Shoulder chinchillas and you!
Posted by Jen Talbot on Mon, Oct 06, 2008 @ 10:26 AM
I suppose this article will go hand in hand with Jenny's previous one on chinchilla training!
First, introductions: My name is J, and my rascal chinchilla is El Guapo! He is named after the villain from The Three Amigos, which I and my brothers have seen numerous times; we find his character stupidly hilarious. He's about four years old now, and I've had him since 2005.
One neat thing that Jenny wanted me to write about involves how I trained El Guapo to sit on my shoulder. The minute I open the door to his cage, he wants to climb up there and perch.
It's all about creating a comfort zone with your chinchilla so that they see your body as part of their safe area, or an extension of their cage. I'm sure that it helps that I adopted him when he was about a year old, so starting fairly young is key. He didn't like to be picked up from his cage, but he enjoyed jumping up and clinging to the bars like a little squirrel. I encouraged him to do this every time I opened the lid by offering him a cranberry or raisin. Gradually, he learned to jump into my arms or else he wouldn't receive any treats! This is extremely convenient especially now, when he has a larger cage that I can't open from the top. Simply opening the door to the cage piques his interest, and he will come over to use me like a jungle gym. Staying close to the cage when beginning training is important, too, so that your chinchilla has the ability to return to the cage if they are startled by a noise or something.
There are some positives and negatives about having a little furry demon passenger on your shoulder. Depending on the personality of your chilly, they may enjoy having more things on your head to chew on. El Guapo will constantly bite my ears, piercings, shirt tags, and hair. You also have to learn how long they will be content to stay up there without wanting to escape! If the dog is not around, I find that making a cup of tea is just fine, although I try not to carry a hot beverage and a chilly at the same time. A nice round of scratches under the chin keeps him happy and occupied.
Working with an older chin may not be so hard, although Jenny tells me that her numerous chins are more bonded to each other than to her. I think that with any animal, it is important to be patient as well as tricky! Make them work for their treats. If you can work gradually to them perching on your arm while eating a raisin, you can inspire their natural tendency to climb further up your chest and onto your shoulders.
Aw, and yesterday he felt comfortable to fall asleep up there, how cute! A huge accomplishment for a normally hyperactive and curious little guy.