How to proceed with bonding?

[kittymuff]

I asked this question on reddit and didn't get much answers, so I'm going to copy and paste it here too.

"How to proceed with bonding

Today I introduced my 2 female chins after having the new one Melody quarantined for 30 days. I had them in a cage above cage situation, with scent swapping and a shared dust bath during that time. The introduction went decently, they didn't get into a full on fight like how it went with Ivy and Zoey. They both did stand on their hind legs and also tried to intimidate eachother by fake nipping. I'm wondering, how should I proceed in this situation? I think it went well but not perfect. Should I continue scent swapping and doing short playtime? Or what else should I do? Thanks"

*For an update, Ivy was rehomed because it wasn't fair to her to have no compatible friends and be in a split cage, so we gave her back to her original owner (who previously sold her to us because she wanted her to have a new friend) So we got Melody who is almost 5 months old and very friendly and playful

 

[Amethyst]

How did you do the introduction? Was it in or near one of the the cages or out in a neutral play area? If in a play area (which is how I recommend) try to go slowly, start with just a few minutes so you stop before anything really happens at first. Increase the time out together by a few minutes each time, and make sure there are toys, dust bath, and food out to distract them so they aren't just focused on each other. They do need to sort things out as to who is dominate, so a bit of posturing on their back legs, barking, and short chasing and even mounting is normal. However if one is really dominating the other you can trim the more dominate one's whiskers back so they are shorter then the other's, it doesn't hurt her (chins do it to each other in herds to keep everyone in line) and can help knock them down a few pegs if needed. If they do get a bit too over board and end up with excessive barking, chasing, or even minor tussle were there is fur slips, just take a break and give them a few days to a week to calm down before allowing them out together again. Wait until they are calm before letting them out though otherwise they can end up picking up where they left off.

Once they reach the point that they are doing a full half hour or so playtime together, and are eating and bathing together, you can try supervised time in the cage you plan to have both in.

 

[kittymuff]

How did you do the introduction? Was it in or near one of the the cages or out in a neutral play area? If in a play area (which is how I recommend) try to go slowly, start with just a few minutes so you stop before anything really happens at first. Increase the time out together by a few minutes each time, and make sure there are toys, dust bath, and food out to distract them so they aren't just focused on each other. They do need to sort things out as to who is dominate, so a bit of posturing on their back legs, barking, and short chasing and even mounting is normal. However if one is really dominating the other you can trim the more dominate one's whiskers back so they are shorter then the other's, it doesn't hurt her (chins do it to each other in herds to keep everyone in line) and can help knock them down a few pegs if needed. If they do get a bit too over board and end up with excessive barking, chasing, or even minor tussle were there is fur slips, just take a break and give them a few days to a week to calm down before allowing them out together again. Wait until they are calm before letting them out though otherwise they can end up picking up where they left off.

Once they reach the point that they are doing a full half hour or so playtime together, and are eating and bathing together, you can try supervised time in the cage you plan to have both in.

Ok I'll do that! And yes I did it in a neutral area that neither of them have ever been before so they weren't territorial over it. It's good to hear that the whole posturing thing is normal for introductions, I was worried it was a bad sign. Overall I think things went well and I'll be sure to follow your guidance! Thanks!