How do I get my two male chinchillas to be in the same cage together?

[rabidcherry]

I got my first chinchilla when he was about 3 1/2 months old. About two weeks later I got another male chinchilla who was 4 months old at the time. So, they are the same age. It has been 3 weeks since I got the second one. Anyways, I have their cages side by side. I let one out at a time. The first one, Coconut will always try to bite the bars of the other's cage and when their noses touch he tries to bite the other one. When I let Hero out, he doesn't really associate with the first one. After a couple weeks I tried letting them both out together but Coconut always chases Hero and bites him.

Any advice? I am going to get a neutral cage but I thought I would try and wait for them to get along outside of the cages until I bought them a brand new cage. I didn't want to buy them a neutral cage, throw them in and they get their scent all over and then they start fighting and I have to start all over again with another cage.

Someone did tell me that you can rub vanilla or vicks on their noses and put them in a neutral cage together and that they should be fine and to watch them, to make sure they are not fighting. I have not tried that yet.

I am just looking for any advice that people have so I can try different things if one doesn't work.

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[GorillaJTA]

Use the search bar and search: Introductions

 

[Godofgods]

i cant see putting Vick's on them as a good idea. Their respiratory systems are fragile enough..

 

[Snickers]

I wouldn't let them both out for play time together that doesn't help.

 

[SeeleyAnne]

If Coconut is the one being more aggressive, I would trim his whiskers. It will help make him a little less dominant for a while. (They grow back) But while they are trimmed, He will not be as aggressive to Hero. Also, you don't always have to BUY a new neutral cage. You can scrub any cage down with a mixture of water and white vinegar. I did that when I introduced my 2 chins. I used my first chin Buddha's cage as their joint cage after I scrubbed all the bars, shelves, toys and trays down with vinegar/water. It seemed to work just fine. I also moved all the toys around so Buddha wouldn't recognize it.

 

[poofybutt412]

I've tried "smooshing" and I've tried the cage in cage method...the smooshing worked the best for me and I've successfully gotten two of my males to live happily together...I've tried the other intro with another male and wasn't able to keep them all in the same cage..so I have them happily separated...they do play well together though when I do take them all out...I guess it all depends on the chin....good luck

 

[Riven]

How to intro two chins: Open cage, toss both in. Watch carefully.

That's how I do it. Either they get a long or they don't. I believe that if you have to "force" them together you're asking for trouble eventually. It might take sometime, but I do believe eventually it will happen.

I perfer a different approach to the "smoosh" method because I know of people who have used that method and ended up with dead chins. Put them both in a clean carrier and take them for a ride in the car. Then bring them back to a neutral cage.

 

[Zoaea]

I got a new chin about a month and a half ago, when I first tried to introduce them my older chin (female btw) was really territorial and aggressive even after cleaning the cage and being in separate cages near each other for a few weeks. I took my small travel cage (I think its 12x12? maybe bigger) I put the aggressiveness chin in the smaller cage, INSIDE the big cage, and let the timid chin mark up the 'main' cage. You put a water bottle (small glass one works) and food dish in the small cage and the big cage and leave em like that for a full day or 3. Then try opening the small cage and see if they adjusted.

For me I opened the small cage after 2 days (when the new chin was near the small cage she no longer was interested) and she minded her own business and that night they snuggled.

If one of your chin's is very passive, I don't see the harm in trying to put the aggressive chin in a cage marked as the passive one's it might make a difference. either way make sure you supervise, and provide save hiding spots.

 

[rabidcherry]

Thanks so much everyone. Lots of great ideas here.... Not too sure which to try first! I have had them now for about 3 weeks. So I might wait another week to go through the 30 day period. I don't have a small cage small enough to fit in the larger one so most likely I am going to wipe down one of the cages with water and vinegar and just attempt to throw them both in there. If anyone has more ideas, please keep posting!