new chipmunk owner....needs help

[Nutz]

hello

I'm a very new chipmunk owner....and i need alot of help with makeing my chips feel at home, i love this site its really helped. Ive  a female chipmunk (nutz) which i brough from a new pet store in town, they had two but the other one was sold. so i tried round and eventually got another one a male (chip chip).

nuts had to spend her first night alone because i couldn't get chip chip till the next day. neither pet shop could give me a true idea of how old they each were, i believe they are just under a year.

i have them nearly 3 weeks now and they sill seem very scared and run away when you enter the room (their indoor) so Ive only been able to view them from far away. Ive tried sitting beside the cage for a while but they just won't come out.nuts seems to be the friendlier of the two...with chip chip being a mad thing.

i have left them out a few times and all they do is hide under the sofa for the few hours they are out.....

does any1 have any ideas to help them settle in and to get them used to me....... Ive tried to bribe them with nuts and pieces of apple..but they just wait till i leave to come out and eat them..

[tarcus/Kevin]

Not s great deal you can do at this time as they need to settle in to their new home.
Remember they are getting used to you as well as each other and have never been away from home before now.
The fact that you let them out and are able to caox them back in to their cage is a good sign but perhaps it is best to leave them in their home for a couple of weeks only opening the door to change  the food bowls or offer them something new to play with or tempt their pallet.
They are naturally curious creatures so will in time get bolder as to who you are and what you are doing.
Do you spend much time in the room with them I wonder?
If it is possible could they be moved into the main living area?
noise and confusion can actually help to settle them as they look  for something stable (you) to focus on.
Time though is your main friend in all of this, the more time you can devote to them the better and if you have family around get them involved also, the more the merrier as we all like company and so do they.
best of luck.
Like the name by the way.

[Nate]

Well done tarcus some very good points.

I can almost guarantee that you will have tame chipmunks in the end.

All you have to do is:

1)Try to stick to a routine for when you feed them, they like routines.
2)Save food they really like back to use as treats, such as monkey nuts and worms.
3)Move slowly and talk softly to them, let them get used to you with no surprises.
4)Spend as much time with them as possible, chipmunks love humans, although they don't always show it. The more time you can spend with them especially on free range the better.
5)Make sure they plenty of places in their aviary for them to take cover from you. Although you may not see them so much to begin with, it will make them more comfortable and secure in their own home.
6)Prepare for them to treat the area you let them use for free range as their territory, you will become merely a guest in their home. A guest they like to use as a climbing frame normally.


All it takes is time though. 

[Gilly]

Welcome to the site Nutz!
Sounds like your gonna have to be patient like the rest of us  They will get used to you.
Was you planning on breeding them or is Chip Chip getting the snip....snip? sorry. But be careful if your leaving them together.

[mazmich13]

Hello and welcome to the site.
Just take sometime with the little ones and they will come round.
It took me almost three days to get Lucky into here cage at first  and I thought she would be the one that would not be tame, but I spent sometime and talked softly to her and now she is the one that comes up to me and lets me stoke her to.
So take your time and good luck!

[chris]

Hi Karen,

 Welcome to the forum.
 
We were new chipmunk owners at the beginning of October we got Scrat the day before Chip so likewise Chip had to spend his first night in his new home alone. We were told at the garden Center that Scrat was really friendly but when we got him home he was really timid. The next day we brought Chip home and introduced her to the new home. Things were, and are still fine apart from when we first got them, Chip was dominant now it's Scrat thats more dominant which makes sense I guess now that we can definately tell he's a male.

All I can say from our experience is spend as much time with them maybe while they are in their home and you just sitting outside until they become used to your presence.  Then try stroking them  through the wire and offer nuts on your hand through the door until they come and take them from you. We found they like peanuts and are mad for satsumas and pomegranites, and have got lazy expecting us to shell the peanuts before they are offered, are we servants or what lol. Stick with it as they are nosey and will soon come round.

[jcoombes2002]

Welcome to this Forum, it is the best I have used since having my chipmunks.
My partner and I got two new ones a couple of months ago and it is wierd as one of them has become very tame and crawls up your arm and lets you stroke her, but Pip well even if you talk she runs away and starts to shake I dont think she will ever be tame.
We both work from 7:30am - 6pm at night so unfortunately we cannot spend much time with them, but when we can we do try even though at times it can be very frustrating, you just have to bear with it.
I cannot imagine not owning chipmunks now, they are family to us, this site has helped me so much on my journey through the good times and the bad times, and the advice that you get can sometimes put your mind at ease.
I hope that you come to use this site alot, as you will also give out advice when you dont even realise it.
Enjoy the time with you new family!
Julie
p.s. Go and buy some Giant Mealworms from most pet stores, they love em!

[Nutz]

hey guys.....

thanks to every1 for replying.......

Ive moved chip chip and nutz cage to the main sitting room so their seeing allot more of every1 now and i think its really helping coz they have no choice now but to come out when were their (main room of the house always sum1 n it)....... nuts is coming out a good bit now but still if u approach the cage he runs straight back to his box......chip chip Will only come out if she thinks no1 is in the room...the min she spots u moving she is gone. Ive stopped letting them out till they get used to me.....

coz i now fully realise nuthing is up to me...every thing is on their terms  ha ha

Ive also added sum more boxes and tubes for them to hide in their cage. o yea encase any1 is wondering the cage  they are in is a large parrot cage over 6ft in height.

thanks again for all your help

i think i would be totally lost with out its help

[Nutz]

forgot to add

i wil try and get sum pic up of em as soon as i can!!!!!

[mazmich13]

Hi
Mine are in the living room as well and was the doing the same as yours. Everytime we came in the room they would head back into the boxes and then they slowly went just onto the top of them.
Just sit a little way from the cage and softly talk to them, they slowly become aware of your voice and will soon be happy to sit and listen to you.
After a week of doing this, you can try and give them a monkey nut or piece of fruit each through the bars. Once they know that you have food and you are the ones that feed them they will come round to you.
It took me weeks and weeks to tame and get there confidence. Now they come up to me and try pushing the door open for my attention.
Good luck with it all!

[Nate]

Try not to let anyone catch you talking to them either, otherwise the men with the white coats will be round.   

I used to feel very self conscious talking to this little stripey thing with a wavy tail, but they really do seem to like being talked too. Some of mine have taken over a year to tame, but I think that was due to the number i had, so could not give each one all the attention.

[Wilsy]

Hi Nutz,

Mine got very tame very quickly as I spent a fair amount of time with them and everytime I walked past the cage I couldnt help but talk to them lol. I could put my hand in the cage and stroke them and they wouldnt mind. Now they are outdoors they will come to me and sit on my leg and let me stroke them. They are not fazed by me at all.

They will get used to you, take time out to interact with them as well as just having them in the same room. Try persuading them occasionally with nuts, that always helps 

Sarah