HELP! Woke up to bonded pair fighting??

[e.murphy518]

Hi all,

So I have been woken up before to the sound of Buddha and Bubba, my original pair of chinchillas, chasing each other around playfully before. It was never a problem, they have never fought aggressively at all. Just now, the sound was crazy so I got out of bed and there was a little bunch of slipped fur on one shelf and there was some sticking out of Bubba's back. I stood by the cage and watched and every time Buddha approached Bubba or even looked at him Bubba started making this grunting sound and standing upon his haunches. I watched for maybe 10 min and he just kept doing it, which has never happened before, he seemed really scared, but Buddha kinda seemed like he was trying to harmlessly approach like "whats wrong bud?" and everytime Bubba made the sound Buddha would back away and go hop around.

So, I took Buddha out of the cage (because I assumed he was the instigator) and put him in my spare cage that I keep set up in my room. Bubba will sniff my hand and take treats from me if I reach in, but he won't come to the cage door, or leave that corner he is backed into at all. He won't even move when I rub his back (normally he hops away from back petting) but he does start making the grunting noise when I do that.....I have heard of bonded pairs breaking up but I was literally thinking right before I went to sleep about how great of a pair they are and how I can't imagine them ever fighting.

Does anyone have any insight/can you tell me if I should leave them separate for the night and then try to put them back together tomorrow? Or are they done for good?? I feel so bad, Buddha keeps climbing the temp cage trying to look up at his (former?) buddy.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Sounds like a permanent separation. I would not attempt to put them in the same cage again.

 

[e.murphy518]

I actually woke up about an hour later (before I saw this post) and Bubba was out of the corner and Buddha was running around in the spare cage and they were chattering to each other the way they do when I leave the cage doors open and one comes out for play time and the other watches from above. I took that for a good sign and I held Buddha up to Bubba through the cage bars. They just sniffed each other so I put Buddha back in and they both just started hopping around and pop corning and taking turns running on the wheel. Woke up this morning and they were cuddled up sleeping, with Bubba on top of Buddha, and thats how they are now.

I am thinking this may be because at school they have a full double level FN available to them so they can fully run away if one gets mad, but right now I am home on break and I have them in the top and my other male in the bottom (separated) so I thought maybe Buddha made Bubba mad or accidentally hurt him and he freaked out cause he couldn't run downstairs.

**EDIT** I did just order a new FN double unit that should ship out today for the other male when we are here, so in a few days they will have their full double unit again at all times

Does anyone think this could be a possibility? Should I keep them together and just supervise to watch for more incidents? They are completely fine now and were for all the rest of last night.

 

[e.murphy518]

They have been grooming each other for the past 10 min and now they are cuddled up sleeping again. I am so confused!

 

[becky12883]

My boys were not happy at all while we were away from home. They were in a smaller cage and did not like the lack of space. They had a few spats that were almost worthy of separation. They eventually got used to it, just in time for us to head home. Then once we got home they have been spatting a whole bunch. No fur slips or blood or anything though. I think they just were a little stressed with the different situations, and are slowly getting back to normal. Last night we let Dale out for a while before we let Rufus out and that seemed to do the trick. They have been cuddling a whole bunch today (although it's -23F outside right now and cold in the house). They have also been extra friendly last night and this morning, humping back and forth :/

 

[AZChins]

Maybe it was just a little spat that they had over something. Chinchillas sometimes have little disagreements from time to time. The fact that there was slipped fur everywhere is a little alarming, that could mean they were hurting each other. But, sometimes slipped fur doesn't mean very much...it depends on the situation.

It is very strange that if they were fighting so fiercely earlier, that they now are friends again. It can happen and it could have been for all the reasons you gave. Chins are creatures of habit and anything new can throw them off and make them crazy. When I leave for a delivery trip for less than a day the chins go insane and tear up their cages and throw their food everywhere....that's just because I am not here and their feeding time is pushed back for a few hours. They rarely fight when I leave for such a short period, but I bet that if I moved them to a new house or if I were to leave for a few days there would be fights and a lot of stress in the chin rooms.

 

[e.murphy518]

Thank you for the responses...I think it must just have been a fairly small disagreement, because all day today and still tonight they have been 100% fine, as though nothing happened.

Becky: I think taking Buddha out and putting him in a different cage last night might have had the same effect as you letting them out for playtime at separate times. It seems like they got worried I was going to keep them separate and now they are being extra affectionate. Now I don't know if this was intentional but I grabbed a piece of hay and handed it to Bubba and he ran straight over to buddha and let him rip off half and then they sat together and munched lol.

Susan: Its funny you mentioned throwing food all over, but last night when I put Buddha in the spare cage with a bowl of food he immediately started whipping it all over the cage. I really hope this whole thing has just been a tantrum and that they will keep the peace