Chinchilla Rage...

[Carljean]

Hello y'all,
So this is my first time bring a question on here but....I need all the advice I can get.

So I have four chinchillas. Two that tolerate each other and coexist in the same cage. (I say tolerate because one is protective and loves to cuddle and the other one has no desire to be cuddled lol)
Our third one is angry as all get out and has to be kept in his own separate cage. And the fourth is new recent and very sweet:

My question is with this third little man. All of our chins have been rescued in some sort of way. He was found dangling from a cage at pets mart and he had ripped some of his fingers from his hand and he had tendons holding him there. So we took him immediately and got him taken care of. He was very angry toward us at first (he would hiss, bark, and bite at any moment he could get) it's coming up on a year that we have had him and he absolutely loves us, adores us and follows us anywhere (I call him our little dog) but you can tell that he is very lonely being in his own cage around the other chins. We have tried everything, putting there cages close together so they would get used to each other, letting them plays working on dominance and about a million other ideas that we researched/were advices by our vet. When they are around him they fight with each other, as well as any moment they are near him they are fur ripping, biting or trying to yank body parts through the cage. At this point we have stopped trying and just keep them seperate. But you can just tell he hates it. When they are having play time he's is freaking out in his cage, and calms down when we finally let him out. We have moved him to different rooms of the house both to live and for play time. But when he stays in another room away from them he whines and stops eating, and for play time he still freaks out because he knows it's play time. Our two chins we have introduced to him don't show any agression until they are around him. They don't bite or anything but as soon as he is around it's like we have 3 very different chins.

I would like to eventually hopefully get all of them together. Our fourth one we just rescued and he is going through the process and for the most part he is not aggressive and they don't fight with him like this one. I can say that the anger aggressive is more from this 3rd little guy than from any of the chins . So I am wondering do they have issues with aggressive ness? If so is there a way to work with it? Does neutering work at all? Supplements? We absolutely love this guy and I want him to he happy but I can tell unless he is hanging out with me and my husband he is pretty depressed. When we took him in the petsmart said he got along with then other chins, so we are wondering if his accident sparked something? I don't know. Like I said , he loves us but hates the other chins.

 

[tunes]

First, it's natural for him to act like a nut when they are out. It doesn't matter whether he's alone or not, he wants out too.

Second, I would keep him far away from your other two or they may end up permanently turning on each other. I would not attempt to introduce him to that already bonded pair. They most definitely have aggression issues. I have seen chins reduced to looking like hamburger when their cage mate suddenly turns on them. They jump on their back and just start tearing them from nose to tail. It is a horrible thing.

Third, get him a cuddle buddy. That may take care of the problem for you. He will have something to cuddle with and he may not feel so lonely.

 

[Tinytoy]

Have you considered neutering to get rid of some of that agression?

 

[ticklechin]

Any surgery on a chinchilla is a big risk of death and complications, that is point one, point two is agression rarely is removed by neutering in chinchillas.

 

[obcsed]

I have four chins and they all hate each other. I have to go to great lengths during playtime to keep them away from each other. It is just the way they are. If I let anyone else out before Frankie, he gets so mad that he will chase me across the room to bite me when he does come out. I always let him out first and let him really wear himself out. That seems to help. Your third guy is just a loner and you shouldn't force the issue. Neutering does not help so I wouldn't risk it. Just resign yourself to the fact he is always going to be alone.

 

[Sadiechinchillalover]

Could you just have the two in one cage and the newest chinchilla with the aggressive one? Or does the aggressive one not like the new one either?

 

[Chin Dad]

I wonder if the other chins know he is disable or if he knows he is disabled and is forcing them/he to act funny towards each other? Animals are pretty harsh on others with disabilities even killing or abandoning their young and mates.

 

[Carljean]

Not sure

So I have certainly asked around a many people have said the neutering has helped in our cases. (Even our vet suggest it) which might be the way I go, I am not worried about surgery because he's been under the knife as well as our new rescue had to lose a limb before we took him in. Since he is so young I want to give him time.

As far as snuggling, we have him a cuddle buddy and....he humped the crap out of it for two days straight and then chewed it apart. He gets annoyed really easily. He will love a toy for a day and then get so angry at it.

I wish there was a muzzle for these guys to let them all play. (Just joking) we tried introducing him to the new one but he just went after him. Idk what to do with him other than love him. I sincerely think he thinks he is some sort of dog, just the way he acts. It's adorable.