Introducing 2 chins

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My girlfriend and I are looking to introduce our two male chins. We've had our first guy for four months and our new one for a little over a month. They've been kept in the same room but in separate cages. Both of them are between 6-9 months old.

What are some tips or successful strategies to make their first meeting and following ones enjoyable and safe? Our ideal goal is to slowly acclimate them until, after time (and we're prepared to take whatever amount that may be,) they can live in the same cage.
 
Trim their whiskers down, at least an inch. It helps curb aggressive behavior.

Also, you can put a little dab of vanilla on their noses and base of the tail; that way, they smell the same to each other.

You can give them some play time, to see how it goes. It's normal for them to chase each other, hump a bit to establish dominance. But if there is biting, separate them.

Using a smaller cage within a larger cage works very well. Put the chin who is aggressive in the smaller cage, and place it in the larger cage with the other chin. Leave them alone for a few hours, until they relax and sleep. Put them together for a bit, to see how they do. First one to be aggressive goes back in the small cage. This method is great, and many people have success with it.
 
Those are great suggestions. Once they are happily together keep a close eye the first few times you put in new feed, the dust bath, hay, a treat, ect. This can sometimes cause major fighting in a new pair.
 
Yes my two male chins weren't too fond of each other at first and I did not know about the vanilla or the trimming of the whiskers. We would let them play with each other with supervision and kept them separated during feeding. It took about a month to get them really comfortable with each other and now they snuggle and love each other. Just remember, lots of hay keeps them happy and lots of chew toys!
 
That is really interesting about the vanilla. How long do you keep one of them in the small cage for?
 
Introducing chins help

We just introduced our two male chins (both roughly 6 months old) for the first time. We've had their cages next to each other for the past week. Their constant "guarding" of their cage stopped after several days and they appeared more relaxed around eachother.

Today we introduced them. First we dabbed the base of each other their tails with vanilla to try to neutralize their smells. We used a large pen and placed the more aggressive one inside of a smaller cage within the pen. We left them like that for almost two hours, until the barking and aggressive behavior stopped and they both fell asleep. Then we let them both loose in the pen, with a pan full of dust in hopes that it would distract them.

They chased each other, taking turns chasing the other, and both shared the dust. They engaged in some ariel combat, and when what we thought was two much flying fur occured, we quickly tossed a dry washcloth on them to disrupt them, which worked. Eventually their was some chasing that we thought got too intense, so we placed the more aggressive one (the same one from the beginning) back into the cage within the pen. That's when we noticed that our aggressive guy had a nip on his nose with some blood (we dabbed neosporin on it.) We took this as enough excitement for one day and returned them to their cages to relax.

Questions: Are we handling the situations correctly? When is too much hair/sparring too much? We intend to eventually put them in our large cage, but the aggressive one already lives in it (we don't have the funds to get another large, neutral one,) so should we switch up the living arrangments so as to minimize territorial responses? Any other tips? Thank you.
 
You were certainly right to separate. In hindsight you should have separated the first time you have to throw the towel in, but don't dwell on it. :) It would be a good idea to place the more aggressive one in the cage you don't plan to keep as its best to take him out of his comfort zone to reintroduce. Its also a good idea to let them play in a neutral place (the bathroom floor perhaps) Try a few play dates outside of the cage and see how it goes before you try them in a cage together again.

...Also, I wouldn't bother with scenting the tails. This is really for when you are introducing a new chinchilla to a pair so no one knows who the new guy is. With introducing 2 its best to have them still smelling like the chinchilla they knew from the cage next door.
 
I personally use a cage within a cage method. I use a small show cage, put the most aggressive chin in it, then leave it in the cage overnight with hay and a bottle on it. The next morning, I put the less aggressive one in and leave him in there for a couple hours, then rotate and leave the aggressive one in for the longer period of time. When I introduce them together, without the smaller cage, I make sure I do it in the morning, when they are ready to sleep, and I do it on a weekend so that I'm around in case something should happen.

Before you try to introduce them again, trim their whiskers back by a good inch to inch and a half. I would use the scenting on chins, regardless of whether they have been next door to each other. Put some kitchen vanilla just above their noses and around their tailes. Put them in a completely cleaned cage that has no scent from either chin in it, so that they don't get territorial. Put in a couple dust baths, a pile of hay, and a couple houses so they can go to their respective corners and not feel threatened.

ETA - Don't use neosporine unless you are able to completely clean the wound first. All neosporin does is seal in any bacteria that is within the wound. You need to clean it first, then put the neosporin in. You can clean it with a 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and water, but I prefer to just use Blu-Kote on my chins scrapes and cuts.
 
I'm not a fan of vanilla when introducing a pair. Its really helpful when you are introducing a third chinchilla as no one knows who the new guy is and so there is less fighting.

I find that if you have kept the pair in side by side cages for awhile they already know each others smell so its best not to confuse it.
 
Sierra - It depends on the chin. Some are fine after I put them in a show cage for just a couple hours, others can take a while longer to switch.

As far as scenting, obviously they know who they are and are still fighting regardless. Perhaps a change of scent would level the playing field a bit more. They already know the scent of the one that beat the crap out of them, so how is that helpful?
 
Each and every time I've had a problem with introductions, vanilla has come to my rescue. I have never had a problem with vanilla and neither have my chins. 6 of 'em together in one gigantic cage...
 
I combined these threads since there was one already going.

To the OP - Please just add to your last thread, rather than starting a new one with the same topic. It makes it less confusing and you won't have the same people answering the same things on both. :)
 
I'd use the vanilla too. It's not going to hurt the chins and if it helps get them over themselves, all the better.
 
so you guys all seem to think that the cage inside the cage is a better solution then side by side. just wondering.
 
I do, but that's just personal preference. I don't usually have weeks to months of side by side visiting before I need to put a pair, trio, or quad together. I have good luck with the show cage method, but other people have good luck with the side by side. It's just whatever works best for you.
 
How long do you try different things before you have to just face it that they won't be able to be together?
 
I believe that it based on your judgement. Some people have had success with intros within the first week and some have had to go on for months before their chinchillas finally got along. I know with my boys, Tristan and Toby, I gave up within a month.
 
search the form chintros. read what tunes suggested and that is what worked for me. i had my less agressive guy lose in the large cage and the more aggresive guy in the little one, i would let them together in the same cage durring the day w vanilla and whisker cut. eventually the passive guy became teritorial as he was living in the large cage. all the other guy was doing was exploring. so i switched their places for a night and wah lah
 
Isn't that something just by switching them around. I just am in total shock.
 
i believe the one guy who was in the large cage was becoming territorial and by giving the other guy a chance to become farmiliar with the teratory and his sent getting everywhere did the trick
 
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