I have 2 male chinchillas is it normal for one to be peeing and mounting the other?

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

timeywimey221

New member
Joined
May 19, 2019
Messages
1
So I've had a chinchilla named Kayak for almost a year now. I was feeling bad because I have school and I'm going to be working a lot that he might get lonely. I purchased another male chinchilla today and named him Paddles. When I put him in the cage Kayak Proceeded to mount Paddles and bite him. then he peed on him. Should I take Paddles back? or will they get used to each other and be friends?
 
First of all bonding can take weeks or even months, you can't just throw two strangers together and expect them to be friends. You need to slow the introduction way way down, let them get to know each other first. Chins can and do fight to the death, so you want to take things slow or you could end up with one or both dead or seriously hurt. It sounds like Kayak was asserting dominance. Honestly how would you feel if some random stranger just shows up in your house?

Second, you really should quarantine a new chin in a separate room for 30 days before even starting intros. Not only does it give time for any illness to show up in the new chin before you expose your current chin, it allows the new chin time to settle in and for you to get to know it and it to get to know you. Once the new chin has settled in then you can introduce them in a neutral space, like were you do out of cage playtime, not in one of their cages. Let them have playtime together and see how things go, then you can try swapping cages and get use to each others scent on things. If all goes well over a few weeks, then you can pick the cage you are going to use, clean it so it smells neutral, and then see how they are together in one cage.

If Paddles didn't retaliate and no blood was actually drawn, then you might have a chance of them still being friends, later with proper slow introductions. If the biting actually drew blood though it's a sign that he intends to kill him, which is a very bad sign and it's best to either return Paddles or just keep him in a separate cage.
 
Back
Top