Adding juvenile to mature pair of females...

[Gemma]

I have a pair of 3 year old female chins who are very close to another. They used to be very wild but I've tamed them to accept me to where one is extremely bonded to me but the other is only bonded to the other female....

The one bonded to me acts out if I take the other out without her.


Now I'm very conflicted because I was at the pet store and they have a female who is so natted, underfed and when I picked her up... Her eyes screamed 'save me'. If I had her caged near my current pair and alone would there be jealousy problems?

I understand my dominant female may never accept her..I'm okay with that but will having this single female in the same area stir up my other two? Would her being alone be stressful on her?

Please help

 

[Shenanigans]

first- make sure you take her cage out and quarantine her in a separate room for 30 days. If she has a disease you don't want her spreading it to your two (already being in the same room may have passes something). I don't know how being caged nearby would effect your pair. But your third girl will be fine alone- just make sure you spend time with her and maybe get her a cuddle buddy pillow. Plenty of chins live alone just fine.

 

[Snickers]

I have to agree with Shenanigans, quarantine 1st. I would also wash my hands after playing, touching, etc with the new one before you touch your other 2. They can be kept in the same room.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

Definitely quarantine. Since she doesn't look in good condition, the chances of even a mild illness are higher. As long as she is in a separate cage (after quarantine) all should be fine.

 

[becky12883]

I agree with the above about quarantine and want to add my experience with adding a second cage. I started with a father and son that were bonded and shared a cage for years. I rescued a third male, after quarantine we moved his cage across from the other boys. Within about a month the father and son no longer got along, adding Dale to the mix was the only trigger we could think of. We were lucky that Dale and the son get along and are now caged together, but the father is now caged separately. He is very aggressive toward the other two, and gets very agitated just watching them when they're out for play time. We have to cover the bottom of their cage (they have the bottom two thirds of a triple stack FN and he's on top) while he's out for play and he spends most of his time trying to find a way to get through the fleece barrier.

 

[Dreamlite]

I agree. Quarantine 1st thing. Ive never had adding a new chin into the same room cause a problem unless you place the cages close together. Obviously you know your chins best.