How To Teach Your Chinchilla Tricks – Yes, It’s Possible!
Did you know you can teach your fluffy little chinchilla tricks? They are actually fairly smart (for a rodent) and are capable of learning some simple parlor tricks that you can show off to your friends. So your chinchilla will not only be fun to look at and hold, but also entertaining!
The first thing you should know if you want to teach your chinchilla tricks is that they have long memories. If you scare them or they get freaked out by something, they will remember the experience until they've had enough positive experiences to "overwrite" the bad one. This long memory is what you will be using to train your chinchilla to do tricks.
How To Teach Your Chinchilla Tricks
The whole basis of training your chinchilla will be rewarding the behavior you want consistently. When you're training, remember never to raise your voice if your little guy does something wrong. It will scare him and he will associate the sound of your voice with the scared feeling, and this is definitely not what you want if you want to successfully train your chinchilla. If you are trying to train him not to chew on wires using a loud noise can work great, but I would suggest using a horn or a whistle instead of your voice. If you are consistent and make a loud noise every time he goes for those wires, then he will eventually just not even bother.
A good trick to start with is to teach your chinchilla to eat out of your hand. Put a treat that you know he loves in the palm of your hand and offer it out to him. Don't make it easy on him, make him step on your hand in order to get the food. Keep in mind that training your chinchilla will take a lot of patience and time. Plus you should wait until you've had him for awhile before you jump right in with the teaching.
If he doesn't go for it the first time you try this, keep your hand still. Don't move your hand toward the littly guy, chinchillas hate to be chased, they associate it with fear and it will not help your training. After you are successful with this simple trick, start moving the treat up your arm a bit so he has to climb on you to get to it. This will train your chinchilla to trust you and be confident to eat out of your hand any time and be comfortable being close to you.
More Chinchilla Tricks To Teach Him
Another great trick is getting them used to being handled. A lot of chinchillas are fearful and shy because they are not properly trained to be friendly. After teaching him how to climb up your arm for a snack, let him climb over you freely. You can also try opening his cage and sitting (very still) right in front of it. These little furry creatures love to climb so if you make yourself available and harmless-looking, then he may take the opportunity to use you as his climbing hill. The whole idea is to get him to trust you so he knows you aren't secretly out to eat him. So never do anything to threaten your chinchilla or make him feel afraid.
Unfortunately, a chinchilla's intelligence is limited so they will never be able to sit on command like a dog. But with patience and love you can teach them simple tricks like running or jumping over certain obstacles you want them to. You can also teach them how to do funny things like give you a kiss to get a treat. With consistency, patience, and treats you can find a whole new level of fun by teaching your chinchilla tricks.
Learn more about chinchilla care here.
