Single vs Pair

[Devi Xiao]

I am hoping to do an exotic animal training and management program in the near future, but it has some days with long hours (7:30am-9:30pm) during the week. Other days are 6am-5:30pm. I know that I can give them about 30minutes-1hour most days of the week (not the ones when I get in late) while I'm studying. So on to my questions (because I've given too much background and probably bored you all):

For those of you with single chins, how much time do you spend with them per week to keep them happy?
Would it be better to get a pair now and separate as needed? I have a FN 182, so it would be "easy" to separate them.

Opinions?

 

[Devi Xiao]

Missed my edit time to add this: would it be better to get one first and try and introduce later?

 

[Dreamlite]

It all depends on the chin. Some are easy to pair and others will not live with others. If you are worried you can always adopt chins together so you don't have to do the intro.

 

[Pikaia]

Well, I work full time and go to school. I interact with them every night (when I clean cages and give supplies) and then in the morning before I head off to work. I definitely don't give them as much time as in the summer when I don't attend classes. I have a single male chin and then a pair of females. I think a half hour to hour a night is a good amount of time to spend interacting with a chinchilla. You can spend more time when you have it...

My suggestion would be to get an already bonded same sex pair if you feel you're very busy. That way they have a friend and you don't have to worry about introduction. It's really up to you. I always feel chins do better in pairs, especially if you're away from home a lot. Good luck!

 

[Devi Xiao]

Yes, I'm planning on getting a female pair from Mike Attard this coming June. They're a graduation gift to myself for getting my bachelors. ;p
I was just worried that even with the 3-4 hour car ride back home, they might not get along. Should I bring an extra carrier?

 

[Pikaia]

It wouldn't hurt!

 

[Devi Xiao]

Thanks for all of the replies. I wasn't sure how to go about it since I knew I'd be away from home during the day quite often (at least I don't have to worry about waking them up).

 

[ChinChiq]

My husband and I both work full time, so Luna is home alone all day during the week. I always talk to her for a few minutes in the morning and then in the evening. Her cage is in the living room, so even when we aren't directly interacting with her, she is still around us. She does not get out of cage time (because she is a total brat about letting me pick her up to go back in her cage) but she has a double CN cage with a saucer so she has plenty of space to burn off energy!

I have gone back and forth about getting her a cagemate, but decided that I am going to keep her as a single chin. I don't want to risk her (or a new chin) getting hurt from a fight if they decided not to get along. If I do end up getting another chin, I will keep them caged separately.

Just my two cents.

 

[Devi Xiao]

Yeah, I'm just worried about days when I'd be leaving her/them alone until 9pm. And then I'd only be able to interact with them for a bit before crashing.