Another introduction question, sorry!

[Mummypig]

I havent posted in ages, but everyone was so helpful when Jasmine was really poorly in February. I'm pleased to report she's in perfect health right now, and while is still small (and I mean REALLY small 300g!) I think that's just the way God made her, she enjoys a large appetite of science selective pellets and timothy hay, with some alfafa hay and meadow hay chucked in for variation.

Ok, so now everyone is happy and healthy, I would like to introduce them. They've been side by side for a month or so now, and I got them out together at playtime a few weeks ago and it wasnt overly sucessful! Poppy spent most of her time trying to mount Jasmine and Jasmine responded by barking and then peeing at her. After a while Jasmine "hid" under my jumper so I took it that she'd had enough.

Yesterday I swapped their cages over - so Jasmine is now in Poppy's cage and vice versa. I figured if I changed them over into the opposite cage daily, their smells would mingle and they wouldn't be able to distinguish so easily, and then another day when we have playtime I'll keep popping them in together.

Does that sound ok? I would love my girls to get along together but i understand that not all chinchillas are destined to be room-mates. I also know its very early days, so I'm in no particular rush to get this done, but ultimately it would be lovely to have one less cage under the stairs!

 

[Cuddlebug]

You seem to be doing a good job. Spend a couple of weeks swapping cages. You can add supervised playtime in a neutral area. When you get to the point of putting them in the same cage, give the cage a good scrubbing and then rearrange it so that it is nobody's cage anymore. Put a dab of vanilla on each of their noses and just above their tales. Also, the day that you try them in the same cage together, make sure it is a day when you don't need to go anywhere at all. That way you can keep a close eye on them, in case the begin fighting. Good luck and keep up the good work.

 

[SarahKay]

Another thing I've heard (although I didn't like the sound of it just because I feel like they would look weird, haha) is to cut off their whiskers because that's one way chinchillas assert dominance over each other.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Whiskers can be used as a show of dominance. If you cut the whiskers, the chinchilla no longer has that to display. Quite often, cutting the whiskers does help.

 

[Godofgods]

Whiskers can be used as a show of dominance. If you cut the whiskers, the chinchilla no longer has that to display. Quite often, cutting the whiskers does help.

That would scare the **** outa me to do such a thing. Do they grow back?

 

[Cuddlebug]

Yes, they do grow back.

 

[Godofgods]

im used to dealing with clipping ferret nails where you have to worry about things like the quick. (parts they can feel, if u cut to close it will hurt them) So the idea of cutting whiskers gies me that same feeling...

 

[jbcstratton]

I have done that, cut whiskers, with introductions and mine went really well. I had tried these chins together before with the same thing as you,spraying and asserting dominance. Good luck