Introducing my chins

[JennaGordon]

I've got two six month old chinchillas - a female and a male (neutered).
I've been reading up on introduction techniques for a long time but I would like to get all the information I can.

The male was neutered 6 weeks ago now so I was planning on introducing them tonight or tomorrow.
Any tips would be very much appreciated

 

[JennaGordon]

I feel like I should give some background information.
The female was born to me, I own her parents and (hopefully) plan to neuter the father to re-introduce the pair because I don't want any more kits. The male I've had since February. They've been in adjacent cages for most of that time and the cages are now as close to each other as I can get them. I've never seen any sign of aggression between the two, they're often sat next to each other through the bars. That said, I rarely see them sniff each other or even look at each other through the bars. They seem to be ignoring each other.
They're in cages similar to the one below. I have two next to each other, and they are both in the top halves of each cage (the parents are in the bottom). I planned to move them both into the male's cage if/when they can be introduced and move the parents back into the same cage. I had them swapped into each other's cages for about a week to get them more used to each other's scent, and they are now back in the original cages. They've all been using the same dust bath one after another too. I'd planned to get a new fleece bed for them to share without either's scent on it and a new wooden nest box. I'll also move the water bottle/food bowl from the female's cage to hopefully prevent any scuffs over that. I only really have one chin-safe exercise area, so they would have to be introduced there.
The female is also litter pan trained, whereas the male is not. Does anybody know if he will pick it up from her?

Sorry I know that's a lot of information, just thought it might be helpful.

http://www.johnhopewell.co.uk/default.asp?template=productdetail.page.xml&productId=328

 

[Narcissus]

Why not put the two males together and the two females together? They would hate cage mates and you wouldn't have to neuter the father.