On Our Way.

[weadoptkids]

So, Mama and baby have been seperated in one cage. FN 142 that we have now divided. We have bought a kitty carries to put both boys in ao they can't get to "SURPRISE". We have cleand the cage out totally, rearranged things and plan of introducing them tomorrow. WOW!!!! this has been a ton of work.

How long shouel we leave them in the kitty carrier before we let them out. Also do we let them out one at a time or just go for it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,
Roberta

 

[lauralynne]

Have you modified the 142 to make it kit safe?

 

[weadoptkids]

Yes, modified and looking good. We actually got behind so we finished it all up tonight. The males are tucked in nice and neat in a very clean kitty carrier. it is sitting inside the newly redecorated FN142 and we are in hope of a release tomorrow morning with a positive outcome. If not, I will cry and put the baby back in the lower half of his and mamas cage.

Can anyone share their words of wisdom here?

Roberta

 

[mishalaa]

You're not really giving us enough information on the situation and we can't read your mind.

How old is the kit? Is the kit male or female? Are you trying to introduce the males to mom and kit, or the kit to the males?

 

[StevieP]

I think she has a FN142 split in half and is trying to introduce a 7 week old male to 2 unknown aged adult males, 1 being the kit's father. Mom is in 1 half of the cage and the males are in the other half. She is doing the carrier-in-a-cage method. Is that right Roberta?

 

[mishalaa]

Sorry, this is one of the few sections of this forum I check regularly, I didn't know you had posted about it elsewhere. I just read up on your past posts.

I'm not the best on giving introduction advice, I use runs because I consider them fairly easy for introductions. Most pet owners wouldn't have runs, but I guess a smaller cage in the big cage is a similar notion. However, I generally wait for at least a week of through-the-wire contact before opening up the run so they can be together. Then I watch for a few hours to see if there is any severe fighting.

Dominance fighting, especially among males, is normal. Fur may fly, but as long as there's no blood drawn, usually it will end okay.

However, I think I remember reading that if you're trying to introduce one to an already bonded pair, it is sometimes better to introduce the one to each one of the pair separately. Don't know how effective that is though.

 

[RDZCRanch]

the cage within a cage method is supposed to be done slowly, like any introduction. What you want to do is switch which chinchilla(s) are in the carrier each day for a few days before letting them out together. So today you have the two adult males in the carrier and the baby out in the FN. Tomorrow you would put the baby in the carrier and let the adult males out to run around the cage.

Introductions need to be done slowly. Like Mish said, the chins in runs get a week of seeing each other through the bars before being introduced. If you introduce them before that, the chances of a dead or injured chinchilla is much much higher.

 

[tunes]

The ideal way to do it is one show cage for each of the two males. If I want to put three together, I use one show cage apiece for two of them, let one run around, then rotate the the two out and put one in a cage. After 3 or 4 days of that, I would probably try letting the little one out with one of the other males, while keeping the second male in a show cage. Then switch again so the little one is out all the time with one or the other of the larger males. I would also be sure to whack the whiskers way back on the two older males to try and keep the dominance to a minimum.

In a situation like you are describing, I would expect it to take at least a few weeks before I would be comfortable letting them go together. It's been my experience that trying to add a same sex "third wheel" to an already bonded pair doesn't work well. Adding a male to 2 females is one thing, but it would be pretty tough adding a female to two bonded females or a male to 2 bonded males. Be VERY wary of doing this and be VERY sure to be attentive to every little thing. That little boy will have zero chance if the other two turn on him.

Honestly, if it was me, (and I read this situation right) I would get the little guy castrated and leave him with mom. It could save you a ton of heartache down the road.

Also, a cat carrier isn't going to achieve the same result as a show cage. The entire purpose to the show cage is so that they can see, sniff, and interact with each other. A cat carrier is going to have a whole lot of plastic between them. I also wouldn't introduce them with the two in one cage. If they decide to turn on each other, and they very well might do that, then that is an incredibly small space with no way for one to get away from the other. I would invest in a couple show cages and use those instead.

 

[weadoptkids]

Thanks again to each of you for your advice and also to those of you who did know that I have posted and have been doing this slowly and taking all things into consideration.

I want to say that yes, I have come here as really a first time chin owner. I suppose that is how many of us got here...first timers at one time.

I have never taken my role as a pet owner lightly and my husband and I read up on just about everything we do. However we were thurst into chin parents in a way that one would have never expected. ALL of our children are children with special needs. The level varies from total care to "near normal" functioning. It was one of our higher kids...18 at the time... that saved his money and proudly gave me a "male" chinchilla because he had heard me say over and over that I wanted one....never really planning on getting one.

We did in fact go out and add two more boys to the group and we were really excited about being chin parents and we have all fallen in love with our chins.

The rest of the story you have read over and over. The first "boy" was a girl. No, we never checked it out. In hind sight we should have done more but we did not.

Now I am here trying my level best to learn and do all that I can do to keep all four of the chins happy, healthy, loved and flourishing.

I think that is why people do come here to seek and to learn. Yes, there will be people that do not get it, people that just do not really care, on and on the list goes....that is life.

Most of us want to learn and do our best with the chins.

So, that being said again, thank you to each one of you that has tried to help me over that past week or so. I have listen and I have moved as fast as a human can with the day to day load that I already carry.

"Surprise" has been moved into the bottom half of the FN142. It is set up well for him and all things harmful have been removed. PopTart is above him but as stated, he can't get to mama nor her to him.

We are looking into have him fixed and what it will cost and what it will involve before we make that choice. Our hope would be that then he and mama can just have the entire FN142 and be happy and no babies....can that happen after a few weeks of living apart?

Mink and Slippers are happy out of the carrier and in their home without the little guy.

Our goal again, four happy healthy chins and NO MORE BABIES. :thumbsup: