ShelbyMcc
New member
Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to make sure to explain the entire situation.
My boyfriend and I own four chinchillas, three males and one girl. They all live in separate cages because we don't want to breed them. We bought Pounce first when he was 8 weeks. Then a few months later we bought Henry, also at 8 weeks. Neither of the boys had bonded with another chin or a person at the time when we got them. Pounce is now bonded to my boyfriend and Henry just loves anyone who gives him attention. They do not like to play together, but when they are out for individual play time, both will stay away from the other's cage and ignore them. Another few months passed, and we decided to look for a third chin. My boyfriend wanted a male because he had read about how females are more likely to spray, but I was willing to try and get a girl. We went to a pet store in Des Moines, and met Rosie. She is a beige (mom is a white and dad is a beige). She was 7 months old at the time, and even thought she was very skittish and bit my boyfriend multiple times out of fear, she never drew blood or bit me and eventually warmed up to us a bit. We brought her home and fairly soon after she started to have some behavioral issues. She would only tolerate being touched when she felt like it (which wasn't often) and she was very aggressive towards our males. Pounce was not showing any signs of wanting to mate with her, he seemed to only want to smell her cage and see who his Daddy was giving so much attention to. Henry on the other hand, wanted Rosie to become his new girlfriend. He would keep going up to her cage to smell her, make noises at her from his cage in hopes that she would pay attention to him, and when she was having play time he would try and get as close to her as his cage would allow. We made sure to keep the boys away from her cage since we knew chins are territorial but if they got any closer than a foot to her cage, Rosie would begin to be very aggressive. She barks, tries to bite, and will spray. When she would be running around for playtime, she would go up to the boy's cages and try to attack them, or get on the top of their cages to try and pee on them. This made the living conditions difficult, since my boyfriend wanted to keep her in his room with him and the other boys, but with her behavior isn't wasn't a good environment. Rosie now lives with me in my apartment and seems to be happier here without any males around. She still only wants to be touched when it suits her, she does not like to be held very much, and will rarely take food or treats from my hand. But she no longer makes hissing noises or tries to bite me and will hop into my hands sometimes and allow me to pet her, even though she doesn't always want it. What I am concerned about though, is that she still doesn't seem very happy. I know she had bonded to the woman who bred her so maybe that could be why she still isn't totally happy living with us? I also know she lived with other chins at her breeder's home, and again with another young female at the pet store, so maybe she isn't happy because she wants another chin with her? But since she showed so much aggression towards our males, I'm afraid that her behavior might be the same towards females too, so I don't want to get another female if it will result in more aggressive behavior and fighting. I'm not sure what else to do and would love some advice. Rosie is now a year and 4 months old now, and I want her to have a happy life with us.
My boyfriend and I own four chinchillas, three males and one girl. They all live in separate cages because we don't want to breed them. We bought Pounce first when he was 8 weeks. Then a few months later we bought Henry, also at 8 weeks. Neither of the boys had bonded with another chin or a person at the time when we got them. Pounce is now bonded to my boyfriend and Henry just loves anyone who gives him attention. They do not like to play together, but when they are out for individual play time, both will stay away from the other's cage and ignore them. Another few months passed, and we decided to look for a third chin. My boyfriend wanted a male because he had read about how females are more likely to spray, but I was willing to try and get a girl. We went to a pet store in Des Moines, and met Rosie. She is a beige (mom is a white and dad is a beige). She was 7 months old at the time, and even thought she was very skittish and bit my boyfriend multiple times out of fear, she never drew blood or bit me and eventually warmed up to us a bit. We brought her home and fairly soon after she started to have some behavioral issues. She would only tolerate being touched when she felt like it (which wasn't often) and she was very aggressive towards our males. Pounce was not showing any signs of wanting to mate with her, he seemed to only want to smell her cage and see who his Daddy was giving so much attention to. Henry on the other hand, wanted Rosie to become his new girlfriend. He would keep going up to her cage to smell her, make noises at her from his cage in hopes that she would pay attention to him, and when she was having play time he would try and get as close to her as his cage would allow. We made sure to keep the boys away from her cage since we knew chins are territorial but if they got any closer than a foot to her cage, Rosie would begin to be very aggressive. She barks, tries to bite, and will spray. When she would be running around for playtime, she would go up to the boy's cages and try to attack them, or get on the top of their cages to try and pee on them. This made the living conditions difficult, since my boyfriend wanted to keep her in his room with him and the other boys, but with her behavior isn't wasn't a good environment. Rosie now lives with me in my apartment and seems to be happier here without any males around. She still only wants to be touched when it suits her, she does not like to be held very much, and will rarely take food or treats from my hand. But she no longer makes hissing noises or tries to bite me and will hop into my hands sometimes and allow me to pet her, even though she doesn't always want it. What I am concerned about though, is that she still doesn't seem very happy. I know she had bonded to the woman who bred her so maybe that could be why she still isn't totally happy living with us? I also know she lived with other chins at her breeder's home, and again with another young female at the pet store, so maybe she isn't happy because she wants another chin with her? But since she showed so much aggression towards our males, I'm afraid that her behavior might be the same towards females too, so I don't want to get another female if it will result in more aggressive behavior and fighting. I'm not sure what else to do and would love some advice. Rosie is now a year and 4 months old now, and I want her to have a happy life with us.
