Behavior and Male and Female Differences.

[Frost11]

I am trying to pick out a Chinchilla.. I have been reading the forum and gathered a lot of information but have some remaining questions.

I read that females spray and males can too but often don't. Is this correct?

Which would you say is more likely to be aggressive? Some people say males are more likely to be aggressive and some people have stated that females are. Is this a just a guess and truly every chinchilla is different in their own way? A little bit of both true perhaps?

I have debated the age of the chinchilla I should get, babies sure are cute but I have don't have a preference. Should I?

When choosing your chinchilla how long should you stay and play with him/her? Another words, how long does it take for their "real" personalities to come out. Lol. Will I get bitten in 5 min or 20min? :hmm:

Thanks guys!

 

[ChinnyMom]

while i have limited experience with female chins (babysat one before i got my boys), i would say that males and females are not different in aggression or temperament. the personality of a chin is entirely dependent on that indidvidual chin, not based on their gender.

yes, females spray. and they can be quite accurate in their aim! lol. males, from what i've read, do more of a pathetic dribble in their attempt to get ya.

if this is your first chin, i would recommend getting one that is around the 2 year mark or older. this way you'll be past the bratty 'child' phase that they often go through as babies/juveniles. getting an older chin also allows you to rescue/adopt one that otherwise would not have a home.

i would suggest reading through threads here on the forum to get an idea of what to do when your chin comes home. it's a big adjustment for a chin to go into a new environment, and the less you do to stress them the better. bonding with your chin will depend on your chin's temperament, and the timeline is different for all. my boy Rhino still hasn't completely warmed up to me (he likes things on his own terms), but my boy Guss has been mr lovey dovey from day one coming home.

 

[Mimichi]

I have a female and she's never sprayed me nor has she ever bitten me. She nibbles on my hands sometimes, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Other than that she's a giant sweety. She doesn't like to be held, though she loves ear and chin scratches. I've only had her since August so I guess I can't really say much.

 

[saphire]

while i have limited experience with female chins (babysat one before i got my boys), i would say that males and females are not different in aggression or temperament. the personality of a chin is entirely dependent on that indidvidual chin, not based on their gender.

yes, females spray. and they can be quite accurate in their aim! lol. males, from what i've read, do more of a pathetic dribble in their attempt to get ya.

if this is your first chin, i would recommend getting one that is around the 2 year mark or older. this way you'll be past the bratty 'child' phase that they often go through as babies/juveniles. getting an older chin also allows you to rescue/adopt one that otherwise would not have a home.

i would suggest reading through threads here on the forum to get an idea of what to do when your chin comes home. it's a big adjustment for a chin to go into a new environment, and the less you do to stress them the better. bonding with your chin will depend on your chin's temperament, and the timeline is different for all. my boy Rhino still hasn't completely warmed up to me (he likes things on his own terms), but my boy Guss has been mr lovey dovey from day one coming home.

Ditto!

On a side note, some reputable/responsible breeders also have older pedigreed and rescue animals looking for homes.

Just put out the word of what your are looking for in your title and I am sure you will get responses.

 

[Frost11]

Thanks guys for the input! I will keep researching!

 

[Gumby and Elmo]

I have 2boys and 2girls, both are sweet as ever, err, my girls don't mind me carrying them around or petting them for a long time, but my boys hate me picking them up, but that could just be their from their background, my boys were from pet shop chins and my girls came all the way from chinChilla.com.
I've never been bitten hard by both genders nor sprayed.
To conclude, I think it really just depends on the chin.

 

[starleomach]

There really is no difference in personality based on gender

 

[Maggie:-)]

I have a female and she has never sprayed or bitten anyone. She is very sweet. When I first brought her home she got upset with me but she chattered her teeth so I left her alone and all was fine. The teeth chatter is like a dog growling it means back off and if you do then you most likely won't get bit......