First time introducing chins.. help!

[luxy]

Hi!

So I've had my first chin, Harlow, for about 7 months now. She's just over a year old and is very very friendly and comfortable with me. She never bites, she always wants to be held and scratched. I thought she would like to have another chin to keep her company while I'm not here, especially while she is still young, as I know they are more accepting at a younger age.

So last weekend I picked up another female who needed to be rehomed, and she is nearly 9 months old.
She's very timid and isn't a biter, I made sure before I adopted her.

I know it's only been a week, but they really don't seem to like each other.
Harlow seems very aggressive towards Sienna (my newest addition). They have separate cages that I keep side by side most of the time, and I only introduce them in the bathroom under my supervision.

They sniff each other and both seem very startled and then harlow chases after her. Usually they separate but occasionally these encounters turn into spraying wars and they both squeek and seem stressed out, which I do not want to do!

I usually separate them after 15 minutes or so. I do this once or twice a day.

I reward them with a piece of raisin if they sniff each other and are nice, and I use a kind, soft tone of voice when they sniff each other as well which seems to help a little.

I'd really like some suggestions that I havent heard yet. Ive even used vanilla extract under the aggressive one's nose to through her scent off.
Is this common?
Do they normally take very long to get used to each other?
Im concerned, my apartment isnt very big to have 2 large cages and I really want them to be companions!


Thanks!


- Luxy

 

[Carleigh]

Hi, I've had to do this three times, so I know how frustrating it is. I'll go ahead and throw out there that people are going to tell you more times than is necessary that the second chinchilla shouldn't have been put with your first one because she should have been quarantined for a month for sicknesses first. But I understand your urgency with lack of space. I did the same thing for the same reason. I would definitely let your second chin relax some though and let her get used to her new environment, even if it means some rearranging on your part. Have the cages situated so the girls can see each other and get close but not too close that they can bite. After a while, I was told that they will start sleeping on the sides of the cages closest to each other (which never happened for me, as my chinchillas slept in specific places even after they did get along.) Anyways, after a few days/weeks/whatever feels necessary then start taking them out like you are doing, for 15 minutes or so and let them take their dust baths (not every day though!!) and sniff one another and get their dominance issues down. Then, it may not be soon, you'll need to scrub down the cage you want them both in and rearrange so your first chin doesn't feel dominant (so they're both in a "new environment," everything's free game lol.) DEFINITELY keep a close eye on them at all times when they're together, though, because if they fight and blood is drawn, they seriously will never, ever, get along. I had two boys together for almost a year when the super cuddly one bit my older one. They've had to be separated and I can't even take them out at the same time to take dust baths or to run around now.

 

[LoveBug]

yes they should have been quarantined for 30 days.
and also i'll point this out that raisins are not an appropriate treat for chinchillas.
they will take awhile to get use to. and sometimes you'll get chins that won't get use to each other meaning you'd have to keep them housed seperate
but i can't really give you anymore information on this topic due to i don't really know much about it.

 

[Carleigh]

She never said anything about raisins lol..
I do want to add that you'll definitely want to keep the second cage, even if it does need to be collapsed and put under the bed or something lol. I sold my first cage because I felt I had no use for it, then needed it shortly after. It sucked

 

[ChinnyMom]

yes, raisins were mentioned:

"I reward them with a piece of raisin if they sniff each other and are nice, and I use a kind, soft tone of voice when they sniff each other as well which seems to help a little."

 

[Anfsurfer]

You said you take them to the bathroom. Is the bathroom Harlow's normal play area? If so, then she could just be protecting her territory. One thing we know Harlow is the dominant one thus far. It could just be because she's in her familiar place, and down the line your newbie might fight for dominance once she becomes comfortable in her new environment. That's why they say introductions go on for a period of time.
I just went through two introductions and I had to change my plans on each of them, reacting to the situations and changing my introduction plans to work for the chins that were being introduced.

Do you have a carrier? I would place your new girl in the carrier, place the carrier in an unusual room to the chins, then place Harlow in with the newbie. Needless to say you're going to have to get ready to remove one. This places harlow (the dominant one) in an awkward situation. She won't know if she's in the newbie's territory and may be a little cautious at first. The chins will engage each other, which is the purpose of this. You will have to watch for any threatening aggression, but they may just figure out a pecking order from this situation. My two boys went at it for about 20 minutes...going in circles trying to mount each other. Then it started to slow down and they ended up falling asleep on one another. lol

If the "smooshing" is successful, I would completely clean and rearrange the big cage and then temporarily move it to the center of a busy room in your house. Once again...this puts even Harlow in an awkward situation. She won't recognize her cage, and the surroundings will be new. Plus there's a certain level of being "uncomfortable" instilled into caged animals being exposed on all 4 sides. I would then place the newbie in the cage, THEN place Harlow (Still in the carrier) inside the cage. You may see some aggression of Harlow trying to go after the new girl from within the carrier. You will want to leave her in their for a few hours and hopefully you will see them becoming more comfortable with each other.

Hope this works for you or you get some ideas from this. It worked for me!

 

[Claire D]

Ok I'm going to suggest you stop trying to introduce these chins. You need to go right back & start at the very beginning.
Quarantine is not just about preventing sickness from spreading between animals. It is also about getting to know the new animal, letting the animal settle into the new home, & establishing some kind of bond between the animal & it's new owner.

Your new chin needs time to settle into her new surroundings - she has had a big change & needs time to get over that. You need to get to know her personality, how much she eats/drinks, what her habits are, monitor her droppings, check for signs of illness, stress etc etc.
Have a read of this page: http://www.davidson-chinchillas.co.uk/pages/quarantine___chinchillas.php

Please take your time with your chins - rushing to put them together could well end up with one (or both) of them getting hurt (or even killed).

 

[luxy]

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

I had them each in cages side by side and introduced them a little less.
They started to not fight in the bathroom anymore which is great.
I had to clean their cages last night and they played so well together that I put them both in the newbie's cage while I cleaned harlow's and there weren't any issues at all surprisingly.
So I decided to scrub harlow's whole cage down including all of the toys, rearranged a couple things and put them both in there.
I sat and talked to them for about an hour and they seemed to be fine. I brought the cage into my room before bed so I could keep an eye and ear out for any fighting and they are fine.
No missing fur, no chunks of fur around the cage, theyre even sleeping together.
The whiskers are in tact and they both seem to be not too bothered at all.
sometimes they make their little squeaky grunty annoyed sound if the other one is nibbling on something the other wants but they havent fought about it.
I'm quite happy about it!

Its been almost a full 24 hours and they seem to like each other's company.
Do I still need to be concerned?
Of couse I'm going to keep a very close eye on the situation over the next couple weeks but this is good news, right? haha Im hoping this is the beginning of a very cute and snuggly relationship!

As for the raisins, theyre in a mix of Kaytee's chinchilla "fiesta" treats with rosehip and dried apricot. It was recommended to me by the pet store I purchased most of my supplies at.

 

[ChinnyMom]

pet store employees know nothing about chins 99.99% of the time, so taking suggestions from them isn't a very good idea. always come here for proper chin advice! )

many kaytee products are not good, and i personally stay away from that brand name.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Sounds like the chinchillas are doing great. Keep a close eye on things. I have had a pair that were fine for the first 48 hours and then decided they weren't going to live together. Luckily, someone was right there to put a stop to the fighting and separate them.

Please ditch the Katee treats. There is so much in those containers that is not good for chins. A lot of things in the pet stores that say they are good for chinchillas are really not. They sell that crap because people will buy it.

 

[xcdnchinx]

i would keep an eye on them. 24 hrs is a honeymoon phase, they could fight after that