Do Chinchillas remember family?

[Madmartigan]

Hello, I'm new here. I Bought my chin recently, about 2 months ago. Female, She is about 5 months old. I now have the chance to buy her Mother, who is 5 years old. So my question is... will she(Sorsha) remember her Mother? Will they get along? It has been 2 months since they were separated, and I don't know if they have a good memory? I have a 2'x2'x2' cage(built it myself, untreated pine). I plan on adding another 2 feet to the top, and add more shelves asap. Sorsha is the dominant chin in her cage, everything has her smell, so... will that be a problem? or does the relation make it ok? Appreciated any advice.

 

[Cass C]

Just to be safe I would QT the mom before you try putting them together. Just in case she came in contact with anything that would make her sick. To answer your actual question no chinchillas do not remember family. My mom knew nothing about chinchillas when she got mine and ended up with a brother sister pair. They were bonded fine until I took the boy in to get neutered the bond was broken after the week recovery and I had to start over rebonding them. There was a short period before they finally rebonded that I was seriously considering just keeping them separated, but it seemed ironic because the entire reason for neutering him was to keep them together.

ETA: They were only 4 months old

 

[Godofgods]

chins have incredible memories. They will likely remember each other i think. However it does not guarantee they will still get along. Much like us, sometimes we don't get along with family. But theirs never a guarantee for that no matter what.

I have reintroed daughters (10 weeks old?) to mother, and just recently a son with his father who had been separated for 6+ months.

 

[Amethyst]

I agree that chins do have memory (which is why it's best not to reintroduce ever after a near deadly fight), but also that just because they are family doesn't mean they will get along. If you think about it, how would you like to get out on your own then have your mother/sister/brother/father move in with you, some people would love it, others hate it. Also even bonded pairs, who have never been separate in their lives can one day decide, for no obvious reason, that they don't want to be housed together anymore too.

Another thing to point out is your cage size, 2'x2'x2' is the bare minimum required for one chin (some people say 2'x2'x3' but 8 cubic ft per chin is legal minimum in Canada anyway). Adding a couple more feet to the top will help, but there is no such thing as too much space for chins so if you can go bigger go bigger. The more space you give them, especially when you have more then one, the more room they have to get away from each other. If they can't have alone time that can cause a fight. You will also want to wash down the whole cage you are planing to put both in so the area is neutral smelling as possible. Rearrange the cage too would help so it looks different.

If your plan/hope was to just throw them in the same cage together, that will not work. You will need to quarantine (separate cage and separate room) the mother for 30 days, as said they have been separate and the mother could have been exposed to illness. It also gives you time to get to know her and for her to get to know you and settle in. After quarantine it's best to just approach it like introducing a new chin, the fact that they are mother and daughter might help make it go faster, or might not help at all.

 

[Madmartigan]

Just to be safe I would QT the mom before you try putting them together. Just in case she came in contact with anything that would make her sick. To answer your actual question no chinchillas do not remember family. My mom knew nothing about chinchillas when she got mine and ended up with a brother sister pair. They were bonded fine until I took the boy in to get neutered the bond was broken after the week recovery and I had to start over rebonding them. There was a short period before they finally rebonded that I was seriously considering just keeping them separated, but it seemed ironic because the entire reason for neutering him was to keep them together.

ETA: They were only 4 months old

Thanks for the reply and info. Yes, I will quarantine the Mom for a bit. Glad to hear yours rebonded.

 

[Madmartigan]

I agree that chins do have memory (which is why it's best not to reintroduce ever after a near deadly fight), but also that just because they are family doesn't mean they will get along. If you think about it, how would you like to get out on your own then have your mother/sister/brother/father move in with you, some people would love it, others hate it. Also even bonded pairs, who have never been separate in their lives can one day decide, for no obvious reason, that they don't want to be housed together anymore too.

Another thing to point out is your cage size, 2'x2'x2' is the bare minimum required for one chin (some people say 2'x2'x3' but 8 cubic ft per chin is legal minimum in Canada anyway). Adding a couple more feet to the top will help, but there is no such thing as too much space for chins so if you can go bigger go bigger. The more space you give them, especially when you have more then one, the more room they have to get away from each other. If they can't have alone time that can cause a fight. You will also want to wash down the whole cage you are planing to put both in so the area is neutral smelling as possible. Rearrange the cage too would help so it looks different.

If your plan/hope was to just throw them in the same cage together, that will not work. You will need to quarantine (separate cage and separate room) the mother for 30 days, as said they have been separate and the mother could have been exposed to illness. It also gives you time to get to know her and for her to get to know you and settle in. After quarantine it's best to just approach it like introducing a new chin, the fact that they are mother and daughter might help make it go faster, or might not help at all.

Hello Amethyst,
Thanks for all the info. Yes, I will be adding more to the cage, to make it taller. And yes, I did plan on washing the cage down before adding the Mom, because I heard about the dominant environment. I enjoyed making the first cage(for me, it's fun to build things) so I will make another. I used untreated pine, and 1/4" x 1/4" galvanized mesh, and some 1/2" x 1/2"(I read anything larger can lead to a broken foot, and I don't want that.) Sorsha bounces off the mesh like a acrobat ahaha. The cage has a wire mesh bottom. Read that they can get sore feet/Bumblefoot from being on wire mesh all the time, so I put in a fleece blanket, and a cookie tin. All the dropping fall into a pans I installed underneath.

When I clean the cage, I use half vinegar and water to wipe down. Heard some use Clorox?

 

[Madmartigan]

chins have incredible memories. They will likely remember each other i think. However it does not guarantee they will still get along. Much like us, sometimes we don't get along with family. But theirs never a guarantee for that no matter what.

I have reintroed daughters (10 weeks old?) to mother, and just recently a son with his father who had been separated for 6+ months.

Your story gives me hope. Did you put a cage in a cage? or switch cages at times? or cage side by side? There are so many ways I heard, to do it. I'm here to learn, so any advice is welcomed. All my knowledge is from reading, and so many contradictions out there. Like, dustbaths... I read only once a week, anything more leads to dryskin. Another place said can do 2-3 times a week, no longer than 10 minutes. but, in the wild they can dustbath any time they want?

 

[Godofgods]

Well your situation is slightly different then mine in that my girls were only separated form the mother after weening. Where as you will be getting the mother a bit of time later.

I would do 30 day quarantine to be sure.
There are different introduction methods. And some use a mixture of several of them. With it being a mother/daughter there is a chance that they could remember and get along right away, or they could not like each other.
Youll have to see how they react and make a decision based on that.

When i introed to completely unknown chins i had placed the cages on opposite ends of the room for a long time. Eventually moving them within a few feet of each other for a long time. Then with in a few inches of each other. And eventually let them out for play time together to see how they reacted face to face. - You likely wont have to go to the extreme time that i took tho.

After quarantine you can also do things like taking each chin and placing them in the others cage for a while. Letting them get used to the others scent. Supervised play time together. You'll just have to judge there reactions and go from there. Its also worth noting that even if they get along, you can likely expect dominance displays from them. Things like hoping up and mounting the other chin. Thats normal. Just make sure theirs no real fighting; biting, fur ripping, etc.

 

[Godofgods]

dust baths depend on where and how you live really. Some areas you are fine with once a week, other might require a little more. You can usually see when a chins fur is starting to looked a little raggedy.

When i was in NJ i was only doing once a week. After having to move to PA i can see that they rly need twice a week. You just don't want to do it every day, or leave the sand in there all day long. That will dry out there skin.

 

[Saffron]

Hello Amethyst,


When I clean the cage, I use half vinegar and water to wipe down. Heard some use Clorox?

I use vinegar to clean the cages, a 50/50 mixture like you are using. Works great.
As for Clorox I won't use it around any animal. The vinegar solution is a much safer choice, works without toxic fumes.

But if you feel you must use bleach, use a very weak solution, rinse extremely well and keep the chins away until the cage is dry and the bleach smell is completely gone.

 

[Madmartigan]

ok, I will not use any clorox, and stick to my usual 50/50 vinegar. thanks.

 

[Madmartigan]

Appreciate all the advice. Will try your way. Going to build another cage, real soon. And I live in NY, our weather is pretty much the same, so I'll go with 2 a week. She only jumps in the dust for a few minutes, about 5, and jumps out and I take it away. Cheers.