At some point your chinchilla will get away from you and you won’t be able to find him or her.
They are small animals in a big world. Their natural instinct is to run and hide.
And until they get used to you and have formed a bond with you, they will sometimes feel compelled to run and hide from you.
When it happens, don’t panic.
Stay calm and follow the instructions below. You’ll have your chinchilla back in its cage in no time.
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How To Get A Chinchilla Out Of Hiding
If you are googling this phrase, the chances are that you currently have a chinchilla that you know is hiding, and you are attempting to lure it back out so you can safely return it to its cage.
100% understandable. It has happened to me, and I can guarantee it has also happened to many others.
It has happened to me more than once, to be completely honest.
The first step? Don’t panic.
While it is imperative to get your pet out of hiding as soon as possible to avoid other dangers, the process will go much smoother if you approach it in a calm manner as opposed to running around frantically.
The best avenue to take is to begin systematically looking around your chinchilla proofed room and analyzing where your chinchilla could possibly be.
Are their any doors open in the room, or any other way it could have made it out and into a different room?
If so, your search area has expanded.
If not, calm down and realize that you only have 1 room to cover.
Begin by pulling out the dust bath and a few treats. Set them both in the middle room and just relax next to the treats and dust bath.
Don’t flip the room upside down looking for your chinchilla.
You don’t want to scare it any further. And chinchillas do get scared easily.
Try tapping on the top of the dust bath to make an audible noise your pet can hear. Listen and see if you can hear it scurrying in its hiding spot, or even coming out.
Still… don’t flip the room upside down.
Simply see if you can detect some movement, or get them to come to you.
If this doesn’t work, it’s time to calmly begin checking the typical spots where your chinchilla may be hiding.
Again, this needs to be done in a calm fashion.
Next, we will cover the hiding spots where you should begin actively looking for your chinchilla, if it is currently stuck in hiding.
Where Do Chinchillas Like To Hide?
Now we need to cover some of the most common hiding spots you should be searching if you are struggling to get your chinchilla to come to you.
Here’s a quick list for you to double-check:
- Under couches and inside couch cushions
- Under the cage
- Under dressers and other furniture
- Wedged between dark spaces
These are typically places to which your chinchilla will retreat when it is scared or doesn’t want to come back to you or go back into its cage.
Outside of these recommendations, you need to exercise some common sense and search areas that are specific to your room where your chinchilla is likely hiding.
If you know of other small spaces or spots where you think a small rodent could hide, make sure to check these as well. And continue to speak softly, trying to get your chinchilla to come to you.
Another trick is to realize that chinchillas poop a lot. More than 250 times per day in most situations.
This is good news for you searching for your lost chinchilla. Why?
Follow The Poop Trail
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book to get your chinchilla to come out hiding or to come to you.
Follow the poop trail to see if it can lead you to your chinchilla’s current hiding spot.
You still want to avoid scaring your chinchilla any further. But overall, this is a great way to get an idea of where your chinchilla may be, even if it is attempting to avoid you and avoid going back into its cage.
If you can find the poop trail, try using the dust bath and treats trick to get your chinchilla to come out.
It’s also important to understand why your chinchilla is hiding in the first place. Let’s discuss that briefly next.
Why Is My Chinchilla Hiding?
As we were discussing previously in this post, chinchillas naturally like to hide, and they are programmed to do so.
In the wild, chinchillas are prey. They are hunted on a daily basis. Naturally, this means chinchillas get scared easily and have a natural instinct to flee.
Loud noises, over attempting to handle, and a non-familiar atmosphere can easily make a chinchilla want to run and hide.
Your best bet for avoiding this is to ensure that you interact with your chinchilla in a calm manner and get it used to you slowly.
Once the bond is built, this will no longer be a concern. But in the beginning, it’s completely normal for a chinchilla to try and hide from you when it is allowed out of its cage.
Do Chinchillas Like To Be Chased?
No, chinchillas do not like to be chased. Being chased is what a chinchilla is used to in the wild when running from a predator.
In fact, attempting to chase a chinchilla down to get it back into its cage is a bad mistake that many new owners make.
Not only is this unlikely to produce the desired result, but it can also break the bond and trust your chinchilla has for you.
Regardless of the situation, refrain from chasing your chinchilla or cornering your chinchilla in order to get it out of hiding or to get it back inside of its cage.
How To Get Your Chinchilla To Come To You
In all honesty, the best trick for getting your chinchilla to come to you is simply patience and bond-building.
In the beginning, this just isn’t going to happen for you. I hate to be the bearer of bad news when it comes to this, but it takes time.
Your chinchilla will eventually learn its name and will respond to it.
However, just because it understand its name, that does not mean that it will come hopping in your direction at the snap of a finger.
Keep working on your bond, on building trust, and on getting your chinchilla use to its name. Eventually, your chinchilla will come to you and respond when you ask it to.
Remain patient and don’t break the trust, and you will be in great shape.
Get Chinchilla Out Of Hiding: Final Thoughts
Hiding is something that chinchillas naturally do, or will attempt to do, in the early phases of owning a chinchilla.
This is especially true when out during playtime. Don’t worry about this too much.
It won’t take long before your chinchilla begins recognizing your presence, trusting you, and no longer attempting to hide to avoid being put back in the cage.
In the meantime, some owners like to put their chinchilla in a harness, so that it can’t run off and hide in the first place.
Don’t do this. This is a bad idea and can cause injury to your pet’s delicate bones.
Please, just follow the advice in this article and you will be fine. Chili and I wish you the best of luck with your new chinchilla.
Share your thoughts.
What do you do to get your chinchilla to come out of hiding and to find your chinchilla?
Do you have any recommendations we haven’t discussed yet on this post?
Be sure to share those thoughts, stories, and concerns by dropping a comment below.
As always, Chili and I appreciate you stopping by and reading, and we look forward to seeing you the next time.
Faith Dempsey says
My chinchilla (chewy) escaped his ball during his playtime and made his way behind our dishwasher and I cant pull the dishwasher out I’ve been sitting for about 3 hours now I’ve got treats, food, and his dust bath and the only response I get his him talking to me and making noise but he wont poke his head out or even try to come out idk what to do I need help
Marcus says
Did you get him out?