Bonding 2 Females. Fighting.

[ishimarumiwa]

Hi, i've gotten a new chinchilla, Haru, (3 years old) and tried to bond her with my current chinchilla, Genie, (11 months old).

I've already quarrantined Haru for a month in a different room.

So i tried the neutral playtime method, but it didnt go so well.

Genie was the aggressor. This was such a shock as Genie's normally such a sweetheart.

Haru was pretty meek and just let Genie groom her, but Genie didnt heed her barks at all and tried to dominate i think? Tried to mount and groom. And she chased Haru around after.

Then they started barking at each other and Genie sprayed pee at Haru. Then both started fighting.

They did try to bite each other, but i broke them apart before anyone got hurt.

I tried the neutral playtime again the next day, but they recognised each other immediately. There was chasing and both stood on their hind legs and they tried to bite.

This time, Haru managed to end up with a mouth of Genie's fur. No wounds or bleeding.



Im not going to attempt bonding them again until 1 month later, to give them time to forget about the fight.

I will be trying the cage in cage method.

I've heard that people usually use a show cage as the smaller cage. Does anyone know the size of a show cage? Im getting a small wire cage around 35 x 25 x 30cm. Would that size be okay?

Also, im planning for them to live together in Genie's current cage. The cage area excluding the stand is around 120 x 91 x 60cm. If they dont get along eventually, im planning to split it into 2 and they can live separately in the cage.

For the cage in cage method, i understand that the big cage should not have any scent belonging to either chinchilla.

Is it okay if i split Genie's cage into 2 now, scrub the top half clean and clear it of the wooden ledges and accessories? In a months time, it should be considered okay for the large cage in the cage in cage method right?

I will be putting in brand new wooden ledges so that it wont have the scent of either chinchilla.

I've also read on this forum about a member bonding a difficult pair of chinchillas by switching the chinchillas in the small cage and large cage in 8 hour shifts for a week. Couple that with vanilla extract on the nose and butt as well as trimming of whiskers, how high are my chances of bonding them?

I am fully prepared to have to keep them separately, but i wish to try my best to bond them first before giving up.

Has anyone had the cage in cage method fail on them before?

Sorry about the wall of text.

Thank you!

 

[kalani.anela]

I dont have much experience with bonding chinchillas, but I'm sure there have been failed attempts at the cage in cage method. Some chins just wont bond. Seems like there is alot of fighting occuring, and honestly I wouldnt even risk putting them together, as its just a matter of time before blood could be drawn.

 

[mimii]

Good evening

I tried cage method myself for our chins. I had male chinchilla Turbo, now 6month old at the start of september and 2 month later bought Nitro, now 6month old. I tried method when I was swapping them between their cages. I did that every morning and every evening. After 3 days i let them play together for a bit, Turbo was mounting Nitro quite badly so i let them together fot a little while only. On 5th day I put them in the same cage and since then, they've been living together without any issues. :hug2:

 

[ljiayi]

I did my bonding in these stages:

1) One chin plays in the neutral area and the other chin is in the cage then they switch positions (i did this for at least 2 weeks)
2) Chins swap cages (their own) and stay in each other's cages for maybe 15 mins and then increase up to 30 mins (so as not to stress them in anyway) (2 weeks here as well)
3) Lastly is to put both chins in the neutral cage without any boundaries (1 week and ongoing)

When im certain that there wont be any fighting then i'll house them together for the long term.

Hope this helps!