introducing

[WillClark]

Hi there, I've got two chinchilla's one black velvet, shes called sookie and a homo ebony, shes called lilly, when i got my chinchilla's i got the black velvet one with a male called bam bam but the owner who sold him them to me failed to spot any signs with his health and only 3 days after having him he died

now i got lilly to keep sookie company because she seemed a bit depressed and lonly, ive been paitent i've quarantined lilly shes fine, and i brought them out to play they hit it of fantastic and so on so i introduced lilly into sookie's cage i have a big 6ft cage i made myself and split it into 2, they seemed to like each other lilly was resting on sookies back for a few mins, then i repeated this after a few days and now lillys started to go for sookie im confused wether they can be paired together now after them both hitting it off at first, have anyone of you got any suggestions for me?:hmm:

 

[Ash]

Even though they got along fine at first, they still need to establish dominance. A bit of chasing and fur slipping is normal, along with humping one another. As long as it settles down and doesn't escalate they should be fine, but I'd keep with more playtimes for right now and not let them in the cage until you can be around to watch them all day and make sure everything is OK.

 

[tunes]

Try trimming their whiskers back. It may help to avoid all the other junk. Take them back to an inch or so in length. It helps with dominance issues.

I would also keep a close eye on them. In time they may get along fine, but you don't want to leave them unattended if they are scuffling at this stage.

 

[WillClark]

thank you, vets in the uk dont hardly know anything about chinchilla's, they said not to do you think it would help if i did trim both of there whiskers back?

 

[Claire D]

:wave: Hello from a fellow UK bod

Whereabouts are you based?

 

[tunes]

do you think it would help if i did trim both of there whiskers back?

Yes, I would definitely trim both back. That may or may not work, but lots of people have had success with it, myself included.

 

[JennyBug]

If one of the girls was with a male, might she be pregnant, or is she too young? I think I remember that pregnant chins can sometimes get a little bit of an attitude, so I would keep an eye on that as well.

 

[WillClark]

she was pregnant wen i got her a week later she gave birth to a little kit but it died a day later.

The pet shop i got her from didnt have the best conditions for her and she picked up a infection she's all better now i took her the vets and got her all the treatment she needed. I dont know why the kit died but the vet thinks because her teats wernt showing that could of caused it .

Im From Liverpool Claire.

 

[JennyBug]

I'm sorry to hear that. I sometimes wish pet stores would quit selling chinchillas - so many of them don't seem to understand the little guys.

I would recommend following Peggy's advice. She's the master of intros!

 

[saphire]

welcome I am sorry for the loss of your kit

 

[WillClark]

Thanks everyone for your advice, just one more problem i come across today which was rather weird.

I brought them out to play in a netrual area and they still seemed to chase each other for a bit then ignored each other then sookie stood on her back legs and started making some funny noises and sprayed urine on lilly :| what does this mean?

 

[Brittney]

She probably felt threatened and was trying to defend herself.

 

[Laurie]

Females will spray when they are threatened, she was also most likely asserting dominance with Lilly. Definitely only allow playtime that is watched by you so you can keep an eye on them and separate them if serious fighting occurs.