Male Chinchilla constantly mounting another male

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Bcditz

New member
Joined
Feb 24, 2017
Messages
2
Hello

My wife and I bought our first chinchilla, Teemo (right around a year old male), last April. He seemed like he really wanted a friend (making the call sound a lot) so we recently decided to get a second chinchilla, Moss (just under a year old male), about 2 weeks ago.

We had them in separate cages next to each other for the first week letting them out to play separately. During the second week we started letting them run around together. The seemed to be getting along and would sit next to each other and groom each other running around chirping and pop corning. Teemo would mount him occasionally(I read this is a sign of dominance), the first time he was very aggressive (not attacking but just constantly trying to) about it so we separated them. The next day Teemo backed off a bit and they got along fine.

Today, I put them into the same cage since they seemed to be getting along well. They were fine for a couple hours then Teemo started swishing his tail and constantly mounting Moss again. Moss got aggravated and barked and nipped at Teemo but Teemo wouldn't back off. I let them out of the cage and they calmed down for 30 min or so but then Teemo wouldn't leave Moss alone and they got in a bit of a tussle (some fur lost but no blood). I put them back into separate cages.

Is it just too soon for them to be in the same cage? is there anything we can do to get Teemo to stop constantly mounting Moss? They both seem to like each other most of the time and haven't really fought but Teemo just seems to bug Moss until he tells Teemo to back off.
 
I've heard that new chinchillas get along better in a neatrul space which is why they probably got along playing together. It could also be too early to cage them together and the cage I've heard must also be neutral or if you're using one of their cages, it must be thouroughly cleaned because some males can be very territorial. I've noticed my male chinchilla Milo trying to mount my hand a lot when I'm cleaning out his cage. I always let him run around the room while I clean but maybe since I'm invading his space (whether he's in it or not) he gets mad at me haha
 
i would suggest first, stop letting them interact and check there gender. It sounds like the one might be a female. Many ppl often mistake about a chins gender. Its not always as easy to tell as one might think. - The wagging of the tail is often a sign of being horny. And while mounting is a display of dominance, mounting combined with tail wagging def makes me wonder. I would look into telling the genders apart. If you can get a good picture, you can post it here and ppl will help you. (Lift up from the base of the tail and take pic from that angle)
 
Thank you both for responding. I cleaned both cages today and will do so again next time i try putting them together. I am hoping to use Teemo's cage because its a nice big one and we just got ot a couple months ago.

I also double checked Moss's gender, I have seen him checking for fur rings and he occasionally swishes his tail and tries to mount Teemo.

Since they have been separated again they have been better playing in the room. Teemo is still insistent on mounting Moss but not as much as when I put them together in the cage.

Sounds like they just need more time to adjust. From what the person we got Moss from said it sounded like it would be pretty quick getting them to get along but its looking like they just need more time.
 
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