Why Does My Chinchilla Pee on Me? {Spray vs. Urinating Explained}

I kept cleaning urine stains off my shirt when trying to play with my chinchillas. Why does my chinchilla pee on me? One seems to do this more than the other.

Are you seeing urine spraying as well? Do you need a better explanation than what you are finding online?

I’ve put together everything I can about chinchilla pee and why they do this on us or at us.

Why Does My Chinchilla Pee on Me?

Pet chinchillas have a less than desirable habit of spraying pee on potential or perceived dangers. This is their unsubtle way of signaling us to back off.

In other words, if your chin is not accustomed to you, he or she may spray you if you try to get too close or pick them up.

Peeing is also something that will occur more often for rodents who cannot hold their bladder. They will pee when they need to and you will be more used to signs or signals that your chinchilla is ready for another leak.

Limit playtime sessions and let them go back to their enclosure to take care of their business in private.

How Do I Get My Chinchilla to Stop Peeing on Me?

Chinchillas kept as pets may spray at their owners to persuade them to leave them be. That indicates that your chinchilla is irritated or mistrusts you.

  1. Spend time with the chinchilla to get it acclimated to you and stop them from spraying.
  2. Separate them from other chinchillas that might be causing this stress.

The peeing could be caused by territorial instincts to claim a space or even you as part of their belongings. You may also be playing with your pocket pet too long and not respecting the time they need to pee.

Do Chinchillas Pee When Scared?

Yes. Chinchillas are often frightened by sudden, loud, or strange sounds. As a result, they prefer to live in settings and groups that are peaceful and quiet.

In the event of any possible danger, a frightened chinchilla may even rise on their hind legs and spray pee in order to defend themselves.

Do Chinchillas Mark Their Territory?

Chinchillas have the ability to be territorial and will defend their territory vigorously if invaded. Based on experience:

  • female chinchillas are more territorial than males
  • some of them may protect their territory by placing themselves vertically on the cage and spraying pee in an upward stream. 

This is one kind of territorial defense.

Why Do Chinchillas Spray Urine?

Urine spraying is distinct from regular urination. The chinchilla rises up and urinates heavily and in large quantities.

  • It intimidates other chinchillas and frightens off potential predators.
  • Chinchillas kept as pets spray at their owners to persuade them to leave.

This may indicate that your chinchilla is irritated or mistrusts you.  This is clearly distinguishable from typical urination. Spraying is a kind of fighting or irritation that includes your chinchilla urinating while standing up.

YouTube video

What Is Chinchilla Spray?

It’s urine. Your chinchilla may spray pee and other actions at the same time. These actions encourage you to leave the chinchilla alone. Spraying differs from peeing. Spraying causes other chinchilla behaviors:

It exposes the genitals to spray you directly.
Chinchillas make sounds to frighten or irritate possibly during spraying.

Your chinchilla may spray and squeal at the same time. Spraying chinchillas isn’t to get rid of waste, but to deter predators. These activities and the setting of spraying separate it from regular peeing.

Do Male Chinchillas Spray Urine?

Yes. Male chinchillas don’t aim their pee to spray you the way females do. He may rise up and make sounds to encourage you to go away. He may urinate too, but won’t pee like women. Their anatomy prevents robust, precise urine flow.

Since males have penises, they aim to pee without holding the penis. Hence, your male chinchilla will only drip a little pee and not spray directly at you.

Do Baby Chinchillas Spray Urine?

No. Infant chinchillas may spray later in life. Part instinctual, part learnt, it’s like watching newborn chinchillas learn to spray pee from their parents, but it comes naturally. Seeing parents spray urine makes a newborn more willing to do so.

Chinchilla kits start independence early. They’re born more independent than other animal newborns. They can sprint immediately after birth, unlike other animals. Chinchillas can spray early. Kits start mating and become territorial around 10 weeks.

How to Stop a Chinchilla Spraying at You

You must ignore your chinchilla if they continue to spray at you. Picking them up after they spray at you won’t make sense, since they are still uneasy around you.

Instead, gently acclimate the chinchillas to you in order to make them more comfortable.

  1. Start by spending a lot of time sitting in the same room with your pet.
  2. Sit back from the chinchilla so that it can see you but not fear your attack.
  3. Your chinchilla may first make calls to let you know it wants you to go.
  4. If you remain still for a while, it should eventually cease, indicating that it has come to the conclusion that you won’t attack.

In the interim, you are free to engage in whatever activity you like, such as playing games or checking your phone. This should help your pet become acclimated to you after a few evenings of doing it.

The next phase is to gradually get closer each evening until you are seated right next to your pet’s cage. Your pet should become used to you as you spend more time with it and cease spraying.

Chinchilla Urinating through Cage Bars

The spray will get on your belongings if your chinchilla is peeing through the bars of their cage. All that is required to remove it is standard soap and water. If you let chinchilla urine or spray dry, it will begin to smell.

Anything that can be cleaned under a faucet should be cleaned. Like you would while washing dishes, use dish soap and warm to hot water. If you have a carpet that got sprayed,  clean it with soap and water.

Think about moving the cage to a location where this won’t be a big problem, such one without carpet and far away from all of your belongings.

Conclusion

Peeing on you is not an aggressive behavior if the chinchilla females is not on her hind legs and aiming at you. She might not be able to maintain her composure long enough to return inside the cage, depending on how long you leave her outside. Stopping it is part of building the bond between you with the points expressed in this article to help you out.

 

Thank you for visiting PocketPetCentral.com for the best information to help you enjoy the life of your pocket pet companion in a fun, safe & healthy way.

Anna

My name is Anna and I work full time in my local pet shop where we sell many animals that I write about on this site. I love all animals and love writing about them.