Getting a 2nd female chin

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mintarie

New member
Joined
Jul 18, 2019
Messages
1
Location
Prague

Hi everyone!!
I've had my first chinchilla Gwenny since May. I love her very much and spend a lot of time with her and buy her new stuff every week, but I can't help but to think she could use a chin buddy. I'm afraid she'll eventually get lonely, so I want someone to keep her company while I'm at school, in work, etc. Also I think I'd really like having two of them.
I know it's possible they'll never get along and I'll have to keep them separate anyway, but isn't that still better than to have no other chinchillas around?
Gwen is almost 5 months old and the second one would be a month younger. I've heard that bonding two female chins is more difficult than two males, is there anybody here willing to share experience?
My mum keeps telling me they'll hate each other, but I think, with proper introductions, that... can be prevented, right? She's also afraid the second one will kill the first one, which has this rare colour (Black Pearl) and cost a lot of money, so...
Anyway, what I wanna ask is, is there anyone here who can tell me how do their 2 female chins get along?
And sorry if there are any mistakes, not a native speaker.
 
Personality have a lot more to do with if they will bond or not then gender or age. For example two dominate chins are unlikely to ever get along, but a submissive chin and a dominate might, and a submissive chin with another submissive chin might work fine as well. Females are generally more territorial then males, but that mostly just means you might need to take it slow, don't rush putting them in the same cage, and more important to keep meeting in neutral areas until they get along. Since each chin has their own personality it's like asking how well do two random humans get along. There are plenty of people with bonded male and bonded female pairs, one isn't really more or less likely to work out then another.

In the case that they don't get along do you have time time, space, and money for two chins? Meaning separate play times, separate cages and stuff for the cage, etc. I would also keep in mind that new chins should be quarantined in a different room from your current chin for 30 days prior to intros. That gives the new chin time to settle in, for you to start forming a bond with it, and for any illnesses to show up before exposing your current chin. Once quarantine is over it's best to give them playtime in a neutral area, where neither has had out of cage playtime before, or wash down the play area so no ones scent is on anything. You can also slowly start moving the cages closer to each other every week or so. The bonding process can take months or even years, and there is no way to rush it really, so you have to be patient. Also there is never a guarantee that they will ever get along. Killing each other during the introduction and bonding time can be prevented by taking it slow and watching them. However it does happen sometimes that even bonded pairs who have been together for years can one day decide for no apparently reason they don't want to be friends anymore and turn on each other. Most of the time you will notice fighting (fur slips, chasing, things like that), so you can separate them in time, but not always.

Even if they don't get along though, even having another chin around in the same room to "chat" with can be beneficial. I have also had chins before that enjoyed playtime together but didn't want to be caged together.
 
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