Chinchillas and Stress

Sarah Hamilton, Grandeur Chinchillas

Chinchillas do not have sweat glands, so they need a daily dust bath of 10 – 20 minutes a day.  Dusting is a natural stress release for them too, in a debate of dusting times I went to a friend and mentor (Brian Pollard ebonydragon) pointed out to me that in the wild they have access to this all the time, something very simple I thought but also something people forget or fail to learn.  So a few times a week is not enough.

Stress really depends on the nature of the chinchilla in question.  To avoid stress they should not be brought for children under 12, as children get impatient and do pester, not only that, especially young chinchillas, their energy level’s and attention span is comparable to a small child so if you could imagine this mix.

Many books and info say to leave your chinchilla alone and do not hold it, let the chin come to you, use treats etc.  These are all Myths.  One book I brought to illustrate such info says “The first days and weeks you should be very reserved in interacting with the animal.  How much time the Chinchilla needs in order to get settled depends on how tame it is to begin with and how timid it is.  Reduce all care-giving chores such as feeding, to the bare minimum.  Move slowly and speak softly around the animal so you don’t alarm or frighten it” (source: Chinchillas A Complete Pet Owners Manual).  This does make sense, and I wanted to show both sides of this.  They are creatures strictly wired by instinct, this of course tells them to be very wary, just as you see wild Birds and Mice, it all tells them to be very cautious around all potential predators which in a chins eyes also, that is what we are regardless whether we like it or not. 

So when a person is cautious, standing back, observing it and quiet without
establishing contact directly, the chin will of course naturally become stressed with ease, even some cases I have seen first hand turning into shock.  This is just what we would be like if cornered by predators in a flimsy cage, we would become very stressed and scared.  To a chinchilla, we move and look like a Predator, when doing all this it just confirms their instinct of us, an important thing to remember.

Chinchillas observe/study and learn how to react from their environments including every living thing in it from Furniture, Plant’s to living creatures, it is instinct.  To the poor chin it is just waiting for something bad to happen, so you need to make the chin face it’s fears and realise that you are not a threat.  It cannot learn this if humans and it’s environment is ‘stand-offish’ (if you have other Pets watch their behaviour to as they especially Cats can torment without been anywhere near the cage, as they are predators by Nature, why you should also never let chins out with other animals), so they need you to break this, for you to make the first move not them, just remember in their minds you will hurt them! 

With that, you must establish contact straight away, IMMEDIATELY upon arrival.

Hold them securely, scratch behind the ear and under the chin, talk allot to it and do all of this gently!!  Do this for a while, then put it back into the cage.  Straight away offer a Dust Bath for about 4 minutes.  You would be giving this 10 – 20 minutes a day but when new, it is a great way to offer your chin encouragement, so you can break this time up so they get lots of little baths, this helps relieve any stress and tension.  Offering Treats to new chins encourages ‘Addicts’ (not only been bad for them) and you really do not want a Chin to relate you to a treat tin later on, but a friend.

This strict importance of first contact gives you the opportunity to prove yourself to it, showing it has nothing to worry about, again they are ‘prey’ so first contact is needed or it will cause stress, you will notice the chin will take a long time to get used to you otherwise, in all that time been wary when there is no need. 

Fur Slipping is not avoidable and may happen with your new chin so do not be concerned.  But a gentle approach and handling will help and is needed, and may stop Fur Slip.  It also all depends on the chin to whether it will fur-slip.  Personally with my own, and I know of other breeders who are the same, have no problem with their chinchillas and Fur Slip.  I will go into more detail on Fur Slip a bit later.

A nervous, high-strung (either to many raisins in a week, or the breeding are common issues) or a chin that has no or little handling will do it.  Even with doing all this is it may still happen, it is instinct and instinct is something humans cannot control.  If first contact is not made it will stress and lose fur, or even chew it’s fur known as Fur Chewing/Biting.  

Be persistent, handle it for 5-6 minutes once DAILY, longer if feel you can. You'll be able to tell when your chinchilla starts to relax and warm up to you, recognising you which will happen the first time.  Some chins are very vocal and like some people over exaggerate, they scream, ‘gruff’, grind their teeth and even ‘pee’ on you which is another defence like Fur Slip.  Do not let this put you off as so many do, and this is exactly what the Chinchilla wants, so you must do it. 

Once this first contact procedure starts to work, then you are safe to ‘leave your chin to it’, after a little longer you can start to offer suitable healthy treats. 

Do not keep the whole house quiet, keep the TV on (at a sensible level of course), do your normal daily chores.  Chinchillas are strict routine animals, if they do not have this it will also cause stress, this is a common stress causer for owners, just use common sense and do not ‘party’ so to say.  If you are keeping everything quiet and it is not normal, not what you or your family usually do then once the chinchilla finally settles in and you get back to normal, it will stress because of these ‘new things’, ‘new noises’ .  If you have young children that scream or are very noisy, do not get a chinchilla, no amount of routine will help this.  Wait until they understand in respecting these animals, again chins are not good children’s Pets.

To Help Avoid Stress
Daily regular interacting and bonding is needed even for a new chinchilla to ensure happiness, security and fulfilment.  

Chins must be kept indoors in a climate-controlled atmosphere, this helps prevent stress, temperature must not be hot or to warm.  Garages/Sheds without Air-conditioning  and heat control Fluctuate to much.

Keep noises at a sensible level i.e. screaming children, yelling, loud music, animals including Parrots.

Keep the cage in a well vented area but at the same time away from all drafts, windows, doors.  This goes opposite to with not keeping it near heaters or fires.

Keep away from direct sunlight or in a sunny room.

Keep breeding rooms clean and tidy, do not over breed, over crowd, separate Male and Female near due date, rotate babies if needed (3+ babies), Hand feed if needed, don’t let babies fight, feed proper diet to suit mums needs.

Make sure no small children and/or other animals have access to the cage or the chin, so poking and tormenting does not occur.

Feed a proper diet of proper commercial chinchilla pellets, good suitable Hay, and healthy treats, not sweet treats like dried fruit.

Have a large Cage to suit your Chinchillas needs with suitable toys and other suitable chews available in the Cage, this is very important.

Do NOT let your chinchilla out with other animals.  Cats, no matter what the Nature are Predators, Birds, even small – the flapping sound can trigger stress.

When moving to a new house, leave the chin until last, so it is not left at the new house alone without familiar voices.  Make sure when you take it also, it is not hot or raining, take the day off work if it is needed.  If it is hot or raining put in a Dust Bath for the trip, and keep the carry cage covered with ice packs over it so it is kept at normal temperature.  With the Dust, if it is hot place
the Bath in the freezer for a while before the trip, this was suggested by a friend and works a treat.  Do not ‘leave’ the chin to settle in even if it is used to you, comfort it, talk to it, handle it.

These all help prevent Stress, just remember all Chinchillas are individuals and different things cause different out comes, keep an open mind.

Copyright © Sarah Hamilton