Male starting to mount spayed female!

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Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
9
Location
Texas


Hello all! I have a male and a female chinchilla (spayed). I got them both as rescues last December. The male is approximately 2 years old and the female should be 2 in October this year.

Last night, I had them both out in their playpen and I started seeing the male chase the female around the pen, mounting her and humping her. I realize that he is letting out some frustrations, but I was wondering if I should do anything about it? I was worried about the girl since she was trying to get away, and I even ended up pulling him off of her while they were in the cage together.

Should I just let them be? Or should they be separated when he starts to exhibit this behavior? Is it harmful to her in anyway? I hope I'm not overthinking this!

 
A couple questions, first are you sure the female is in fact spayed? I have seen people selling chins saying the male is neutered or the female is spayed, when in fact they are not. They just never were in the right conditions to mate, chins can be together for years without mating, so the person just assumes they must be spayed/neutered.

If you know for sure she has been spayed, how long ago was she spayed? She could still have hormones causing the male to think she an intact female. Also, some males just simply get horny, if he doesn't chew fleece a cuddle buddy (fleece chin shaped stuffie or pillow) can sometimes help with that.

Humping is normal behavior between two chins, it has to do with establishing dominance. How long have these two been together? If it hasn't been that long they could just be sorting out who is in charge. However if the chasing is going on for more then a few minutes, the female is barking, and/or fur is actually flying, and especially if there is ever any blood, you will need to separate them. I would keep an eye on them, simple dominance mounting and chasing can turn in to a fight if the female gets fed up. If they can sort it themselves without violence let them, but be prepared to step in if needed.
 
Now that you say that, I'm a bit concerned about this! The woman who gave them to me didn't seem to have any knowledge on chins, but she told me that the female was spayed. There were some holes in the information she was already giving me. If she isn't spayed and I'm not in a situation where I can handle a pregnant chin, what should I do next?

If she was in fact spayed, I have no information on when that might've been. I don't know exactly how long they've been together, but I know it's been longer than 5 months. They came as a bonded pair. When he chases her, she just runs away and doesn't seem to be stressed. If anything, she's minorly annoyed and uses the "kack-kack" sound every now and then.

Thank you very much for the information and advice!
 
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