Recently, my boyfriend and I decided to get ourselves a third chinchilla. She's very young and quite small compared to the other two(Xena and Gabrielle). Xena is the dominant one and is very eager to hump to assert her dominance, which is what she did to Gabrielle(if you watched the T.V. show, then you might find that a little amusing). So we have their hierarchy established.
Currently we have our new addition(Athena) in a separate cage next to Xena and Gabrielle's cage. Immediately they showed interest and was nosing her through the cage. Athena showed a little interest, but would mostly just keep her back towards them. So we decided to do a separate meet and greet with them. We thought Gabrielle would be the easiest of the bunch. Athena responded to her by making that "screw off" noise. We tried Xena and she didn't make that noise. I held Athena out to Xena and Xena immediately started grooming her with no retaliation.
Now, when we introduced Gabrielle into Xena's cage everything went perfect after the initial humping period. So, we thought "hey, lets give this a shot." We didn't want them to gang up on her if the problem arose, so we separated Xena and Gabrielle briefly. First we had Athena and Gabrielle in together. Gabrielle was interested and showing no signs of aggression towards her, but Athena wasn't having that. She reared up and made the "screw off" noise at her. In turn, this agitated Gabrielle into chasing her. We separated them and after letting Athena rest and settle for a bit we tried Xena and Athena. Xena wanted to assert her dominance, but Athena reared up once again and made the noises again. Xena didn't like that either and peed on her. We separated them and decided that wasn't the best method. So now we have them back in their own cages next to each other.
I know I rushed the process. I thought I was going to get lucky again with this one like I did with Gabrielle. I failed to realize that it was probably gong to be trickier with a third chinchilla. Athena isn't terrified of them, I would say because she still goes up to the side of the cage closest to them to watch. The other two sit there and nose through the cage to get to her. Athena did rear up a few times but wasn't as vocal. She kind of ran away a few times but immediately run back to the side of the cage to look at them. I think it may have to do with her confidence because she's so tiny and they're so big compared to her. The other two don't show signs of aggression unless she provokes it first by rearing up and making that noise at them.
Of course, I hope they all love each other in the end. But do you guys think it would be better if she got a little bigger first before trying to have them meet in the same environment again or do you think it would be safe to do the neutral territory trick in a hallway with a dust bath?
Xena and Gabrielle displayed some not so usual behavior tonight as well. Gabrielle was trying to nose Athena through the bars and Xena thought it would be a good time to jump on her and hump her. I guess this startled Gabrielle and they both ended up rearing up and peeing on each other. I've never seen either of them do this on one another. This is the first time I've seen Gabrielle do this at all. It happened again when one was chewing on a block and the other wanted it. I'm pretty sure there was a brief peeing on one another. Other than that, they haven't shown any other signs of trying to reestablish dominance or aggression. In fact, they're cuddling with each other right now and taking a nap. Is this a behavior that is common or should I be keeping a closer eye out now?
I'm also afraid that this third chinchilla could potentially disrupt this perfect little hierarchy that Xena and Gabrielle have established between one another.
Currently we have our new addition(Athena) in a separate cage next to Xena and Gabrielle's cage. Immediately they showed interest and was nosing her through the cage. Athena showed a little interest, but would mostly just keep her back towards them. So we decided to do a separate meet and greet with them. We thought Gabrielle would be the easiest of the bunch. Athena responded to her by making that "screw off" noise. We tried Xena and she didn't make that noise. I held Athena out to Xena and Xena immediately started grooming her with no retaliation.
Now, when we introduced Gabrielle into Xena's cage everything went perfect after the initial humping period. So, we thought "hey, lets give this a shot." We didn't want them to gang up on her if the problem arose, so we separated Xena and Gabrielle briefly. First we had Athena and Gabrielle in together. Gabrielle was interested and showing no signs of aggression towards her, but Athena wasn't having that. She reared up and made the "screw off" noise at her. In turn, this agitated Gabrielle into chasing her. We separated them and after letting Athena rest and settle for a bit we tried Xena and Athena. Xena wanted to assert her dominance, but Athena reared up once again and made the noises again. Xena didn't like that either and peed on her. We separated them and decided that wasn't the best method. So now we have them back in their own cages next to each other.
I know I rushed the process. I thought I was going to get lucky again with this one like I did with Gabrielle. I failed to realize that it was probably gong to be trickier with a third chinchilla. Athena isn't terrified of them, I would say because she still goes up to the side of the cage closest to them to watch. The other two sit there and nose through the cage to get to her. Athena did rear up a few times but wasn't as vocal. She kind of ran away a few times but immediately run back to the side of the cage to look at them. I think it may have to do with her confidence because she's so tiny and they're so big compared to her. The other two don't show signs of aggression unless she provokes it first by rearing up and making that noise at them.
Of course, I hope they all love each other in the end. But do you guys think it would be better if she got a little bigger first before trying to have them meet in the same environment again or do you think it would be safe to do the neutral territory trick in a hallway with a dust bath?
Xena and Gabrielle displayed some not so usual behavior tonight as well. Gabrielle was trying to nose Athena through the bars and Xena thought it would be a good time to jump on her and hump her. I guess this startled Gabrielle and they both ended up rearing up and peeing on each other. I've never seen either of them do this on one another. This is the first time I've seen Gabrielle do this at all. It happened again when one was chewing on a block and the other wanted it. I'm pretty sure there was a brief peeing on one another. Other than that, they haven't shown any other signs of trying to reestablish dominance or aggression. In fact, they're cuddling with each other right now and taking a nap. Is this a behavior that is common or should I be keeping a closer eye out now?
I'm also afraid that this third chinchilla could potentially disrupt this perfect little hierarchy that Xena and Gabrielle have established between one another.
