Okay, so your new arrival is sitting there in their brand new shiny cage; staring out at you with large round bright eyes
the big question is - what do you do next?

Chinchillas are a naturally shy animal, so reaching in and trying to scoop your new pet out from their new home is a definite NO, this type of incident will only result in the poor Chinchilla being terrified of you from the very start, and will more likely end up with you being sprayed with urine or spat at!
 (Not a nice trait of the Chinchilla but take into account that these are it’s natural ‘defence tactics’ when living in the wild!)

the number 1 golden rule when befriending your Chinchilla is:
 Never try to rush making friends
The process will take time and patience on your side and theirs, you both have to learn about each other and build up a trusting relationship together

To begin with, leave your new furry friend to settle into its new home at first, and try to realise that your Chinchilla not only has to adapt to you, but they also have found themselves in a totally new environment too, it will take time to settle down.

 Routine is important to Chinchillas, so keep to the same time of day (preferable evenings around 6-7pm) for feeding and changing the water bottles, and also eventually for exercising.

BUILDING TRUST IN YOUR CHINCHILLA

Softly talk to your pet as you pass the cage repeating her name, then a couple of times a day you can offer her a small titbit (Raisins are a confirmed favourite of all Chinchillas and a great bribery tactic! – it doesn’t have to be a whole raisin at first – just half, remember too many raisins can cause diarrhoea, but 1-2 raisins as a treat each day is fine)

Just offer the treat to her through the cage bars at first, talking continuously to let her know you’re there and as not to frighten her with any sudden movements.
 Always move slowly when approaching the cage. I also make a noise when feeding treats almost like a blowing kisses noise, I know this may sound silly, but now each time I make this noise the Chinchillas associate it with having a treat and come running to the side of their cages eagerly. It is best if you can resist the urge to open the cage door and stroke them at this early point, continue the ‘treat approach’ for a few days and see how they react to you. If she’s showing signs of becoming braver then you can move onto the next step, bravery on a chinchillas part is when they are quick and eager to come running up to the cage for treats, and maybe being just a little ‘cautious’ of you but willing to brave it for that special raisin!

THE NEXT STEP
 Armed with a raisin, open the cage door very carefully; talking all the time to your chinchilla - offer the treat to them very slowly, extending your hand towards her nose, hopefully she will take it from your hand fairly quickly and will either eat it there or run to a corner, but chinchillas are naturally curious animals so it’s more than likely they will feel compelled to investigate your hand - just be careful that she doesn’t nip your fingers as she’ll be searching for another raisin & your fingers will smell of them. You can also try to gently tickle under the chin or behind the ears as most chinchillas enjoy this and it is a good way of letting them know you, your smell and also the ‘association’ of you related to that nice treat they get!

THE SECOND STEP
Once you have done this a few times and you feel confident that your chinchilla is ready to explore further than just your hand, generally they might start climbing up your arm by now looking for new ground to investigate
This is a sure sign that you can move onto the next stage, the removing of your new Chinchilla from their cage. An exciting development!
 If you are lucky enough to have your Chinchilla’s cage positioned in the room where she will be exercised, then the next stage will be all that much easier for you to complete; just slowly open up the cage door talking softly to your chinchilla to encourage them to leave the cage, you can always use the ‘old faithful’ raisin bribe here again and reward them with this titbit when they do leave their safe haven to investigate, the best idea is to cut some raisins in half to make smaller treats as at this stage of befriending your chinchilla treats are a big help and you don’t want a chubby Chinchilla from the start! Another good treat that is ‘chinnie’ safe is Quaker oats; just one oat is a good ‘bribe’ and ‘reward’ – not too many though, as they can cause constipation – especially in a new and young chinchilla.
 However, for myself, my own five chinchillas play in a separate room to where their cages are located. I’ve successfully used the following method on all 5 of my Chinchillas (including my rescues).
 I use a standard size pet carrier, as shown in the pictures below

Hold it level with the cage door so that the Chinchillas can jump easily into it; this method also has its advantages when vet visits are necessary! They can then be carried effortlessly through to their exercise room without having caused them any undue stress whilst trying to catch them in their cage. Then once in the room just open the door to the pet carrier and the method is the same from here on in as if you have opened their cage door! Once your little furry friend is out in the open space always make sure you leave either the cage/carrier door open so that your chinchilla can have a safe haven to bolt to should they become frightened by anything. Place several play items around the room, these can also act as safe places to run and hide.
you can see from the picture below that I use cardboard boxes and a product called Fiddlesticks which Malibu & Cleo are happily munching on!

The most important feature of their play room has to be their dust bath.
Some people use a wide variety of containers for this purpose including; biscuit tins, washing-up bowls, goldfish bowls etc, etc.
 I personally use a yellow storage box, which Beano is modelling for you below!
Jaffa my brown velvet, is also pictured in a washing-up bowl style dustbath!
 The special chinchilla dust is available from most pet shops.

THE PLAYTIME

The secret to ensuring your Chinchilla has a happy and relaxed playtime is to make sure you sit very quietly and still; you will find that eventually they will come and explore you by jumping all over you exploring - and maybe nibbling you gently.

My young Nephew demonstrates here, (with the aid of Pepa my grey) how to sit quietly and let your Chinchilla come to you; any sudden movements will frighten them and send them running for cover. Eventually you will discover that you can gently build up to stroking your Chinchilla while they are out during playtime and in time pick eventually pick them up.

Chinchillas move like lightening and turn very quickly whilst on the run; try not to give chase, as this will only alarm your Chinchilla and more than likely cause them stress. Just wait patiently until they are close enough for you to pick them up, then do so quickly by placing both hands around their body firmly but gently: remembering that they have a very delicate little body underneath all that lovely thick fur, their ribs are quite delicate and held too tightly will easily break.
Support your chinchilla underneath; it is important to let them feel secure with you at all times
 The best method is to lift them in towards your body as shown on the pictures below

If your chinchilla feels it has being handled roughly it will slip some of its fur, this is a natural defence mechanism to assist the Chinchilla in escaping from its handler – or in the wild - a predator.
 Literally it means it has the ability to leave the handler with a handful of its fur rather than itself!

Remember, Chinchillas are not what you would term ‘cuddle’ pets, they may look it with their beautiful fur coats but they very much prefer to run free!
 In time they will be happy to climb all over you and allow themselves to be stroked. Once your Chinchilla becomes used to you and learns that you mean them no harm, you can build up a special and trusting relationship with your pet
They really are such wonderful and amusing little animals; I have to smile to myself each evening when I enter the room around 8pm and see 5 furry little faces peering at me expectantly waiting for their exercise.
All your pet needs is time and patience and you can have a furry friend for years.