Introducing chinchillas that don't get on

[LordOfMarzipan]

Hello All, I'm having some problems with a new chinchilla and I'm looking for some advice.

It's a bit of a long story. I adopted 2 chinchillas about 18 months ago from an owner who found she didn't have the time to look after them any more. Chilli, a neutered male about 2 years old and a potato a female about 4 years old. Things went well for about a year when one day I woke up to find Chilli unconcious on the floor of their cage, I rushed him to the vet but he'd died before I got this there, vet thought it was a heart attack.

Obviously I was very upset, but potato was devastated. She wouldn't come out of her cage to play in the evening and when she did come out she'd just follow me round the room rather than do her usual scampering about. This went on for a month or so before I decided that she must be lonely and needed a new friend. As chilli and Potato were rescues I decided to get another rescue chinchilla to be her friend, so I contacted all my local animal shelters and one of them had a 7 year old female, Anni, looking for a new home who seemed ideal.

When I went to pick up Anni it was clear she was very stressed in her temporary cage at the shelter. She was hiding in the corner of her cage and wasn't eating or drinking. The shelter had her checked out by a vet who gave the all clear so I took her home. At home I'd set up 2 cages next to each other (actually one very large cage with a dividing wire screen down the middle) one for potato and one for Anni.

After I'd had Anni for couple of days it was clear she still wasn't eating or drinking so I took her to the vet, who gave me some critical care to hand feed her and some medicine to increase her appetite. After a week of hand feeding Anni two times a day she started eating but still wouldn't drink from her bottle. She was clearly thirsty though because when I offered her a small bowl of water during playtime she went nuts for it. In the end I bought her a bowl that can be attached to the inside of her cage and set it up in such a way that she can't spill it over herself or go to the toilet in it. Not ideal, but it got her drinking. All in all, it took the best part of two weeks to get her eating and drinking.

So, that's all the background, the problem I have is that when I try to introduce potato and Anni they don't get on at all. For the last few weeks I've been swapping their toys and food bowls, and they've been sharing sandbaths to try to get them used to each others smell. They're in cages right next to each other so they can see and smell each other a lot during the day. The first time I tried to introduce them Potato chased Anni around the room, Anni ran terrified back to her cage and hid. I've tried a couple of times since then but the patterns's the same, potato flips out and Anni ends up terrified. I came home from work the other day and found spots of blood in Anni's cage, it looks like she and Potato had some kind of fight through the bars and she got a bite on her front paw. I've changed their cages round so they can't get at each other any more now.

So that's my problem. I just can't see how to get them to get along. They're both very sweet natured by themselves. I know this story makes potato sound horrible but she's sitting happily on my knee being stroked as I write this, when Anni's not involved she's very chilled. I really like Anni, but if she and Potato can't be in the same room without bloodshed I don't see how this could work out. I don't want to give her back to the shelter, particularly as she had so much trouble adapting the first time round, but if I can't figure out a way of getting her and Potato to bond i don't see any other option.

Apologies for the very long post! Any ideas will be gratefully received!

 

[Amethyst]

Unfortunately not all chins get along with all chins, just like all humans don't get along with all humans. So although Potato got along fine with the male, she may not click with the new female, it doesn't mean she wont get along with another chin, just not this one.

Another thing is once blood is drawn that is a very bad sign, it shows intent to kill, and chins can and often do fight to the death. You might want to consider just having them caged separate forever, otherwise there is a good chance of ending up with one or both chins hurt or killed. Even with bonded chins there is always the chance of a falling out (sometimes even years down the line), and the need to house them separately. So it's best to always have the ability to house as many chins as you have separately, either by having additional cage(s) or splitting the cage(s).

On a side note, a water bowl is a very bad idea, chins should not get wet (they can get moldy), but also they don't lap water well which can cause them to inhale water up their nose and end up with water in their lungs leading to pneumonia or drowning. I understand that it's working so far, but to me that sounds like an accident waiting to happen. I would try working with different water bottles and types of bottles to find one that works for her, also make sure that it's working and water is coming out of the bottle.