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Dr. Walker from bhms neutered Hank for me. All went well and he is recovering perfectly. They are ok to go together Friday. Thanks
 
It can take up to 6 weeks for all the sperm to work out of his system. I wouldn't put them together so quickly. Its not fair to ask him to recover from surgery and deal with a new cagemate. I would let him heal totally before introducing them.
 
I read online that you should wait 6 weeks before introducing new chins (after spaying/neutering) but heard it was only 4. I will definitely wait longer because this seems to be very important. Can I still put there cages next to each other like I was going to or not?
 
Well on the 17th will be the mark of his first 30 day quarantine, so you could put their cages in the same room then. However make sure the cages are at least 6 inches apart. Chins can reach a lot farther than you would suspect and you don't want them to bite at each other. 6 weeks is the safe mark for neuters, however also keep in mind that if you put a weakened chin into your females cage he will get chased, abused or bullied. So make sure when you do introduce them that your male is fully healed and back to his old self too.

In the future try to also remember that pet store employees know less than squat. =P They get minimum wage to stock shelves and push products. While a lot of the people that post regularly on here, like Riven, have been breeding chins for years. Also, the female to female thing is a myth.

When you do introduce them I recommend the cage inside a cage method, it is the simplest, least traumatic, and has never failed me.
 
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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.



Sent from my iPad
 
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Thanks for sharing with me Lynn and the Chins. I enjoyed reading about your own personal experience. The reason Hank wasn't healing right was because there was some suture material left inside the wound. It was fixed and he is healing rapidly and cleanly. Thank you for your input. I am planning on introducing them in person on Friday. Any advice? Thanks 😊
 
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