New Chinchilla Bonding

[paigebear97]

Hi I have a male two-three year old Chinchilla named Stewart (From the pet store sadly) and as of the sixth I went to a local breeder and got a baby chinchilla (My boyfriend named him Diesel), he is six weeks old and one day! There are in separate cages for now.

First Night - I put them in a neutral territory (The Bathroom), and the baby hid in the corner and Stew didn't really pay much attention to him for the most part. But then towards the end Stew went up and sniffed him and mounted him, which I read is normal because of dominance, but I stopped it because the baby is so small I don't want him to get hurt. Afterwards I put them in each others cages for a half hour then swapped them back.

Second Night - During out time the baby ventured out, they both did their own thing and ignored each other for quite awhile. I put out dust bathe in the middle of the floor and they took their turns. Towards the end I heard them bicker a little bit towards each other, that's when I ended play time and put them in each others cage for a half hour again then put them back in their own spots.

I'm thinking that this is progress seeing as I have had no fights yet. Am I doing things correctly? Do you have any tips? What do you guys think?

 

[Godofgods]

do a forum search on introductions - lot of info.

Chins should generally be quarantined for 30 days from each other with bringing them home from different places. Chins can hide illnesses well and if one does have something then you don't want the other getting it.

 

[Godofgods]

You generally also want to give time for the chins to adjust once bringing them home. Before intros. They have new cages, new homes, new ppl, new sounds, new smells to get used to. Adding another new chin might just stress them out even more. Letting them adjust will help reduce it.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Quarantine should have been done for 30 days before these chins met each other. They should have been kept in separate rooms for the full 30 days. Even if neither one is ill, they can still make each other sick because they each have different bacteria in their systems that the other has never been exposed to before. Also, quarantine give you time to get to know what is normal for the chinchilla as far as eating, drinking, peeing, pooping and personality goes.

I would still do quarantine so that your new little one can get used to his new environment without the added stress of a new cage mate. Additionally, a 6 week old chinchilla is not old enough for out of cage playtime. they tend to overdo it have been known to develop seizures from low blood sugar. He needs to be 6 months old before he can have playtime.

 

[LYChinchillas]

I have a few bonding tips here: http://lychinchillas.com/2014/12/31/how-to-bond-with-your-chinchilla/ - hope it's helpful! Agree with Cuddlebug on the playtime for the young one ^ should wait until he's older to introduce him to extra exercise outside the cage.

 

[Minccino]

Everyone here has provided you with really helpful tips. I just want to wish you good luck with the bonding process from here out. Please update us with your progress after the quarantine. I'd like to know what happens with them!