Female suddenly aggressive toward male...

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ShannonLee

Chinny Slave
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
39
Location
Florida's Space Coast
I was wondering if anyone had some insight here...

So I have a a female chin named Leeloo and a male named Rocky. When I first got Rocky, Leeloo was VERY aggressive towards him (she's fairly antisocial while he is so so friendly). They are have been housed in a divided FN, so they got used to each other, and while we were away for a weekend, Rocky chewed through the divider... When we came home, I was worried Leeloo would have hurt him, but they were curled up together and friendly.

But thinking Leeloo might possibly be pregnant, and if she wasn't I did not want her to be, I reseparated the two and provided closely supervised visits between them. Leeloo was always affectionate toward Rocky during this time, grooming him and being groomed back. Then she had Eevee. For a few weeks, Leeloo was still loving toward Rocky, but the other day, as soon as I put him down, she bit him and chased him like crazy! It was like when they had first met.

So here is the issue. I have been planning for months to combine two double FNs into a huge cage, and to get Rocky fixed so the family of three can live together in a ton of space. Leeloo's sudden aggression toward Rocky has me worried that this may not work out. Do you think the aggression will pass? Is an quadruple FN with a TON of hiding spots enough space if she does get irritated from time to time? He is much faster than she is, and smaller... Maybe reintroducing them on neutral ground would help? I'm converting them to fleece liners and adding a bunch of new huts, tubes, hammocks, ledges, shelves and stuff that I have made, hoping to not reuse most of the stuff in their current set up. It would be completely neutral ground.

I just don't know. I already have the second FN, made ton of new cage accessories, and have been saving up for Rocky's neutering, so the idea that this cannot happen kind of makes me sad. Any advice?
 
If she's that agressive that quick towards them I would not cage them together. I have had chins that got along great kill cagemates with no warning. Be glad she is making it clear she doesn't want him around. I know you want them to live as a happy family but it doesn't always work out. I have a female I kept cause she gets along with every chin she is introed to for about 2 weeks then will litterally try to kill them. Please be careful. I would hate for you to have to deal with that. Just another note, supervised playtimes together are a bad idea. She can get bred very quickly, and that's 1 more thing you don't want to deal with.
 
I agree, separate them and keep them separate, no cage sharing and no play times with each other . If she is not pregnant again, already, she will be soon. She probably went after him because she does not want to mate with him. Since you said that you don't want to deal with kits, why would you put an un-neutered male with a female in the first place? You cannot stop them from mating since it can happen in just seconds. Even when he gets neutered, you would still need to keep them separated for 6 weeks after the surgery. And there is till the possibility that she will not want him around - ever.
 
For the record, when they have playtime, they are within my reach at all times. Not more than 2-3 feet from me. I was not seeking a critique on that aspect of my care. She has not been aggressive toward him other than when he first moved in and that one instance the other day. He has not tried to mate with her again. Regardless, I am going to still combine the cages and get Rocky neutered, and keep the cage divided. Leeloo does not like vertical space (she never left the bottom area of my double FN, whereas in a previous cage that was more horizontal, she was everywhere), so she will at least get double the space in the direction that she prefers. I will neuter Rocky to ensure we don't have kits again.

Another question... Will Leeloo be aggressive toward her own kit? She's only 5 weeks old now, but I'm worried that Leeloo might hurt her too. Sigh.
 
Leeloo should be fine with her own kit. You will have to wait and see what happens. I would keep a extra cage around just in case. Chinchillas are like humans. Either they like another chin or they don't. It can vary from chin to chin too.

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Yes, but this is more about the other chins in the household. Rocky managed to mate with Leeloo by chewing through a cage divider while we were gone for a weekend. Leeloo should never have been bred, as she has shown signs that she may have malocclusion. Rocky is the only male in the house, so if he is neutered, then that eliminates the chance that Leeloo or his daughter Eevee will get pregnant.

I also know an exotics vet that neuters chinchillas for a rescue facility. He has done it many times.

You know, its a shame that a person can't ask simple questions here without feeling as they have to defend every word they type. I feel like I have to explain that I did not make the choice to obtain a male when I had a female in the house. Because someone will post that I'm irresponsible for that too. I do a TON of research before I do anything with my chins, which is more can be said for the average chin owner. But every post I type, someone hits on an irrelevant detail to the question asked, and I have to defend it, knowing the situation is under control. It does not make for a very welcoming community in the least.
 
ShannonLee, people were not attacking you. They are letting you know there are risks involved with surgery and just want to be sure you are aware. Everyone here is here for the best interest of the animals. Chins can unfortunately be vicious little animals as I have seen first hand the damage they can do to one another. Everyone is just looking out for the well-being of your pets and offering advice for that.
 
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You started the thread asking for advice. Maybe its just that the advice given is not what you want to hear? If you already know what you want to do and have done a ton of research, then there is no need to ask for other opinions.

The fact that you have a male and a female that have playtime together when the female is aggresive towards the male, does not seem like an irrelevant detail to me.
 
I'm listening to the advice, but the commentary I'm getting are about things I have under control and was not asking about. The aggression during playtime wasn't the issue people were commenting about; it's the fact that they are male and female, even though the play area is less than 6 square feet and I am always I with them, and he has never tried to mount her in that time. And they have not had playtme since she became aggressive. So it is irrelevant to the original question. And I was asking the question because something occurred that changed the plans I had previously researched, and could not find anything about the issue elsewhere.

So then I say I will neuter Rocky, which is not a detail that is up for debate, and even then I get commentary about that being wrong. I cannot win, because either way I do things is wrong. So the first post I make, asking about whether enough space and hiding places can counteract female's aggression turns into a critique of literally every action I take with my animals.

I'm just saying that I was excited about joining the community, but I am now in no hurry to ask any more questions, knowing that someone will find fault no matter what I am doing. Not very welcoming at all.
 
I think you're getting really defensive over nothing. I find the people here very helpful and have helped me answer questions more than once. Since pretty much all of them have had a chin longer than I have, I would gladly accept any advice or concerns they have and take them into consideration. Nobody is attacking you, I think you're just taking it all the wrong way, but maybe it's just me. /shrugs
 
I guess because you started your post by asking if anyone had any insight, and ended it with "any advice?", it seemed as though you inquiring about the situation as a whole, not just whether a larger cage would curb her aggression. Once chins are agressive towards each other, they may always be that way. I don't see the size of the cage changing that. You can try to reintroduce after the neutering, but its not a guarantee. Although you have a competent vet, any surgery, especially on such a small animal, contains risks.

I'm sorry if you feel unwelcome. This is a great community so I hope you stick around. But it is an open forum and you will get opinions of all types, whether you like them or not, and maybe whether you asked for them or not. It is still a good place to ask questions, take advice into consideration, then do what is best for you and your pet.
 
Unfortunately words do not convey the correct emotion at times and what may have been intended to be (sympathetic) good advice may be ready differently. I think you got some great advice, and maybe more than you wanted, but it was all with the best of intentions for the well-being of your chins.
 
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