Introducing 2 male chinchillas

[Ippo456]

I have 2 male chinchillas who I tried to pair early last year to no avail.
I tried the side-by-side method & the neutral zone method, both didn't work.
I really can't tell which of the 2 chinchillas is the dominant one because I've always separated them the instant I see fur flying everywhere to prevent any injuries & fights.
I have a feeling that the younger chinchilla, my white, is the dominant one.

I have not tried to introduce them for about a year. All these times, their cages are within the same room, but they are on opposite sides of the room. When 1 chinchilla is out playing in the playpen, the other can see him through his cage.

My question is, is it possible to reintroduce them? If yes, what method is recommended (I'm thinking about the cage-within-a-cage method)?

I know that chinchillas have good memories & I hope that the past intro session, even though it's a year ago, didn't traumatize either of them.

Thanks.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

I think it is worth a shot to try to introduce them again. I have had an unsuccessful pairing and a successful pairing with my girls but not sure my experience would be any help since the situations are so different. The first intro I did was trying to introduce a new chinnie to two bonded girls after quarantine. I tried playtime, car ride together in a small critter carrier with dust, cage within a cage, swapping cages and nothing worked. Needless to say I gave up. I had success introducing two weaned babies to the single girl though, she took them right in with no issues. I think it just depends on the chins' personalities and maybe the way the stars are aligned at the moment of introduction (half kidding) )....Good luck!!

 

[Ippo456]

I've always wanted to try the car ride method but I'm scared of putting the 2 together for the fear that one might hurt the other.