Does a Chin Need a Friend?

[mom4christ]

I am a new chin owner (loving him SO much!), and I feel like he is lonely. We play with him multiple times a day, however I feel like its not enough and he is so lonely in his cage. He is young chin, about 4-5 months old, can we get him a buddy? Or should we? Do 2 males do well together? I do not want babies, so a female is out unless we should neuter our male because he will do better with a female. I just want him to be happy. Please help!

 

[Rob Walker]

Chins are absolutely fine on their own.

Getting a second chin is a lot of work! Generally you need to quarantine the new chin for 30 days, then slowly introduce them.

Its a huge possibility the two chins will not get along and fight each other. If that's the case you would need two complete cages for them and separate play times.

If you're a new owner, I would say wait, learn everything you can about chins. I only have 1 and I'm absolutely head over heels for her still after a year and a half.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, I just wanted my hand in trying to help someone! (Peggy don't hurt me! Not the belt again!)

 

[3CsMommy]

When my ex and I brought our first chin home, we opted to wait until we knew Cervantes better to decide whether he'd do well with a friend. We tried it about a year later, because like your guy he seemed to want more attention than we were giving him, and they are herd/family group animals in nature. He and Crash did all right, but as time went on, Cervantes got more territorial and controlling, so when my ex and I split, so did the chins. We were prepared, had a spare cage and everything, but Crash went through a sort of withdrawal period where he was clearly depressed to be without a buddy, in spite of always being overgroomed and chased away from the hay when he lived with Cervantes. I felt (and still feel) badly that he's been so lonely, but even though I've got two more guys coming to live with us in a week or two, there's a chance that Crash will be a singleton for the next 15 years. If he doesn't get along with Oasis and YouBe, and the three are together when the fight starts, it can be enough to break up an entire group, which means 3 cages, 3 play times, 3 of everything... (But since YouBe and Oasis were introduced after a pretty bad fight and are very chill, I'm hopeful that Crash will relax into their group in a similar way.)

An additional chin is always a risk, and some chins do better as singletons. If you haven't had your guy long, I think it's worth waiting to see what his personality is like before adding another very distinct personality to your family. I plan for pets like normal people plan for children, though, because my pets are the closest to children that I'll ever have, so ymmv.

 

[Whimsy]

By nature, chinchillas are herd animals. Chins do well in groups and males CAN get along well, especially if they have enough space to roam (a large enough enclosure) AND don't have females to fight over. Girls are generally easier to group. It is my personal opionion that chins are much more well adjusted when they have a friend to snuggle with, and I encourage same gender pairing.

Of course we have to consider the possibility of a pair of chins not liking each other. Just as with people, not all chins get along well and some are more inclined to be loners.

Chins that are aggressive to other chins often make wonderful single pets.

 

[chechinchillas]

I sell my chins 99% of the time in same sex pairs as babies. I do think they are happier with a buddy. They sleep laying on top or next to each other, play and eat together and groom each other. You can tell they love to be groomed by another chin by the way they close their eyes and tilt their head. It is much easier to pair them together when they are young before they reach 6 months of age. My babies are all all weaned in the same cage together (1 cage for female babies, 1 for cage for male babies) so they are with each other from the age of 8 weeks on. Sometimes 2 chins will not get along no matter what and this goes for pairing up a male and female breeding pair, but 9 times on of 10 it works. They all have their own individual personalities and some do not mesh well with others. You definitely do not want a female is the same room with 2 males.

 

[cindyv3737]

My chin has been solo since the day I bought her. She went from living with two others to living solo. She is fine and spoiled rotten. While I've always wanted to get her a friend I had a rule of owning her for a year first. Your chin is fine alone. Learn about them and what it takes to get him a friend.

 

[mom4christ]

Thanks for all the advice! We have been doing a lot of research and I think we are going to give it a go with getting another. Cuzco is so young and so is the other we are interested in that I don't think we will have any trouble. I will keep you posted.

 

[Stackie]

Cuzco is so young and so is the other we are interested in that I don't think we will have any trouble.

Don't be so sure. It is just completely unpredictable with chins. I have had the loviest, gentlest chin go into complete attack mode at the sight of another. I have also had a chin go from cuddling and grooming his cage mate the night before, to killing him the next morning. You just can not be sure with chins.

It is just hit and miss when pairing chins. A chin could like one chin, and absolutely hate another. If you have the time, space, and money for an extra cage and buying two of everything if they don't get along, and you don't mind having another cage, then give it a go.

My main advice is to take the introduction slow. Do the 30 day quarantine. Once it is up, don't rush into introducing them. I've found if they're rushed into a pairing, they either fight off the bat, or get along out of confusion. Once things settle down and they figure out what's going on, the may start fighting. A slow and steady introduction is more likely to give you better results in the start and the long run IMO.

Don't mean to put a damper on things, but chins can really be vicious creatures when it comes to others of their kind and I want to be sure everyone is aware of the possibilities. I have had to face the heartache of losing a chin due to cage mate fights and I have also had to nurse very injured chins back to health after an intro gone wrong.

 

[starleomach]

I have several here that really do better on their own. I don't think they need a friend at all. I have seen some vicious attacks even from two that were together from weaning for 5 years. I lost a female a few months ago that was fine with her cagemates for 2 years...I went to dinner at my in-laws they were snuggled up I came home an hour later to a beautiful gal with so many holes from bite marks in her body she couldn't be given fluids. When she was given IV fluids it just came right back out the 100's of holes in her body. No one else in the cage was injured and who knows what happened I was only gone two hours..... I have also had a few that I was able to nurse back to health. It happens so if you get a 2nd always be prepared to have a 2nd cage.

 

[Irishsk8r66]

so when you quarantine them you will need two cages......my concern is that if i have one in the main cage and one in a smaller cage during this then the one thats been in the main cage will become territorial (like some aggressive fish). i will be getting a new cage if i get another chin so i am wondering if it would be better to have them both out of the main cage other than for the introductions......anyone have any advice as far as this goes?

 

[Cuddlebug]

The one in the big cage could become territorial. You can make that less likely by rearranging the cage and cleaning it really well be for you put the two together in it.