Chinchillas fighting after being together for awhile. Help!

[Kylepossible]

Earlier this week out of the blue one of my male chinchillas started attacking the other male. They were bought together and have been living together for a year or so. I believe they are 1 1/2 to 2 years old.

He fur pulled the other one pretty bad and kept trying to bite him so we decided it's best to separate them. They are in the same "cage" but the top and bottom is split.

Since the split both chinchillas keep trying to get to the other opening side of the cage that is now closed off. They also keep crying in the night, making a loud alarm type noise and sometimes little beeps as if they are talking to each other.

Whenever I open the cage to either of them they really try to escape and push my hand away. Is it safe to monitor them and try to let them coexist again? For what it's worth I noticed it smells way more urine-y the past couple weeks as well but they have not sprayed as us or each other.

They used to groom each other, sleep together, play together,etc
We have made no diet changes or environment changes besides turning the A/C off as the weather is cooler.

 

[Amethyst]

I would keep them separate, unfortunately it does happen sometimes that bonded pairs decide for some reason they no longer like each other. Chins can and often do fight to the death, so it's good you caught them before it got that far.

If you really want to try, I'd give them a few weeks apart, then try reintroducing them again as though they are new chins. You can also try in the meantime to figure out what could have caused the issue. Sometimes fighting can be just over resources, I suggest for pairs to have at least 2 of everything, two water bottles, two food bowls, and two hay holders. That way one can't hog or prevent the other from having access. Fighting can also be caused by one chin not acting normal, so keeping them separate can give you a chance to monitor them to make sure one isn't sick. Also if you have any females, males sometime will fight if the female goes into heat.
However, as I said before, sometimes there is no obvious reason. I just chalk it up to the fact that chins have different personalities, just like humans, and not all friendships last forever. The increased urine smell could be them marking territory, so rather then just peeing on the cage floor they are peeing on items.

 

[Kylepossible]

Thanks for that response. They are definitely marking items and corners as I visually see them do that. Not sure if that's good/bad/normal.

They did just have one food bowl, one water source and one hay feeder. We may try tonight giving them each a separate one on separate levels.

We also entertained the idea of cutting the whiskers 1 inch on the aggressor but I cannot figure out who it is when I really think about it.

Winston = The one who got ruffed up, try's to mount Frederick sometimes.

Frederick = Takes away any toys Winston picks up unless he has one, takes away any treats unless he has one. Does not try to mount.

I really hope they do not have to live in separate cages as we bought them to live together. When originally we only bought one but they were both at the same PetSmart and he cried when we didn't bring his friend. So we bought him a few days after. Although death would obviously be the worst outcome.

 

[Cass C]

As the owner of a chinchilla pair I am always ready to seperate them if the need arises. I make sure to take all precautions of double everything, plenty of attention, taking the pair to the vet together, and A huge cage. I've had to rebond them once after I made the mistake of neutering my male, however it's worth noting there was no blood drawn.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Since no blood was drawn, you could wait a few weeks and then start over from the beginning. As mentioned, make sure there is 2 of everything and take it slow. You will always need to keep a close ere out for any signs of fighting. By the way,if they can see each other through the divider, try to put something there to block their view of each other. The sounds they are making are them calling to each other. It does not necessarily mean that they want to be back together.

 

[Oregon_chinlove4]

This happened with my two my boys are both 3, brothers. One morning we woke up and there was fur everywhere and my smaller one was tucked in the house with patches missing, we separated them, let them try to get close during a single play time and the bigger brother was just too aggresssive just happens I guess!

 

[sidney1]

This happened to me as well. I cut the whiskers down of the one who was being aggressive and put them back together. Havent had a problem since.

 

[Dreamlite]

It's not uncommon for chins to fight and need to be caged separate. If you have 2 chins you need to be prepared to have 2 cages forever, since that's a risk when you own more than one.