New two chins meet my old...

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moose

moose

Moose
Joined
Nov 13, 2010
Messages
42
Location
Kentucky
So today I bought two chins, a male and female. They lived in the same cage together, so they're fine.
But I've had my old chin for awhile now.
I've already introduced them all and keep an eye on them constantly.
I can't really tell if they are getting along or not.
However, my old male keep trying to hump the female and when my male encounters the new male, they sniff each other and sometimes don't do anything and other times make noises bounce off each other and run away.
It doesn't appear that they are hurting each other at all...but I'm so nervous....
I know chins are territorial...so that also scares me that my old chin is trying to boss the other chin around...is that normal? Are there like...alpha chins in herds? Or what?
I realize I probably didn't go about the right way of introducing them since I let my chin out and let my new chins out and just run around.
Then I put them in my critter nation (has two levels where I can separate them).
But after a couple hours of having them separated, I let the level open and let them run around.
I realize and have read ways of introducing chins and I know I didn't do it those ways....but at any rate, they don't seem to be killing each other...and they aren't exactly fighting and hurting each other either...
It just scares me because when my old chin gets around my new chin he seems to get a little testy...(he also has never been with other chins before...)
Can someone give me some tips on what is bad behavior and what is good....
Ie: Is it good that they sometimes just sniff each other and go away?
 
Let's see... Two intact males + one intact female + one cage = dead chinchilla more likely than not... Do you really expect the males to be buddy-buddy when she goes into heat and they both want to impregnate her?

Also, what about quarantine? And babies?
 
You don't have to seem so rude about it. I came here for advice, not to be scolded like a child.
So thanks...I REALIZE they are both male and there is one female and that they both would fight over here..
But I wanted TIPS for them to get along.
Please don't respond if you're going to be rude about this...
 
You can't MAKE them get along. If they don't want to live with each other they will make it known (by injuring/killing each other).

"So thanks...I REALIZE they are both male and there is one female and that they both would fight over here.."

Why would you keep them together if you know they will fight?

Not being rude, just answering your question.
 
i would separate the female from the males right away and keep her on pregnancy watch for 111 days or so.

mixing genders unless you are a well knowledged breeder with high quality and pedigreed animals is just asking for trouble. go take a look at the breeding horror stories here on the forum. hopefully that will convince you that keeping the genders separate is the only thing to do.
 
There really is no way for several males and a female to get along. The males are going to fight over the female, simple as that. And chins can kill each other - maybe it hasn't happened to you yet, but it's happened to some of the rest of us... and chins may kill each other even when its not two males to one female. Experienced breeders would never do something like put two males with one female - because the results are never pleasant. To prevent future mishaps, I would personally put the males together in one half of your CN and the female in the other half. And watch for babies...
 
Seperate the male and female immediately. If you are new with chins, a pregnant female is asking for alot of problems.

If you want to try and bond the males, take the female out of the room. Have her cage ina seperate room so that they cant smell her.
Put the 2 males in cages side by side, but not close enough for them to touch eachother.
They will get familiar to the other males scent.


**Before you do anything has the new chins been through a 30 day quarantine?**
 
Last edited:
moose said:
You don't have to seem so rude about it. I came here for advice, not to be scolded like a child.
So thanks...I REALIZE they are both male and there is one female and that they both would fight over here..
But I wanted TIPS for them to get along.
Please don't respond if you're going to be rude about this...
Click to expand...

If you did one ounce of research you would have known this was a no win situation, there are no tips other than be prepared for a dead chin. Rude, yes, truth yes.
 
You should most likely have them each in their own cage for a while. The male and female will mate, and you will have kits on your hand. If you bought them from a petstore, thats not good. The males are going to fight over the female, so I would say put them each in their own cage and treat them as individuals, as having all three of them in one cage isnt safe.

Hope this helps! :)

Also, you should have quarantined the new chins, as they can make your old chinchilla sick...Good luck.
 
I'm sorry but that is so reckless to do. Those males will fight and both may end up dead. Separate them all, there are enough byb's out there and you don't need to be one either. Please do the right thing for those chins.
 
i think i agree with the suggestion of separating the males and moving the female to a separate room. i would make sure the cage she is in is baby proofed. she may have already mated with he cage mate previous to you purchasing them. i would get a scale and get accurate weights.

not sure where you purchased them but i would also double check their sex. you may not even have a male/female situation. they could both be the same sex.
there are several threads on how to sex a chin if you do a search.

the typcial quarantine period is 30 days but it doesnt sound like you did that and since they already have interacted i would keep an eye on all of them for health issues.

once their sex is determined, i would keep the males with the males and the females with the females. they may never all get along so i would make sure you have at least 3 cages in case that situation arises.

hopefully you will have some time to go thru the forum and get some general advice and ask questions.
 
I don't know why you would do something like this. As a previous poster said, it is quite reckless. Best advice: Seperate the males from the female. It is too dangerous.
 
For the sake of repeating advice, separate the female from the males. It sounds like the males will be fine but the female needs to be in a completely separate cage from the males. If you don't separate them, the males will kill each other. This is not a possible scenario that people think MIGHT happen if you put two males with a female. People have gone against our advice time and time again and end up with a dead chinchilla, crying and asking us why the other chins were so mean to it. Regardless of your lack of knowledge and this need to have a female have babies...they need to be separated.
 
I agree with everyone else about how this pairing is a very bad idea.

That's just a crazy question to even ask because it seems like something that everyone knows if they do three seconds of research. I know that I tell people it's a bad idea and they never call me rude, they thank me because it saved them a lot of trouble.
It makes me think that perhaps it was posted just to get everyone angry? I know that I hate being called rude for answering questions...
 
Thanks for the TRUTHFUL yet delicate responses. I appreciate it. I really wasn't for sure. I mean They have been GREAT so far together...
I've been around dogs my whole life and I figure it would be the same if you had them separated if the female was in heat...I didn't realize they would fight regardless over her. So...for the responses that so greatly put it that I should separate the female from the males. Thank you. I had no intention of breeding them, so I guess it would be right to separate them.
My only thought when I got them was to get them out of the horrible place they were in because it was nasty and they were even being fed rabbit and guinea pig food.
I got them spur of the moment and kind of not thinking because I didn't want to see them suffer.
With that said...thanks for all the responses, even if they seemed rude, I understand where you're coming from.
I'll separate the female immediately.
Moose
 
You can't tell when chinchillas are in heat. They don't bleed like a dog or do anything, really, different than normal. And if you haven't noticed by now, very few of us cover things in daisies and roses when it comes to the health and safety of chins. Make sure the female has a baby-safe cage, and start a baby watch because she could very well be already pregnant. Also, make sure you have another cage on hand just in case the males decide to fight, regardless of having separated the female, or in case a chinchilla is sick since you didn't quarantine, either.

And FYI, not all rabbit foods are horrible for chinchillas. Many of us feed quality rabbit feeds to our chins.
 
I didn't come here to argue. I am new to owning more than one chinchilla and don't think that you have to say things in a way that makes it sound like I'm a terrible, irresponsible, owner.
I care about animals a lot, and no one knows me of course because this is the internet.
I can understand the need for people to express how dangerous this is and HONESTLY I didn't know they would freak out...hence I posted this thread.
Therefore, I'm not really sure why someone would post something in a way that sounds like I am just not a good owner.
I would much rather someone post things on here asking for help than just guessing...
And with that said I wouldn't write posts in a way that sound mean because all I needed was advice and tips on owning more than one chinchilla.
As far as the food goes, everyone has their preferences. I prefer chinchilla pellets. And the cage they were in was terrible...anyway...if you saw the cage and what they were being fed...you'd agree it was disgusting...
But regardless, I said thank you. So thank you.
 
Please understand where some of these people 'come from'. Others have asked the same question and still refuse to listen and they end up with dead chins. NOTHING people here hate worse is dead chins because people refused to listen. Glad you care enough about your new chins to separate them. As for chin pellets, just make sure they are healthy ones - most of what pet stores sell is JUNK. Stick with Oxobw, Mazuri or Tradition
 
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