Sudden behavioral changes - battle mode

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Sidney

New member
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
Messages
2
Hi,

I'm new to the forums and am having an issue with one of my male chinchillas.

His name is Oliver, he is a dark ebony unaltered male chinchilla. I acquired him from a breeder when he was just a little baby. He has always had a very strong personality, but always sweet and playful.

However, ever since he matured into an adult chin (he is five years old now) he has absolutely despised other chinchillas. In his youth, he lived with another one of my chins, Fivol (same age - violet unaltered male) and was very happy with him. Until he matured and decided they were to be mortal enemies.

Ever since then, he will only accept females. But since I don't plan on breeding him nor do I have any spayed females, he's living solo.

About one month ago, he somehow figured out how to get himself from his enclosure to his arch nemesis' layer (he got himself into Fivol's enclosure) I was gone at work when this happened (I still cannot figure out HOW he did it...) needless to say, I came home to a bloodbath. My Fivol was torn to bits and since Fivol is a VERY passive chinchilla, he didn't fight back. Oliver was in perfect condition. Not even a nip on his ear/nose.

Oliver was relocated away from the other chins and is now in his own (entirely his own) enclosure.

Here's the issue now: Ever since this battle he has been in “battle mode” and is not as friendly as he used to be. He is defensive, barks at being touched, he will pee on you to try and deter you from touching him, grinds his teeth, clicks them together irritably and overall gets himself all fired up over the littlest thing.

This is not a normal behavior for him, he is usually very curious and always has to investigate things before their put in his house (hands included) but never has he shown such agitation. He has not tried to bite yet, but he threatens to if you push him any further, once he's heated.

He doesn't lunge, bite, or act aggressive per say, but more like something is really bothering him. I cannot find any injuries on him or bite wounds. I have always taken care of him first before any of my other chins, due to his a fore mentioned problem with other chins. So I don't smell like Fivol or anyone else that would set him off.

He's OK with being picked up and smooshed like normal and doesn't “attack” me, but like I said, a switch has gone off in his little mind and I don't know what to do about it...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
might just be territorial. Are these chins still able to see each other or are they in separate rooms? If they can see each other, maybe try putting up a barrier to prevent that from happening. Might help.
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[If you ever have chins that need to be separated for any reason in different cages, make sure they are at least 6 inchs or more distance in between them. They can still do thing through the bars. (unless they are on top of each other like a double FN cage)]
 
Oliver is in a separate room to prevent further agitation for him or Fivol. Perhaps he is more territorial but what would be his cause now that he has no others to protect his territory from? He has never cared if I was near or in his house with him, since I've been there since he was a baby.

Do you think it may just be a matter of time before he cools his jets and realizes there's nothing to be fired up about? I've had chinchillas for years but have never had this issue.
 
sometimes there moods can change suddenly. Can last a day, months, forever. Even chin ans situation is different. Even alone tho they still have a chin heard mentality. Thats why even a single chin will sometimes give out a warning cry even tho there are no other chins around.

Some times it can be something simple like changing cages or expanding one to set them off. Other times we never really are able to determine it.

Only thing i can suggest is to take it slow with the newly aggressive chin. Maybe he will calm down over time. But he should never be paired or have access to another chin again or the same thing (or worse) could happen.
 
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