Sorry to be so late in seeing this, but I was in the hospital for a kidney transplant when this was active. As Riven (the breeder in the story from whom l got The Snuggler) said, I have had very good luck with neutering and rebonding males that started fighting. I'm always happy to tell my story...
Be very careful...it starts out as "playful chasing and humping for dominance". I was unaware of the dangers of puberty, and the next night after work, I found Baby VERRY badly beaten and cowering in a corner. He was pretty much bald on the top of his head and back. I immediately took him to Alameda East to see Dr. Fitzgerald. I was pissed that Mr. Whiskers had done this to his previously snuggly cage mate. I wanted to have just Mr. Whiskers neutered. Dr. Fitzgerald said that it would probably be better to neuter them both at the same time to reduce the testosterone so that they could recover and possibly comfort each other, and possibly rebond. I agreed.
When I told my sister about the fighting, she had the best advice -- she said, "I think that you should just neuter them both and get them little pink aprons"!!! I loved the idea, and now I refer to my neutered males as "Pink Apron Boys"!!!
I was secretly happy that Whiskers had a harder time recovering than Baby. Baby was up and running on the wheel the next day, so I had to immobilize it so he wouldn't hurt himself. Whiskers, on the other hand, did little more than lay in the cuddle cup and look miserable. I had to take him in for some subcu fluids several times.
They did seem to get some comfort and companionship from each other. I always thought that they must have been talking to each other saying, "Man, you can't imagine what I just went through", and then comparing stories!!! They did rebond and lived happily together for some time before Baby died suddenly and unexpectedly from unrelated causes.
Prior to Baby dying, I attended my first chinchilla show. I spotted a kit escaping from his cage and let the owner know. She said, "Oh, that's Sh*t Head -- he gets out all the time"!!!
He was so adorable that I asked if I could hold him. She allowed me to, and he immediately fell asleep in the crook of my arm!!! He spent the entire afternoon snuggling on my lap and in my arms. I named him My Little Snuggler. EVERYONE at the show was certain that I was going to take him home, but I told them that as much as I loved him, I had just had to neuter my 2 boys because of fighting and had successfully rebonded them, so, NO, no more chins, two was plenty!!! It broke my heart to leave him behind, but I did.
Several weeks later when Baby died suddenly and unexpectedly and Whiskers and I were both sooo depressed, I thought that maybe another kit would cheer up both of us.
I called the breeder and told her who I was. She said, "I remember you, you fell in love with Sh*t Head". I then told her about Baby's sudden death and asked if My Little Snuggler was still available. She said, "Yeah, he's been waiting for you to call"!!! I was ecstatic and immediately Paypaled her to claim him!!!
When The Snuggler reached puberty, he, as a pedigreed, possible show chinchilla, was much larger than Mr. Whiskers, who i had gotten from a mom and pop petstore while on vacation in Wyoming. They seemed happy together. One night, I came home to a cowering Mr. Whiskers who had been beaten by his brother, The Snuggler. Well, it was off to Dr. Fitzgerald to be fitted for HIS Little Pink Apron!!! He recovered uneventfully and I was able to get them rebonded, too!!! I always imagine them, too, comparing stories about what had happened to them!!!
I know that I was VERRY lucky, and I am always happy to jump in and talk about fighting, separating, and neutering males. People mistakenly think that it is a difficult or dangerous surgery, but in the hands of an experienced Exotic vet who performs the surgery often, it's no big deal. Now, it's even done by laser, not a knife, and it's much less risky than it used to be.
I'll be honest, you must remain ever vigilant, because chinchillas can turn on each other in an instant and they WILL fight to the death, so you must always have an emergency cage on hand in case you need to separate them in the middle of the night.
I wish you all the best with your pair and I'm happy to help you in any way that I can. Sorry for writing the great American Novel, but I like to let people know what can happen.
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