introducing my chins - help!

[eva_li]

I purchased my first male chin Koa from PetSmart in mid-January, and recently got my new male chin Thumper a few days ago. Initially I didn't let Thumper out of his cage until he allowed me to hold him in my hands, and he did that today. I would still let Koa run around and play in the meanwhile. Today, I let them both out and they did the usual mounting to show dominance. They ended up being in each other's cages, Koa in Thumper's cage and Thumper in Koa's cage. Koa then went back into his own cage while Thumper was still in there and mounted him again, except this time after Koa was done, Thumper would not leave the corner of Koa's cage, and began whimpering very loudly, about once every minute or so. He wouldn't budge - he had never let me pick him up or even pet him (except on the head), but I tried getting him back to his own cage - I ended up having to scoop him up under his belly to get him out of Koa's cage. He seems fine for now, and I'm reluctant to let the two interact directly with each other, at least for a while.

In case this might help, here's a little background of the two:
When I first brought Koa home, he was shy and timid but when he got used to me, he became very excited and was constantly jumping around and scratching at the cage to come out and play. Koa nibbles at anything and everything he comes into contact with. He's much more active than Thumper.
When I brought Thumper home, he was very calm, and would stay very still for some time and then move around his cage. He's not a nibbler like Koa, only nibbles at my fingers every once in a while.

What does Thumper's whimpering mean? How long should I wait before letting them interact again? Please help!

 

[e.murphy518]

I would just put their cages right next to each other for a while and go from there. Make sure they can see each other but leave around 3 inches so that they can't bite each other. Then, after maybe a week or so when they are calm with seeing each other, i would try letting them out for play time and see how that goes. If it goes ok but they still seem a little rough with each other, I would do that every day until they seem calmer together. In my opinion the next step should be putting them in a carrier and taking them for a short drive. If they snuggle up together after a bit, I would leave them in the carrier while you clean whichever cage you want them in permanently, and then put them both in. Still keep a close eye on them though.

If blood is ever drawn they can't be put together ever

 

[becky12883]

You should verify that they are both males too. Mistakes are often made at the pet stores.

 

[nikkik0720]

I would keep them in separate rooms for at least 30 days. Any breeder/owner will tell you this. This is just in case the new chin is carrying any illnesses or anything that could be passed to the current chin. 30 days is the minimum quarantine period.

 

[Narcissus]

It is to late to quarantine now. But I'm the future quarantine is recommended. I would search introductions on here, you'll find many helpful threads.