can chins bond with more than one chin, or mate?

[DaphnesandFreddysmom]

Can a chinchilla have more than one bonding buddy or mate? If I put my girls together and lets say something happened down the road to one and after sometime I decided to get the other one another female friend. Would they successfully bond together or can chins just have one friend or mate or whatever? I think my girls will get along well after I start introducing but I was just curious as they do have quite a bit of an age difference lets say one passes away or they do not get a long and I eventually one day got another female would I be able to introduce that female to one or will they only bond with one and after that than that's it?

 

[Rickman]

You never know with chins - some get along with everyone, some with certain ones, some with certain colors, and some with none, not even the opposite sex! You should always have access to another cage, even with just a pair, as I've already had brothers that "went to war" after 2 1/2 years, one almost killing the other! And there's no way to tell, either!

 

[Spoof]

Chinchillas are herd animals and will get along with almost anyone else you introduce so long as it is done correctly.

They can also bond with things other than chins (like you) and can live happy solitary lives.

 

[starleomach]

chinchillas can do well with 1, 2 or more. than can bond in bigger groups than 2

 

[shaeway]

It really depends on the chin and how introductions were initiated. My boys Shadow and Moche took months before they got along. Then I think it was thier descion and nothing I did. One day they just meshed like magic:thinking:. However, I have two baby boys that it seems are destined to live apart from every one. It is all going to depend on your methods and your chinchillas.

 

[Carol~Anne]

I had one chinchilla for a few years and then added a bonded pair and although introducing them took close to three months, they finally were getting along great.

Then I added a fourth one to the the 3Amigos and it went very well for several months until one morning when I checked on them, I noticed a lot of fluff scattered around the cage so I separated them into pairs: 2 white boy & 2 grey boys.

I have no idea what caused the upset but it was very obvious that my original white boy no longer wanted to share space with the two grey boys and only had eyes for the other white boy.

Such funny little creatures.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I have had pairs and trios that got along really well. I have also had trios split up for no apparent reason. It just depends on the chins and how you introduce them. No matter what, you need to be ready to separate at a moment's notice since chins can turn on each other at the drop of a hat.

 

[DaphnesandFreddysmom]

yes everyone starts off in their own cages just for quarantining purposes but we get cages big enough that incase the friend we hoped they'd share with doesn't work out they already have another cage to fall back on.

I'm just one of those people that want my animals to have a friend of their own species I guess, I don't know I'm just wierd. Hopefully everyone will get along with each other though when that time comes. I'm prepared for them to not though.

 

[feistychins]

I had a bonded pair of females that lived together for about 15 years. One of them was 17 years old and passed away. The surviving chin had a nice mellow personality and I had two other female rescues; one was also in her teens and the other was about 5 years old who had similar personalities. I introduced them one at a time and they all hit it off great and have lived together for 2 years now.

 

[eroomlorac]

I have four chinnie girls in one cage. They all get along. For a while one was getting picked on, I seperated that one and just let them all have play time together and was eventually able to successfully reintroduce all 4.

 

[iayla]

I've had a girl who was very picky about who she would accept. Then I currently have 3 other girls who got along instantly. You never really know until you try, but yes chins can get along with more than just one friend.

~Barb~

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I have 2 cages where 2 females (very mellow females) live with 1 male - I even had one of the female deliver and I didn't have to take out the 2nd female - They both took care of the kits