Jenova
Wise Old Thumper
A Bundle O' Finnies!
There's a story behind this picture... I know I've been starting threads left right and centre recently but I have coursework to do and I'm a procrastinator.
Big Boss and Snake are the babies, although they're over a year old now and pretty much fully grown. And Big Boss had decided she was in charge. She was the smallest of the twins so I pretty much anticipated she'd be the dominant one, they always are. :lol:
The only problem is she was becoming really violent and bullying the others. I hate to see my baby Cheech upset and Big Boss was getting really bad. She was hogging the nest box and making the others sleep on the shelf, she was pushing them off the water bottle if she wanted to drink, she was demanding treats first and pushing the others away to get my attention. And if they wouldn't go she was barking and biting them. If I brought Chong over to see Cheech (they're separated until he's been done) she would start biting the other girls and spraying them with pee and then start on Chong through the bars. Etc, etc...
I was getting really worried and after consulting with some people I respect on a chinchilla forum we thought she may have to be separated from the others. We though she would be happier as an only chin with lots of human attention. I'd even found her a home.
But I couldn't do it. She and Snake are my first babies ever. They're Cheech and Chong's first litter and I just don't know how they'd react being separated. The wise people on the chinchilla forum said I had to think of ll of their well being and happiness and I had to do what was best.
But then I thought of something.
I've studied psychology. I know basic animal training for dogs and rabbits... but no one had ever taught me how to train a chinchilla. I decided it was worth one last try. They're very intelligent animals, sometimes too intelligent to train because they love to play up and misbehave.
I started to ignore her when she bullied the others. I fed them first, gave them attention first, gave them treats first and always left her until last. I brought Chong over and every time she tried to fight I blew on her.
And as you can see by the picture, after a good few weeks it seems to have worked!
I'm so happy. If it continues to work I get to keep my baby.
Just thought I'd share my story here.
By the way I call them finnies... Cheech is Feece, Chong is Fong the babies are Feece Babies and collectively they're finnies.
Now I need to go do coursework... :roll:
There's a story behind this picture... I know I've been starting threads left right and centre recently but I have coursework to do and I'm a procrastinator.
Big Boss and Snake are the babies, although they're over a year old now and pretty much fully grown. And Big Boss had decided she was in charge. She was the smallest of the twins so I pretty much anticipated she'd be the dominant one, they always are. :lol:
The only problem is she was becoming really violent and bullying the others. I hate to see my baby Cheech upset and Big Boss was getting really bad. She was hogging the nest box and making the others sleep on the shelf, she was pushing them off the water bottle if she wanted to drink, she was demanding treats first and pushing the others away to get my attention. And if they wouldn't go she was barking and biting them. If I brought Chong over to see Cheech (they're separated until he's been done) she would start biting the other girls and spraying them with pee and then start on Chong through the bars. Etc, etc...
I was getting really worried and after consulting with some people I respect on a chinchilla forum we thought she may have to be separated from the others. We though she would be happier as an only chin with lots of human attention. I'd even found her a home.
But I couldn't do it. She and Snake are my first babies ever. They're Cheech and Chong's first litter and I just don't know how they'd react being separated. The wise people on the chinchilla forum said I had to think of ll of their well being and happiness and I had to do what was best.
But then I thought of something.
I've studied psychology. I know basic animal training for dogs and rabbits... but no one had ever taught me how to train a chinchilla. I decided it was worth one last try. They're very intelligent animals, sometimes too intelligent to train because they love to play up and misbehave.
I started to ignore her when she bullied the others. I fed them first, gave them attention first, gave them treats first and always left her until last. I brought Chong over and every time she tried to fight I blew on her.
And as you can see by the picture, after a good few weeks it seems to have worked!
I'm so happy. If it continues to work I get to keep my baby.
Just thought I'd share my story here.
By the way I call them finnies... Cheech is Feece, Chong is Fong the babies are Feece Babies and collectively they're finnies.
Now I need to go do coursework... :roll:
