How do Chinchillas do in 3's?

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Sailor_Orbit

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Hi,
I was just wondering, how do chinchillas do in 3's? Would there be more bullying if there's 3 chinchillas of the same gender? Let me know what you have encountered in different scenarios.

Thanks!
 
So far I have had luck with trios and quads. I know once in awhile I can hear them squabble not sure if it is for dominance or not. I also have singles and doubles. Just make sure that you keep an eye on them.
 
I have heard many stories of trios not working out, and myself have had 2 failed trios. I don't really recommend them. In my experience, two chins will gang up on the third. I also do not like introducing a new chin to an already bonded pair, as sometimes it will cause the bonded pair to fight and you end up with 3 single chins.

They CAN work...but I've heard to many failures and experienced enough myself to never try one again.
 
Sometimes you can end up with three chins that absolutely adore each other and get along, sometimes they won't get along well at all. The chins that get along best for me when I put them in a trio are very young or older. Younger chins tend to get along better than chins that are even just a few months older. What I like to do is wean my babies into cages with a few other babies. That way I can teach them to get along with other chins from the beginning.

Very old chins tend to get along very well, as well. When I take an older female out of breeding or even if I have some older rescue girls (maybe 8 years old or older) needing to go somewhere, I put them in a community cage together. Males can be more tricky but as they get older they tend to mellow out and get along with other males better.

Like Snickers said, you just have to keep an eye on them. Watch for fighting or any other signs that the chins aren't getting along.
 
Personally, I've only tried it a few times and it didn't work out. One pair almost couldn't live together again. The time it did work, it was only after putting them in a large carrier together, carrying them around, and keeping them there for a day.
 
I have had several colonies work out very well with all females, or 1 male with several females. I use a 4' x 2' x 2' cage for 3 to 5 chinchillas. I do have to clean these cages twice as often since there are more chins in them. I start them together as babies or put them together all at once. I don't ever add to a colony once it is started. I have had to remove a couple of females within the first 48 hours of starting a colony because of personality clashes.
 
If you put them together young... Right now I have 6 young girls in 2 sections of a FN and another cage with 3 in a single level...occasionally someone will yell at someone else but nothing major...those were all put together shortly after being weaned...
 
What does "colony" mean for chinchillas? Means that they are all ready bonded pair or group?
 
One of my failed trios were put together when they were all under 6 months old...they did great for awhile but once they hit the "teenager" mark they wanted nothing to do with one another. So just because they're young doesn't necessarily mean they will continue to get along well when they get older.
 
Stackie said:
One of my failed trios were put together when they were all under 6 months old...they did great for awhile but once they hit the "teenager" mark they wanted nothing to do with one another. So just because they're young doesn't necessarily mean they will continue to get along well when they get older.
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I do plan on seperating them into trios once they are old enough to put into breeding but thanks for the heads up...good to know... This is the first time I am trying to keep growers this way...(together not seperate)...
 
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Stackie said:
I have heard many stories of trios not working out, and myself have had 2 failed trios. I don't really recommend them. In my experience, two chins will gang up on the third. I also do not like introducing a new chin to an already bonded pair, as sometimes it will cause the bonded pair to fight and you end up with 3 single chins.

They CAN work...but I've heard to many failures and experienced enough myself to never try one again.
Click to expand...

I had the same experience (twice). I ended up with all single chins.
 
I have had colonies work, but taking time to do slow intros is the key. I currently have 8 adult females living together. The more chins you add the more likely you are to fail. I have had to remove several females that don't agree with the existing colony so you have to be very aware and watch the chins closely for any sign of trouble. In a group it can happen fast.
 
I tried to intro a third male to my bonded pair. The original pair do not get along at all anymore, but the new male and one from the pair are together now and get along well. I was hoping for a trio, but ended up with 2 separate cages.
 
I think females are much easier to group and stay together. I have to separate my males that are weaned together at about 6 months of age because they usually stop getting along. My guess is that they are starting to go through puberty and they can smell all of the females in the same room who come into heat. I will only try colonies with very laid back females. Even if you have a colony that gets along great that can change when the females have litters. Some moms are very territorial and protective of their babies and some will all help raise the babies together. Any change in a colony can disrupt it and cause the chinchillas not to get along. Any pairings or groupings can suddenly not get along anymore and it may seem like there isn't any reason for it, but it may be some kind of slight change that we don't notice. I think it is much more difficult to try to add to an already existing pair of males over the age of 3 months. I think the existing pair becomes territorial of their cage and thinks of a third male as an intruder, but there are exceptions if you do a slow introductory period and thoroughly clean the cage they are going in to remove any smells. You always run the risk of it not working and having to keep 2 separate cages permanently. I try new pairings after the introductory period in the morning when they are least active and when I can keep an eye on them all day. It's very important to supervise a new pairing/group because if they don't get along they can injure each other severely/fatally.
 
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At one point I had five males together. Two were father/son (but kept separate prior to my adoption) and the other three were unrelated (though two had been previously bonded for ~1yr). They lived fine for a while, then one night one from my original pair attacked the other (one bite, blood shed, from the left hind leg). I separated them based on their activity levels and personality (2+3) and the duo got along great (and still does), and the trio did for a while. One day while I was at work the one that previously attacked its cagemate did the same to one of the others and killed him. Now, I have one pair and two separate. They will turn on each other in a heartbeat. I have only had temporary luck with groups above two, and would not try it again unless it was a family that had always been bonded. Even then, I would be skeptical. I think chinchillas have really good memories, also. One day I took them all out for playtime about 6 months after the initial attacking happened, and the attacker made a B line for his ex-cagemate and probably would have attacked him again if I hadn't intercepted.
 
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