Lonely chinchilla ?

[bibijcp]

hello. i have my chinchilla for 3months now and i think he's quite lonely ): is there other way to make him feel happier ? or should i get another chinchilla to accompany him?

 

[tunes]

Why do you think he is lonely? What is he doing specifically?

I always like to see my animals in pairs or more, and I feel bad when they have to be alone; however, if you decide to get a companion for him you need to realize that it may not work out and then you will have another chin and another cage to care for. Even if they get along at first, and for years, you still need to have another cage handy because chins can turn on each other for absolutely no reason and you may need to separate them.

Also consider the cost of another chin. The day to day care isn't that expensive, but are you prepared for vet bills for a second animal? A vet bill for a chin isn't cheap, so you need to be sure you have the money to care for him if he gets ill.

 

[bibijcp]

yeah im working so i can afford to have another one .
he sits at a corner staring outside most of the time when he's awake , not sure if he is feeling lonely . at times he would play with his wheel , chew on his toy . but mostly he just sits there and stareeee outside .
is he lonely or just relaxing ? D:

 

[TnkTaingTal]

Possibly both

I have two pairs of chins because Talia only gets along with Tiquita and Tinker with Tainga and vise versa. Tinker does the same thing. She always sits with her mouth on the bar staring at nothing. I always took it as a begging stance like ugh mommy Im so bored let me play. She is deffinitely not lonely because she has Tainga and i pet and talk to her everytime i see her and she shouldnt be bored with all the toys she has. Talia also likes to sit and stare off into space, but she has Tiquita and i also give her more attention than she wants haha. SO.. i beleiev froom my experience, thats just the way they spend relaxation time. If you feel you do not have enough time to give your chin the attention it needs then think about getting another be do lots and lots of research please!!!

 

[bibijcp]

yeah i really think i dont have enough time to give it enough attention so am thinking of getting another one to accompany him ): but not sure if the both of them will get together well and i think my cage is a little too small for 2 chins ! ):

 

[jess32247]

That's normal behavior for a chin. It can mean he's relaxed, bored, ect. I'm sure when you go to sleep, he is much more active because the light is off. It doesn't sound lonely at all, my chin does it all the time. If you don't have time for him, you won't have time to keep up with another animal.

Just because you can buy an animal on a whim, doesn't mean you should.

 

[Jenn]

Also, as said before, you bring home a second chin, do the 30 day quarantine, and then begin the process of introductions. Come to find out they hate eachother and fight when they are together. This fighting could lead to injury or death. Of course, this is a worst case scenario, but it is also a possibility. You might have the best intentions, but it could end up in disaster. I have always had a single chin. She was separated from a group because she didn't get along with them. I would love to pair her up, so she had a buddy, but I don't want to take the risk that it could go badly.

Does your chin have a cuddle buddy? Sometimes that can be a little help for a single chin.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Just an FYI. Chins can sleep with their eyes open. Often what looks like staring or boredom is a sleeping chinchilla.

 

[ChinnyMom]

yeah i really think i dont have enough time to give it enough attention so am thinking of getting another one to accompany him ):

if you don't have enough time for one chin then i definitely would not suggest getting another. as others mentioned, if the two chins don't get along, then your time spent with cage cleaning and play time will be doubled. if there isn't enough time for that already with one chin, then there definitely won't be time for two.

 

[bibijcp]

i have 2 cages lol . one is empty . and erm whats a cuddle buddy ? maybe i can try that first !

 

[jess32247]

Cuddle buddy is exactly what it sounds like, a buddy to cuddle. Also a "stress reliever" if you understand what I mean.

yeah i really think i dont have enough time to give it enough attention so am thinking of getting another one to accompany him ): but not sure if the both of them will get together well and i think my cage is a little too small for 2 chins ! ):

I feel the need to recite this, if you don't have enough time for one chin, how will you care for two? And if your cage is too small to house two, then your idea of putting them together won't work, unless of course you buy a new cage, which is still twice as much work. So how are you going to care for them in the first place??

 

[JamaisVu]

Just an FYI. Chins can sleep with their eyes open. Often what looks like staring or boredom is a sleeping chinchilla.

Really? Ah....that explains a lot, actually.

I have a pair, and they get along just fine, but the female in particular sometimes just sits and staaaaares. No sounds or movements matter when she's doing that, and if I try to give her attention she'll respond really slowly at first.

Maybe I've just been waking her up all this time :s

 

[BethanyShondark]

This was really helpful to read through. I've had Thaddeus for a few months and he seems bored all the time. My cage is huge - big enough to fit three or four chins, I could even make it into two large cages during the quarantine period, but I'm afraid of always having to keep it separated. Also, chins ain't cheap (chew toys, vet visits) and I'm already spending so much money and time cleaning up the poop that one makes, I don't really want to get a second if I don't think it'll make him any happier.

 

[ChinnyMom]

My cage is huge - big enough to fit three or four chins, I could even make it into two large cages during the quarantine period,

quarantining needs to be done in a separate room, not just a separate section of a cage. the purpose of quarantine is to ensure that no disease is transferred between chins, and housing them in the same cage divided defeats this purpose of quarantine.

 

[BethanyShondark]

Good to know! Yet another reason not to get another chin.

 

[SunshinePixie]

Also, as said before, you bring home a second chin, do the 30 day quarantine, and then begin the process of introductions. Come to find out they hate eachother and fight when they are together. This fighting could lead to injury or death. Of course, this is a worst case scenario, but it is also a possibility. You might have the best intentions, but it could end up in disaster. I have always had a single chin. She was separated from a group because she didn't get along with them. I would love to pair her up, so she had a buddy, but I don't want to take the risk that it could go badly.

Does your chin have a cuddle buddy? Sometimes that can be a little help for a single chin.

I second this, I am now looking to re-home a chin for this very reason. I thought my chin was lonely because his partner died. Well, the chin I adopted and him do not get along. The adopted one has a bad attitude towards him. I love both of them, but I can't afford to cage them both, and didn't know until their first fight prompting some research this was even a thing.

 

[mydoublechins]

Reading this thread I am now concerned about the comment about chins turning on each other for no apparent reason at any point in their lives.........does cage size or time out at play time have anything to do with this? I have baby chins but one is dominant and one is very timid and I am worried the dominant one may eventually turn on the timid one?