depression because we wanted her to not be lonely?

[turtlemoon]

hey guys!

so, a few months ago, we got our first chin, Jackie. we've been so happy with her. we gave her a lot of attention but she still seemed lonely. we decided to get her a buddy to play with, whom we named Chan, when we're not there, BUT ever since we got the new chin, Jackie seems to have gotten depressed. she's not as active as she used to be and she hides from us and barks a lot more as well. Chan is as active as usual, about as active as Jackie used to be, so no problem there.

is it possible that Jackie preferred to be an only chin-child? i don't like to see her this unhappy. it hurts.

 

[Dragonflye]

Is Chan a male or a female? It is possible that she is retreating because she is intimidated. Not all chins want or need a buddy.

I would keep a close eye on them to make sure Jackie is not being bullied. If you notice any fighting or see a lot of fur flying or blood, it will definitely be time to separate them.

 

[turtlemoon]

Chan is male, but younger than she is. and she's the bully so we keep them completely apart. could it be because of age difference? is she maybe jealous of the new baby? poor little girl makes me feel so bad :/ we give her more attention than we give him, but she still hide and barks at us.

 

[melbur10]

Some chins just won't get along and some chins ARE happier being only children.
My girl sage was my first chin. She was introduced to three other chins between web I got her and 1.5-2years old. They got along well. Sage went into stasis last year and I removed her from the others for 4-5 months to nurse her back to health. She bonded with me very strongly. When she was reintroduced she wanted nothing to do with the other chins and would spray them, they would attack her and eventually one of the other girls even bit off her toe when she was in her cage and they were out for playtime.
She MUCH prefers being an only child!

 

[Stackie]

I have 2 chins who prefer to be the only chin in their cage. One has actually attacked and killed another chin. He will be aggressive towards anything that even resembles a chin. The other chin was attacked by his former cage mate and is now scared of any other chins.

You really should not let these two play together anyway, as they will most likely breed. It only takes seconds for them to mate. Breeding should not be taken lightly and can be dangerous. You could lose your female to complications or be faced with high vet bills due to complications. She could attack and kill the male, or vice versa. I would never risk breeding my pets...just take a look in the breeding & babies horror stories section. Breeding animals should also be from high quality lines and should be evaluated to be sure they are of quality enough to be bred.

 

[turtlemoon]

we're not planning on breeding them, or any in the future. we got Chan to give her company, but they're never together, not anymore anyway. not since the very first day that she showed signs of aggression towards him. they get separate playtimes and everything, although they'll occasionally go up to each other's cage and peek inside through the bars.

i'm really just looking for any help/advice on how to cheer her up 'cause it's really upsetting to see her feeling so down

thank you in advance!

 

[Dreamlite]

Her mood changes may be due to being pregnant. Never let a male and female together unless you plan to breed. Is she in a baby proof cage? How old is she?

 

[turtlemoon]

there is no possibility of Jackie being pregnant. she is between seven and eight months old, we got her when she was five months old. Chan is nine weeks old, so there is no way he could have gotten her pregnant. plus, besides that horrible minute of them interacting, she did the chasing and he did the running away. we separated them right away and that's the only actual contact they had since we got him.

 

[Bovril]

Jackie is plenty old enough to be get pregnant, and Chan is old enough to do the deed. You need to separate them immediately because although she CAN get pregnant, she's still growing and if she's too small to handle a litter you could have a very bad situation on your hands.

Besides, if you don't plan on breeding, why are you keeping a male and a female together in the first place? Even if you believe they're not old enough to breed, it's not as if they're going to inform you the day they reach sexual maturity. Were you planning on introducing them now and then separating them forever once they're sexually mature? Because that's the only way you'd prevent babies and it doesn't make much sense since you wanted to get Jackie a companion.

 

[Dreamlite]

Males can breed females at 7 weeks old. So there is plenty of chance it could happen. The question is why you got a male if you don't intend to breed.

 

[Cuddlebug]

They are both old enough to do the deed. It has happened on more than 1 occassion, that an 8 week old female that was housed with a male has gotten pregnant. If you wanted to get a companion for her, you should have purchased another female, not a male. She probably reacted to his attempts to breed her and that is why she is grumpy towards him. Keep them separated. By the way, chinchillas can mate through the cage bars so he should not be allowed to play near her cage. Give her lots of attention and toys. Why do you think that she is lonely?

 

[Godofgods]

we're not planning on breeding them, or any in the future.

Neither was i, until one day i found a baby chin underneath my refrigerator. I had no idea he was born. Heck, i had no idea she was pregnant. Never saw them mate once, and she showed no signs of pregnancy. Then one day *poof* baby chin was there. Its sad to say, but that baby almost died (a few different ways) before i even new he was born. All because i didn't know better.

Its not something to take lightly.

 

[turtlemoon]

we were hoping to get a female, but the breeder kept getting nothing but males, minus one that was bought before she was even announced, and another that died.
we figured we might as well get Jackie a buddy, even if it was a male, so that she could start getting used to another chin around. we got her from PetSmart, so we don't exactly know how long it had been since she had been around another chin. all we know is, we got her when she was about three and a half months old, and she had been at the store for about a month and a half prior to us getting her. it was sad. =/
we got Chan from a breeder.
still, we don't plan on breeding.
we'll eventually get Jackie a female companion, but for now, Chan can keep her some company, even if from afar. just to get her used to the idea of another chin.

we felt like Jackie was getting lonely because every time we would place her back in her cage after playtime, she would run back to the sides and just watch us... kinda a lonely look on her face. i'm not sure. maybe we misinterpreted, but we're happy to have both, Jackie and Chan =]

 

[Bovril]

Turtlemoon, I'm glad you're happy with both your chins! But just be careful about anthropomorphizing them. I know it's easy and fun to put human emotions on them, but remember your chinchilla isn't ACTUALLY going to have a lonely facial expression; that's just you as a human associating that face with a human expression for loneliness. Don't get me wrong, I anthropomorphize Bovril all the time, but not in a way that I believe he's truly feeling the emotion I'm projecting on him.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Your chinchilla does that when you put it back in the cage because it does not want playtime to end. It is not a sign of loneliness, just a sign that the chin doesn't want fun to end.