Need help with introducing 2 chinchillas

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Sassynabychins

New member
Joined
Dec 28, 2017
Messages
2
Hi all.
I need help with my chinchillas but it is quite complicated. I adopted a 3 year old female chinchilla Misha. She's very friendly. Then later I rescued a 5 year old chinchilla, Chika, from a pet store that had lived on her own in a tiny cage. She barked and peed and she doesn't like being picked up. I've had her for 2 weeks now and she's doing very well with me but she still doesn't like to be held. I've tried to introduce her to misha. Their cages sit next to each other and I let them into a room they've both never been into and let them run around. Chika and misha sniff each other and seem okay until chika starts spraying and jumping towards misha. Misha seems to just want to be friends. No injuries have happened but there is a lot of fur slips.
Can anyone help? Will chika ever be able to be friends with misha? Must I just keep trying? I am so nervous!
Thanks in advance
 
Since no injuries have happened you can still try if you want, but first you need to give them time. You really should allow new chins about a month to get use to a new home. Normally you should isolate the new chin from your current one during the first 30 days, that allows the new chin to settle in without added stress of another chin, for any illnesses to show before exposing you other chin (too late now), and for you to get to know the new chin.

I would separate them for now, in a different room even if they seem stressed by being near each other. Give it a few weeks for everyone to settle down, then try again. Bonding two chins can take days to months, or even years (if you are willing to stick with it that long), and you can't rush the process. If you try to go too fast you will end up going backwards in the bonding process. Start with short play times together, just a few minutes or so and then longer as they get use to each other. That way every play time ends on a good note, and leaves them wanting more.

Also keep in mind though that not all chins like all other chins, and not all chins even want a friend. Just like not all humans like all other humans, and even though humans and chins are social animals, not everyone likes having others around.
 
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