Introducing two chins- is this aggressive or normal??

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aprinceton

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 19, 2015
Messages
45
Location
New Hampshire
Hi everyone,
I've owned chinchillas for a year and a half now. I originally adopted a pair, but I unfortunately had to have one put down due to malocclusion in June. About 2 months ago, I adopted a new chin from someone who had to rehome her. They are both females.
Rory, the chin I had originally, is 3 years old. Boo, the chin I adopted recently, is 4-5. They have been living next to each other in separate cages since I got Boo. I tried one introduction by opening both cages, but Rory went right for Boo and grabbed a chunk of her fur, trying to bite her. I immediately separated them and they have been just neighbors ever since.
Now, when I let Rory out for playtime, she'll run over to Boo's cage and try to bite her nose whenever she sniffs her. I want to introduce them in their play area, "neutral territory", but I'm nervous Rory will go right after Boo again. They're so fast, I don't want Boo to get hurt! Is Rory being normally territorial, or is she just plain aggressive?? Opinions and advice is appreciated. I would be ok with them being just neighbors,but it is a big pain to have two separate out of cage playtimes for them.
 
Some chinchillas are just too aggressive for a cage mate, and in some instances even a playtime mate. There are quite a few people who also can't let their chinchilla near the other in their cage at playtime, as they will try to fight through the cage.
 
when you bring a new chin into the house, you are supposed to quarantine them in a separate room for at least 30 days. Chins are very good at hiding illnesses. If by chance the new one does have something, you dont want it passing to your current chins. This 30 days not only allows you to watch the chins for any signs of illness, but it also give the chin a little bit of time to adjust.

Chins are easily stressed animals. They need time to adjust. They have new smells, new sounds, new cage, new environment, new ppl... new everything to get used to. This can stress them out a good bit. So its good to give them a lot of time to adjust. Throwing them right near an unknown chin can further add to that stress. Which not only is bad for them health wise, but can make them aggressive.

After a quarantine period, and if they appear to be healthy, then you can try putting them in the same room. I would still give them plenty time to get used to each others presence from a distance.

There are a number of ways to go about intro's after that.

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When you let one chin out, they should not have physical access to the other chin. They can be territorial. Its no surprise that one chin might try to bite the other through cage bars.

The best thing to give them is time. And plenty of it. If you rush it, theirs a much higher chance they will not get along. And even after all the time and proper intros, they may still not get along. Some chins are like that. Or some just dont like certain chins.
 
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