So I have two chinchillas that have lived together for over a year now and get along fine for the most part. Pirate is older than Westley (7 yr old vs. 1.5 yr old), but is significantly smaller and not a very dominant chinchilla (although I guess I'd say he is the dominant one in this dynamic). Pirate is generally very docile, and when we pick him up, he is super mellow and sweet.
However, they have this really weird dynamic that we observe only when my husband or I pick up Westley. When Pirate sees Westley get picked up and then put down, he gets super crazy and starts chasing Westley, bites him and pulls fur. Nothing ever really bad, but this is when Pirate is most aggressive. Any ideas why? It doesn't matter if we pick up Westley for a minute and snuggle him or just scoop him up to put him back in the cage.
However, they have this really weird dynamic that we observe only when my husband or I pick up Westley. When Pirate sees Westley get picked up and then put down, he gets super crazy and starts chasing Westley, bites him and pulls fur. Nothing ever really bad, but this is when Pirate is most aggressive. Any ideas why? It doesn't matter if we pick up Westley for a minute and snuggle him or just scoop him up to put him back in the cage.
