Little Man

[Kelley]

I don't post a lot but. . . . .
a week ago Sunday I lost Little Man to malo.

Little Man was my sons chin and when Chad got stationed over in Hawaii Aug08 Little Man came to stay with us and he worked his way into my heart.

What makes this harder is Chad is currently in Afghanistan so he wasn't able to be with Little Man.

I am going to get a chin for myself and I just don't know if I should get one or two, they will be the same sex. Do they do better by themselves or having a "friend" for play time?

I have a FN so they will be separated because I just don't want to take the chance of them hurting each other.

I've noticed people have said that the females spray and I am curious to hear from those of you that have females.

This Friday I will be going to Linda's and see what chins she has picked out that would be a good fit for me.

I just want a heathly happy chin :hearts:

 

[Little Chinta]

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of Little Man. Going through that is never easy.

I haven't had more than one chinchilla at a time, so others on this board with multiple chinnies might be able to help out better with the bonding question. As long as you have enough time for a chinchilla to give him/her affection and playtime, I don't see a need for two. Unless you'd like two, then that's a different story. Just make sure they've had the proper quarantine time and introductions.

I currently have a female and she doesn't spray. Or, at least she hasn't sprayed yet, I should say. Maybe I just got lucky?

 

[nicky]

Chins do well by themselves most of the time. As long as you are going to be able to find regular playtime with him or her to keep em company usually they're all right alone. But, I try to keep mine paired up as much as possible. I think that they just look happier to me when they have a friend. But, chins can quickly turn to enemies and need to be separated for the rest of their lives at times. So, always keep in mind that you may someday end up with 2 cages and two chins that don't like each other any more (you said that you want to keep them separated accept to play, but they may except each other after a while and want to share a cage?)
I find it's alot easier to introduce 2 kits than 2 adults. So, if I were you and wanted to get two, I would consider same sex litter mates or a possible mother/daughter pair. If you go with 2 adults make sure you research intros before letting them out for playtime together.
I have females (8 of them) and only two spray on rare occassion. They only do it when they want to be left alone or are scared. They did it alot when they were first getting used to me, but it's very rare that they'll do it to me or anyone else now. Sometimes during playtime they will spray at another female that is caged, but that's because they hate each other. Both males and females will spray if they are scared or angry. From what I understand, it's one of their defense mechanism.
I'm also very sorry for your loss and wish you luck with your new chin(s).

 

[starleomach]

I am so sorry for your loss. Chinchillas do fine by themselves, but I personally like seeing two together. Some do better alone though. I have a male here who just doesn't like other chinchillas. As for male or female sex doesn't matter as long as the personality is there

 

[sheri7]

Sorry to hear about your Little Man.

I have 2 female chinchillas (mother and daughter) that I bought together. They get along great and have never sprayed me.

 

[aznmexaggie]

I'm sorry for your loss of Little Man. Malo is a horrible ailment and it just isn't fair that our chins can get these types of health problems.

Out of the 14 adult females I have here, only 1 is a sprayer. She always gives me a warning (some kacking first) when she doesn't want to be bothered but if I continue to try to give her scritches or hang toys in her cage, she'll sit up and spray! She's a moody girl...