rawrrr
Active member
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2012
- Messages
- 31
Let me start with a little background.
Crouton is my 8 month old male. We've had him since May. In July, we decided to try introducing another male, and brought home Sniffles, a male between 1 and 2 years old. When Sniffles was comfortable, we tried putting them in cages side by side. They're still in side by side cages, two months later.
We gave them a couple of joint playtimes, which mostly went well. The first was accidental and in our room, where the cages are. Crouton's cage uses a playpen attached to a smaller cage, but we use the playpen to chin-proof the room when they're out. So, if Sniffles went anywhere near Crouton's now unblocked cage area, Crouton would run and chase him away. The next playtime was in a small neutral area, with a dust bath to share. There was a little bit of posturing up, chasing, and mounting, but no injuries. We did cut the playtime short because it made me nervous, and haven't had many since. I wanted to wait and try putting them both in a new, neutral cage.
When we let them out for separate playtimes in the room, they like to go up to each other's cages, and I'll see them stick their noses through the bars, almost as if "kissing." I'm not sure if this is an aggressive behavior or not (trying to get at the other one's whiskers, maybe?), but there was no biting.
Finally, in the last couple of days, I've noticed Crouton making the "baby cry" at Sniffles, to which Sniffles will respond with low talking/cooing noises. Is that good? Bad? Crouton has never made the baby cry with us before, it was the first time we had ever heard it.
Also, for those out there with more experience in introductions, do you think I still have a chance to make it work, or have I waited too long? Do you have any tips?
Crouton is my 8 month old male. We've had him since May. In July, we decided to try introducing another male, and brought home Sniffles, a male between 1 and 2 years old. When Sniffles was comfortable, we tried putting them in cages side by side. They're still in side by side cages, two months later.
We gave them a couple of joint playtimes, which mostly went well. The first was accidental and in our room, where the cages are. Crouton's cage uses a playpen attached to a smaller cage, but we use the playpen to chin-proof the room when they're out. So, if Sniffles went anywhere near Crouton's now unblocked cage area, Crouton would run and chase him away. The next playtime was in a small neutral area, with a dust bath to share. There was a little bit of posturing up, chasing, and mounting, but no injuries. We did cut the playtime short because it made me nervous, and haven't had many since. I wanted to wait and try putting them both in a new, neutral cage.
When we let them out for separate playtimes in the room, they like to go up to each other's cages, and I'll see them stick their noses through the bars, almost as if "kissing." I'm not sure if this is an aggressive behavior or not (trying to get at the other one's whiskers, maybe?), but there was no biting.
Finally, in the last couple of days, I've noticed Crouton making the "baby cry" at Sniffles, to which Sniffles will respond with low talking/cooing noises. Is that good? Bad? Crouton has never made the baby cry with us before, it was the first time we had ever heard it.
Also, for those out there with more experience in introductions, do you think I still have a chance to make it work, or have I waited too long? Do you have any tips?