New little one, introduction questions, etc!

Hey all! I have to make this fast because I'm posting from work. Sorry it's kind of long but I didn't have time to edit it or make it make more sense haha!

This weekend I adopted a rescue chin from the San Diego Humane Society, the last male from that big ranch bust several weeks back. We named him Bean and he is doing pretty well. They had a deal on double FN cages so we got one, and right now Bubs is in his old cage in the living room, while Bean is in the FN in the dining room. They can see each other but they don't seem too fussed that the other is there (they're a good 20-25 feet away from each other but we're in an apartment so they can't be in separate rooms).

So we're going to quarantine Bean for 30 days before introducing him to Bubs, but in the meantime I have some questions!

1. Bean is TINY. The ranch kept good records of birthdates etc, and supposedly his bday is 5/10/2012 so he should be almost 2.5 years old, but he seriously looks like a baby. His medical records say he weighs 400g which doesn't seem that small, but he looks like a baby with his teeny tiny ears and tail. Is it possible he is actually a juvenile and his records were misplaced? Or is there a wider size variation in chinchillas than I realized??
2. Bean is extremely skittish and barks/spazzes when the cage is opened or if we make any sudden moves. It's totally understandable given that in the last 2 months, he's been moved to 2 new locations, poked and prodded by countless potential adopters, and unnecessarily neutered plus, if he really is 2, maybe he's been bullied since he's pretty runty. At SDHS they said he likes to be held while the cage is cleaned or while anything else stressful is going on. Apparently he spazzes a ton when you try to grab him, but once you get him, if you hold him close he relaxes and will stay calmed down for a while even after you put him back in the cage (we observed this at SDHS with one of the handlers). Sooo, I have no idea if right now I should be leaving him alone, letting him get his bearings and feel in control, etc, or if it'd be better to try to pick him up and comfort him. What are your thoughts?
3. I read somewhere that it's best to have a neutral cage option when it comes time to put the 2 chins in the cage together, but we only have 2 cages. Should I be restricting Bean to half of the double FN so that the other half stays neutral smelling for Bubs? Bubs is in a suboptimal rabbit cage so we'll be moving him into the FN at the end of the 30 days, even if they have to stay separated in there.
4. What general timeline do you guys recommend for me and my boyfriend to bond with Bean? Again, should we be leaving him alone completely? At what point should we be trying to pick him up etc? We'll need to clean his cage soon (his poops are like tiny mouse poops compared to Bubs', hahaha). So far, I mostly just talk to him in calm tones, approach the cage slowly, avoid sudden movements or noises, and try to let him sniff my fingers occasionally. He's relaxed enough that he now doesn't flip out when I'm in the room doing stuff, and he'll even stay quiet when I open the cage to give him food etc, but if I reach toward him he bolts.

Of course I've attached a couple pics for y'all. I'll probably reply to this thread with more questions and stuff but for now I have to get to work! Thanks for any tips or ideas!!

quarantine is to make sure that if a new cin has something like an illness that it doesn't pass to the chins you already have. If they are in the same room, then quarantine is already broken.

I would expect the chin to be skiddish as heck. Hes been relocated several times, gone from a lot of chins around to next to none. New ppl, new cage, new environment, plus everything else going on. He probably is stressed out a bit. He will need a lot of time to adjust to everything. You might not even want to start intro's until the new chance has had plenty of time to settle down and get used to things. You'll have to clean the cage, no choice about that. But he can stay in the cage for that most likely, just be careful.

Once he is more comfortable he might be more responsive to being picked up. Then again he might not. Some chins just hate being picked up. Some don't mind at all. And there are plenty in between.

There are plenty of intro methods and ideas. You can do a search within this site for intros and get a lot of info. I just got done typing out what i personally did with mine in another thread. You can read it here.

Looks like only one pic went through. Is bean the black chin?

Yes! Bean is ebony, Bubs is standard. The attachments are kind of bugging out for me sadly

I knew the quarantine wouldn't be perfect, but Bean was also in an isolation cage at the humane society for ~6 weeks, so I'm hopeful he's very likely to be disease-free at this point. I'll still keep them apart for 30 days and we're just doing our best not to have any cross transfer (for diseases that aren't airborne).

I plan on researching intros etc on my own, but my questions here were more about Bean's small size and his skittishness. Bubs was a really easy transfer when we got him (he's pretty easygoing, and we got him from a family who had treated him well) so I want to make sure I know how not to freak Bean out. Plus, the fact that he's comforted by being held is totally new to me--Bubs, like many chins I imagine, struggles and scratches like mad when held close, and will only stay still if you hold him loosely away from your body for as short a time as possible! So I don't know how soon it's common to start picking up a chin who is known to enjoy it, when you first bring him home.

Thank you for answering!

well ive never had a chin that liked being picked up, so i cant say much there. All 5 of mine dislike it.

Personally, i wouldn't try picking them up to much until they are settled in and comfortable in the new environment and with the new ppl.

You can read up on Bonding with your chinchilla. That could help. Things like sitting next to the cage and reading to them. Some chins like certain music, or certain tv/radio. But you have to rly pay attention with that in my experience. Watching carefully over the years ive found that my chins personally dislike my music, or ppl talking with a inherently loud voice. Mine basically dislike any noise or anything that interrupts there sleep. - Things you pick up on after time.

Until he gets comfortable expect him to be skiddish. My first chin that i took in would freak out (more then any chin ive ever seen) if anyone even walked NEAR his cage. He was so stressed out and scared. After plenty of time and care, he became so relaxed. Out of all 5 of my chins now, he is unquestionably the most friendly. Loving little guy! :hug2: Sometimes, time is everything.

As for the size factor, i cant say. Ive never rly dealt with those issues before. My first intro of what became my father and mother chins, were relatively same sized. And everything after that was with the kids.

Tho ill add an obligatory (vry old) photo.



^ Mama chin using her still very young son as a pillow!

Well I'm glad to hear you had a skittish one too and he ended up okay. I think Bean will be a total sweetie eventually, as soon as he learns we're not fattening him up to roast him for Christmas dinner.

Does anyone else have thoughts about Bean being so teeny? Is there a way to tell for sure if he's a baby vs. a weirdly small adult? It's going to be relevant as far as our treat policy, playtime, etc. It just blows my mind that he could be so little. (In that pic I posted above, he's standing right in front of a dust house and a cat carrier, for size reference.)

It could just be that that is his natural build. You might want to weigh him now and then. Track his weight over a period of time to see if is is losing/gaining/staying the same.

This is the smallest of my 5 chins at 506g. (The same kit that mommy was resting her head on in the pic above.)