introducing new chins

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Y

yahooie

Guest
Hi Everyone,

I am new to the forum and am in need of some help. I will make it as brief as possible.

I was given two female sisters 6 months ago and last week someone accidently left their cage open and 1 escaped. I have put up signs everywhere to no avail.

She has been stressed out this past week and we decided to find her a cage mate.

I was given a 4 month old little girl. I put their cages next to each other and after an hour of smelling each other and normal casual behavior I let them run in the hallway supervised. They were getting along for about 10 minutes and then the bigger female became very agressive so I separated them and put them back in their cages side by side with some distance. The bigger one hasn't stopped being agressive. She is chewing on the cage, reaching through with her paws and trying to get at the little one.

Will this stop? Any suggestions will be greatly, greatly appreciated.
 
Just give her more time to get used to the new arrival. They may never get along but they need to get used to the smell of each other before anything else.

That's about all I can say as I had a similar experience last night.
 
It is crucial that you quarantine the new chin in a separate room (preferably separate floor, at the very least a separate air space) for at least 30 days, as well as you washing hands and changing clothes between interactions with each. They should not be in the same room, let alone interacting with each other at this point. It is likely that they are both stressed out by the situation, and even after quarantine, introductions should generally be done gradually. Please read these threads on quarantine here and here. As you may know, we recently lost all the threads from the old forum, and I have yet to see a thread on introduction techniques here... I know there were some good websites out there on this topic but unfortunately I forgot to bookmark them.
 
At this point, since the chins have already been introduced, the quarantine is no longer needed for the sake of not getting each other sick. However, I would stop trying to introduce them and move their cages apart.

Your new chin is probably stressed out from moving to a new home and immediately putting her in with another chin only makes it worse. That and your old chin doesn't know who this chin is that you suddenly stuck with her.

You are rushing the intro process wayyy too much. Normally, after the one month quarantine, you would put their cages close for atleast a week. Then you may try supervised playtimes.

So what I would do, is move the cages apart. I think I would still move the little chin to a seperate area to let her settle down and get used to you first. You also want to monitor her for any illness since you just got her and she is new to you. Once she's been with you for a little while, you might try putting them closer together again. Don't try the playtime until you don't see any aggression from either of them when their cages are close together. If the older one is still biting the bars and trying to get at the other chin, don't let them out together! This isn't going to make it better.

Just because your chin got along with her sister does not mean that she will get along with this new chin. I've only had 2 out of my 4 get along. Chins can be very picky about who they like and if you decide to put them together just because you want them in one cage and for them to have a buddy, you could end up with dead chins.
 
Like alli said, quarantine is not going to do anything now...better hope the new girl wasn't sick.


I have yet to see a good introduction thread, so I'll put all I know into this one. I'm also sure other people have other ways to add

*Cage by cage- putting the cages next to each other (usually done after quarnt. for at least a week) lets the two chins get used to each other’s scents. The cages should be put close enough that they can smell each other and see each other but far enough that no fighting through the cage could occur.

*Cage within a cage- Put one chin (usually the more aggressive one) in a small cage and place the chin and cage inside the larger cage of the other chin. Monitor this because fighting though the cage bars is possible. Then switch the chinchillas from small cage to big cage and vice versa. Do this several times before any physical introduction.

*Cage switch-Put each chin in the other's cage. Leave them in each other’s cage for a few days and then switch back. This will allow them to get used to being in a new space with unfamiliar smells. After doing the switch a few times, pick one cage to clean from top to bottom (eliminating any one scent) and rearrange the cage set-up so that both chins are introduced to a neutral cage.

*Smoosh-take a carrying cage or other small cage (should make chins have to "smoosh" together to fit without hurting them) and place the chins into the container. Be very careful with this set-up because though the containers are "too small for them to fight" injury can occur if done improperly. Do not leave them in the container for more than 15 ish minutes due to the risk of overheating. Repeat this a few times before physical introduction.


also, if a chin is overly agressive you could try trimming their whiskers


Good luck and I think I forgot one or two methods, but I'm sure someone will come along to fill in the gaps...

Just remember to take it slow and always watch everysecond when fighting could occur. In case introductions are not sucessful, you should always have an extra cage and be prepared. Even chins that have been together for months and years sometimes have to be seperated
 
I know some people have had success with the smaller cage within the cage, but when I tried it, I had nipping through the bars on the smaller cage. So you will want to stay there and watch over them to make sure none of them loose a toe or end up with a bitten nose.

Like I said, at any point, I wouldn't advance to the next step of introing if you see any aggression. If you still see them biting on the bars when moving the cages closer, letting them out to run around together isn't going to improve the situation. It's only going to allow the aggressive one to get at the other one.

As far as smooshing, I was under the impression that it should only have to be done once. If you keep doing it, you risk overheating and stress. I don't have experiece with this, I think that is what I remember reading. I personally have never tried smooshing my chins as I've been under the impression that if they don't appear to get along, why force it? I don't trust that at some point in time they will change their mind and go back to hating the other chin. I think I also remember reading that many will bring them for a ride in the car during the 15 minutes.

You can also try putting some vanilla right above their noses to mask each other's scent. Just a small dab will do.

But remember, if they do get along, this doesn't mean that they always will. Always have an extra cage on hand incase they decide they no longer like each other. Chins have done this so it's always good to be prepared.
 
I know some people have had success with the smaller cage within the cage, but when I tried it, I had nipping through the bars on the smaller cage. So you will want to stay there and watch over them to make sure none of them loose a toe or end up with a bitten nose.

Like I said, at any point, I wouldn't advance to the next step of introing if you see any aggression. If you still see them biting on the bars when moving the cages closer, letting them out to run around together isn't going to improve the situation. It's only going to allow the aggressive one to get at the other one.

As far as smooshing, I was under the impression that it should only have to be done once. If you keep doing it, you risk overheating and stress. I don't have experiece with this, I think that is what I remember reading. I personally have never tried smooshing my chins as I've been under the impression that if they don't appear to get along, why force it? I don't trust that at some point in time they will change their mind and go back to hating the other chin. I think I also remember reading that many will bring them for a ride in the car during the 15 minutes.

You can also try putting some vanilla right above their noses to mask each other's scent. Just a small dab will do.

But remember, if they do get along, this doesn't mean that they always will. Always have an extra cage on hand incase they decide they no longer like each other. Chins have done this so it's always good to be prepared.


for the smooshing I meant more times, but on seperate occasions. I did it twice, tried it on -lets just call it monday- and it seemed to go well, put them back in their cages which were side by side and tried it once more the next day then had physical introduction. I know that some do not like it due to the risk, but it worked for me.


Car ride!!! I knew I was forgetting something...thanks alli-oh yea I have a ? for you;)
 
ah okay, yeah I don't have experience with smooshing, just knew not to keep doing it over and over :)
 
I apologize... I wasn't quite clear in my post. Alli and chincerely are right, at this point the quarantine won't do much good, but please do keep in it mind for future additions to your furry family. Definitely keep them in separated for now... you've been given some great advice as far as introductions - just take a breather and keep it slow... time will tell if they'll be able to eventually live together. Good luck!
 
Thank you all for your suggestions. I hope they can get along since I have this very big cage and only one chin in it. :)
 
Back
Top