I read this and wasnt going to post until I seen "alpaytons". I did something very similar, and to me someone called it "fear bonding". When I read about "shaking them up a little" or whatever, I had no idea THAT is what they meant. I took two males who had been in a run setting, one was over 4 the other about 2, and I rode them, along with three very docile females I rescued, in a chin transport cage, the type people bring to shows, but the holes were big enough I put the ones I wanted to bond to in the holes. I put sticks, and other stuff that would interest them together.
I rode out to Ohio with them when I picked up my new Boxer. Had water of course. I have a big cage I put them in when I got home- it was previously occupied but I had cleaned it out and set it up new for the two boys, definetly a house and places for each to be on his own, and they have been great buddies cuddling and sleeping in the same hanging fleece bed for over two and a half years since that ride, and like alpayton, not a peep either.
I think dark, whatever, is fine. I think most or anyone might disagree when they handle these animals a lot and encounter an idea to bond them that involves shaking them up and making them shocked into holding onto each other. I had two females on the other hand, not biological sisters, but a week apart.
I bought them, they were fine and when the first one went into heat, she decided she hated females. Neither had ever physically been exposed to a male. They are all in their own room, but she never had one in her cage either did her cagemate obviously.
I went out to George Webb's for breakfast, and upon getting back, the one, she is a standard, had scalped and cannaballized the other, her cagemate, who one parent was ebony, the other white and grey mosaic, she showed all three colors, I guess you call that ebony mosaic? She was beautiful, anyways, her "sister" ate her, and scalped her litteraly to her skull in one area. It took months of feeding her Critical care, and I had her in a quarintene cage in my room, and ten days of injectable baytril, to save her. She had no hair or skin from the whole top of her head to around the bases of her ears, and her ears had lots of holes in them. She had also been bitten on her "cone" and right above it, because the only thing she knew to do to fight back was try and spray her when her "sister" attacked, so she got ripped there too.
Right now, she is healed, her hair is back. The other day, just when the last of the head wound closed up and the skull got covered up, I was massaging her new hair, she likes it probably because it itches her, I noticed a HUGE bump, like a gigantic pimple on someone. It was completely see through, full of puss, just like a pimple, near where her head had been punctured to the skull. Her attacker had actually chipped her teeth biting into her.
I opened the top, with a sterile needle, and drained the "pimple". it was pure white and almost waxy. It didnt come back and is now healing AGAIN a second time to cover up. ALL her hair has grown back. her ears, both, are totally mutilated, but that is only cosmetic and I think she is blessed for that. She LOVES people but is nervous around ANY chinchilla, male or female. She was attacked before a year old, so I attribute her ability to bounce back to her age a lot. I know someone that something similar happened, their chin was older and she had brain damage, had a stroke after.
The point of this was not a graphic story, just my experience, and that is bonding introductions work best, a place where it is benefical for the animals in their own minds to bond to another one. A car ride is a perfect thing.
And sometimes, they can be bonded forever. I had one die of being heartsick when his mate died that they had had a lot of litters together. Some kill each other or **** near try. You can't guarentee anything I guess. I would say violence or physical fear or focrce is bad for this particular animal though!
