Should I get another chin?

[zombietankgirlXXVI]

Hi everyone, this is my first posting on this site so here it goes.

Yesterday I came back from a business trip that was only a week long. I went into the room where we keep our animals (two rabbits housed together and two chins also housed together). I greeted my white chin, but after I picked her up she seemed very nervous and tried to jump out of my arms. I put her away and went to greet my ebony chin as she usually sleeps on top of their igloo at the bottom of their cage during the day. I bent down to see her and saw only her back legs sticking out behind the igloo and began bawling as I saw her lifeless body. I was completely heartbroken as my husband (who took care of them while I was away) said she seemed fine that morning when he fed them and on top of that, I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to them before I left as I was rushing to try to get to the airport.....

We had moved her body to the freezer so we can try and get her cremated later this week and cleaned the cage, cage accessories, water bottle and food bowl, as well as got rid of the opened bag of food as we're have no idea what happened. We are also going to get our white chin into the vet this week to see if there is anything wrong with her.

Anyways, to the main point of this, I'm not sure if I should get another chin or not so my white chin can have a cage mate again. See, before I got my white chin, I had a gray chin that was my black chin's cage mate who died of complications from getting a malocclusion treated. I read that you should put a stuffy in with the grieving chin to keep it company, which I did, and she almost instantly cuddled up to it. Two or three weeks later I got my white chin, whom she also cuddled up to almost instantly. Now i am at a complete loss at what to do. My white chin definitely saw her cage mate's body (I heard this helps with grieving), but after we put her back in the cage after disinfecting it, she ran and jumped around it for about 15min, something she never does,we're guessing she was looking for her friend. We tried the same thing as I did when the black chin's cage mate died and put a stuffy in there, but she hasn't wanted anything to do with it. The only thing that worries about getting her a new friend me is that her and the black chin we inseparable, they did everything together, but my black chin has been her only cage mate since I brought her home. I'm just worried because she has always been the less sociable chin, so I'm nervous that she will not get along with another chin (she's about 4 years old by the way). Also, I'm scared to get another chin as my gray chin was only 5 years old when she died, and the last was was a little over 4 years old. I just feel so bad seeing her sit there sad at the front of the cage (again something she never does) seemingly waiting for her friend to come back...

I apologize for the long post and appreciate any input on this.

 

[Dreamlite]

You say your trip was a week long. Was there a pet sitter or where the animals left on their own? i wouldn't get another chin right away until you are sure what caused the death. You also need to be prepared that they may not ever get along and another cage will be needed. Are the rabbits house close to the chins? Rabbits carry certain diseases that can kill chins.

 

[Bouncer36]

She said her husband was there taking care if them

 

[Amethyst]

Especially since you've had 2 die at such a young age I'd wait on getting another, and correct some possible causes. As Dreamlite said rabbits would be a real concern, some of the things they carry can be passed through the air so they really shouldn't even be in the same room, unless it's a very big room and they are on opposite sides. There are a few things from that pic you posted that raise some red flags too though. First is the igloo, it's plastic which if chewed on can cause a blockage in their gut. The other problem with those igloos is they retain heat, heat + chins as I'm sure you are aware is bad, they can die of heat stroke. The second thing is that wheel, it's not a chin safe wheel, chins have been known to end up with broken legs, tails, and necks from those type wheels, not to mention they are too small. The last thing I'm not sure if it's an issue or not would be the litter you are using, I'm not sure what that is, but it's not wood shavings so chances are if they ate any of it it could cause issues and possibly death. For example if it's that corn bedding, corn can have bacteria on it that is toxic to chins, or if it's paper bedding, if eaten it can swell up and cause a blockage.
Another possibility though is that the white chin was preventing the other from eating and/or drinking. I had that happen to me before, I only had one water bottle and one food bowl for two chins, since the food and water was going down I assumed all was fine until I came home to find one collapsed from dehydration. It was only then that I found out that the other was preventing him from drinking.

Another thing I'd like to add, when and if you do decide to get another, it's advised to quarantine the new chin for 30 days in another room to not only give it time to settle in but also to make sure it's not sick with something it could pass on to your current chin and is eating, drinking, peeing and pooing normally. In addition you might want to spend some time researching on this site, there is a whole wealth of information here. Even someone who has owned chins for many years can learn new things as new research is always coming out on better care for them, to help improve diet and living conditions.