Introduce a castrated adult male to a young female

[teknik]

Hello everyone,

here's for the background. I currently have 2 male chins (one is 3 years old, the other is 8 months) that have succesfully been introduced for about 3 months until a fight broke. The oldest chin constantly humped the younger chin. it calmed down after a while and they really enjoyed each other company. The older chin is clearly the dominant male but one morning, I found the dominant male with a few bite marks from the other chin.

They have now been separated.

I was wonderning if castrating both chins would help with their behavior...

Also I was wondering if a castrated adult chin can be paired with a young female chin. I heard that adult female could be very aggressive.

thanks for the help.

 

[Riven]

After about 2 months a castrated male can be put with anything. You need to wait for the body to break down and re-absorb any sperm left after the operation.

I know of people who have castrated and put male pairs back together with no concerns.

As for female adults be aggressive that is a fallacy. Any chin can be aggressive, I have adult females paired up, in pet colonies and breeder colonies, I'm sitting next to two cages that have four in on and three in the other, and they are all piled in the corners together sleeping... all together.

 

[tunes]

The only problem with putting them back together is if they have already had a significant fight. Chins rarely forget when they dislike a roomie enough to fight. So even though you get them castrated, it may not make a difference with those two together.

Now, putting them with someone else? That could be a totally different story. I would just be careful to be observant when putting the two back together.

 

[TheNobleFight]

But what about Behavior??? Will neutering a chin change disposition?
Will neutering an adolescent chin, fix newly formed dominance problems if there were no prior fights?
Is it of opinion that this is worth the risk of surgery?

 

[tunes]

But what about Behavior??? Will neutering a chin change disposition?

I've seen it go both ways. I've seen it not change the disposition at all and I've seen it mellow the more aggressive male out.

Will neutering an adolescent chin, fix newly formed dominance problems if there were no prior fights?

I think if you catch them before any actual fights, or true dominance display issues begin, that it makes a huge difference. I think once they get to fighting though, it's a crap shoot as to whether it will make any difference at all.

Is it of opinion that this is worth the risk of surgery?

To me? No, but I'm not a pet owner. If I was, and I had a vet I trusted completely, I would do it. I get rats castrated and spayed all the time and they are just as small if not smaller than a chin to work on. I would trust my vet to do a castration and keep my chin safe. I can't say that about all vets though, obviously.

 

[TheNobleFight]

Thank you Peggy... That is great information.

 

[Jazicat]

I have a male chinchilla I don't intend to breed but I don't want to fix him either. I understand why others do but if I am responsible and only get him a male companion I am more than willing to keep housed separately is there a good reason for me to consider it.

 

[teknik]

Thanks for all the comments.
Since they had quite a significant fight I won't put them back together ever. they weren't very compatible in the end. My oldest chin is very laid back, loves scratches, doesn't like being picked up and never ever bites. the little one is very energetic, almost too much, gives little bites, doesn't like being scratched and doesn't mind being picked up at all... Basically they are opposites. :hmm:

I'll probably try and pair my oldest with another male chin that seems more compatible.

Since chinchilla behaviour can evolve over time, wouldn't it be better if i tried finding a laid back adult rather than a 3-4 month old chin that can turn violent once he reaches puberty ?

 

[TheNobleFight]

I have a male chinchilla I don't intend to breed but I don't want to fix him either. I understand why others do but if I am responsible and only get him a male companion I am more than willing to keep housed separately is there a good reason for me to consider it.

I think the only time neutering becomes an issue is when it is medically necessary, or when a family of chins, such as an old breeding pair, are to be kept together for the rest of their lives. Susan has a female who chews the whiskers off of her male husband till they are mangled... He seems perfectly fine with this and they are definitely devoted to each other. Or maybe a brother sister combo that were exceptionally close at birth.

 

[tunes]

Since chinchilla behaviour can evolve over time, wouldn't it be better if i tried finding a laid back adult rather than a 3-4 month old chin that can turn violent once he reaches puberty ?

Ehhhh - You can try. It's generally easier to introduce a younger to an older chin, versus older to older. Not always, obviously, but most of the time. I took two ranch males, straight out of runs, and put them together in a cage, and they lived together happily until one passed away several years later. So yes, it can be done, but most people have better luck with younger to older. As with anything though, you can try the different ways to get chins together, be patient, and it may work.

 

[AZChins]

That's Milla and Muntz...Milla has removed Muntz's whiskers completely on both sides. I thought he had fungus for a year because of the little pink spots where his whiskies should be. They've been together for 6 1/2 years and absolutely are in love with each other, no babies ever....Muntz is not neutered, he's just lazy.

Introducing chins needs to be done carefully and with great patience. You have to combine personalities that will get along with each other. Younger chins are great because they are more impressionable and can be brought up by the older chin. I have had more success with that than with even putting younger chins together, especially with males

That's because the older chins (over 2 to 3 years old) are established in their personalities and their hormones aren't going to go crazy one day and make them insane. Younger chins can hit that teenage hormone stage at 6 months to a year of age and they can really go crazy. (Similar to young human males doing insane things for kicks...) With an older chin generally he will be able to stand the craziness from the younger chin. Two young chins are much harder on each other than a young male and an older one. I don't know why it works out that way.

I'd stay away from brother/sister pairs unless the male most definitely is sterilized.

As far as neutering goes...often it doesn't do anything to change personalities or behavior at all. They will still do that gross thing with themselves, they will still try to mount other chins in a sexual way. I wouldn't condone having it done for behavioral reasons, it would really only be for birth control so that the male cannot impregnate a female.

I attached pictures of my poor Muntz. He's a very pretty little pink white boy...just doesn't have whiskers anymore. Milla has him trained...he's her pillow and he never back talks. She has him groom her, she grooms him...they play with toys...and then they sleep - that's their day.

 

[Jazicat]

Thank you for answering my question!

 

[Jazicat]

I forgot to add that Muntz is adorable even without his wiskers.

 

[teknik]

Thanks for the great advice Susan. I'll try and get a new mate for Totoro (the victim) that has a more compatible behaviour than Okami.

since I don't have much experience with really young chins, do you think it is possible to tell if a chin is more of a laidback or hyperactive type from the beggining ?

Can chin behaviour change dramatically over time?

My two whins don't seem to have changed that much. I mean Totoro is a lot more friendly now while Okami seems to become more and more hyperactive

 

[tunes]

Any time you introduce a baby, you run the risk of personality change. Once they hit puberty, all bets are off. I don't know how you could possibly choose "compatible" chins when you are putting a baby and an adult together. Most of the time it just works out because the adult chin feels protective of the baby and the baby isn't a threat to the adult. However, just like in your case, obviously that isn't the same EVERY time. I've had adults turn on kits before as well.

As I said up above, any two chins can potentially be introduced providing you take the introductions slowly and have patience. Rarely are two chins able to just be slapped together. It does happen, but not very often.