Prevent Your Pet CHINCHILLA From Experiencing Environmental Stress

Chinchillas, rodents and pets
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are ways you can prevent your pet chinchilla from experiencing environmental stress.  You as the owner should make sure all their needs are satisfied.  You should also make sure that you are reliable enough to take care of their needs.  Your pet depends on you to take care of them physically and emotionally.

Make sure the cage is large enough where they can run around and play.  Be sure to include a wheel where they can exercise, some toys they can chew on and a hideaway.  All of these items can prevent your pet from being bored and stressed out.  You should also cover their cage will also help them be less stressed and provide a sense of security.  Make sure they get their daily exercise away from their cage.  This helps them to be able to roam around and not be holed up 24 hours a day.  This by itself can be stressful because they'll feel locked into one entity, which would be their cage.

If you must employ a change with your pet in the way of ownership, living arrangements or meeting other chinchillas, introduce it gradually.  Your pet will be more accepting of a slower process than they would of a quick and rash one.  A quick and rash one does nothing but contributes to more unnecessary stress.

Added stress can contribute to shock.  In your pet's case, this happens when they feel they can't consume the magnitude of what's going on around them.  The chinchilla feels their situation is out of control and can't be corrected.  They're unable to digest the scenario.  This type of shock can result in immediate declining health and/or death; sometimes, they may decline slowly and eventually expire.  Stress-related shock doesn't happen often, but if your pet has hyperactivity, they'll more likely to experience it.

It's normal for your pet to be wary of the unknown.  Eventually, they'll learn to adjust.  Chinchillas are used to routines.  They like to stay in the land of familiar surroundings and not rock the boat.  They don't particularly care for challenges, especially when it means making a change that affects them directly and swiftly.  If they have to, they will change, but they prefer to remain uninterrupted.  If they are in an unsafe environment, then it is essential that changes are made.  Eventually, your pet will appreciate your efforts to move them into better surroundings.

Your pet prefers to be in a setting where they're not threatened by change.  However, if they do have to change scenery, the most important thing is that they have time to get adjusted.  Depending on how old they are and their health status, some chinchillas adjust faster than others.  The biting of fur would occur mostly in an older animal.  This may come from having another animal in the house.  The older one would feel that their territory was being invaded.

Changes that would make your pet feel happy are a new cage, television or a new movie or a new chew toy.  More times than not, they would welcome these with open arms.  If in the event, any of these items don't satisfy them and cause stress, you'll have to make some adjustments so they can adapt and eliminate the stress. 

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