Need some help: 2 chins (1 new, 1 old)

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Z

ZeroG

Chinchilla Whisperer
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Messages
18
Location
Northridge, CA
So I am not really a new chin owner, but I still will consider myself a noob when it comes to these little guys.

Lets start here:

Chin #1 (Franklin)

I have owned Franklin for about 3 years now. I got him when we was pretty young around six weeks or so. He is pretty well behaved, and is kind of shy. I use to let him run around the house from time to time, but I really wanted to hold him and all he ever wanted to do was run around. So I got some advice from a local chin breeder who said that he does not liked to be held because we let him run free. She said that he could be trained though and that we should not give up hope. We followed her recommendations, and he has gotten a lot better. He does not like being picked up a whole lot, but once you have him he'll stay calm for about 15-30 minutes. He has not gotten the horrible habit of shooting pee, but he dies bite from time to time.

Chin #2 (Chilly)

I just recently got this one from his previous owner (craigslist). I was told he is about the same age as Franklin, but he is about three times the size. He was a pet store chin, and they always seem to be bigger in my experience. This one also does not like to be picked up, but once you have him you can hold him for hours. He'll sit on shoulders and cuddle in your arms, it's how I wanted Franklin to be when I first got him. Unfortunately he shoots pee. He mostly does it when you try and pick him up, but every once and a while when I try to feed him too. It really sucks, and make him less attractive.

So with the above in mind here are my observations\questions:

Franklin has really changed since I brought the new one in the house. They have separate cages and are on opposite sides of the room but can still see each other. He has gotten really aggressive, and tries to bite at you though his cage, he's always alert and bouncing around. He even bites hard enough now to break the skin. Based on some threads I read in an effort to calm him down, I trimmed his whiskers, which seem to help, but he still acts crazy and bites hard. Any thoughts?

Chilly is more relaxed as long as you leave him alone as he does not like to be picked up. If you're going to pick him up and you're not quick he'll pee on you so you have to be careful. In an effort to calm him down we trimmed his whiskers as well. Is there anything that can be done about the peeing or is this something I am going to have to live with?

The second day or so after I brought Chilly home I put some vanilla on their noses and put them both in the shower together. It was not pretty. Chilly chased Franklin around trying to pee on him. It was so sad. I only let that happen for less than a minute before I took Franklin out of the shower and cleaned him off. They now seem to be a little more relaxed, having lived in the same room for a few weeks. I am still not sure they're ready to be put back together. The other day I had Franklin in a ball and he rolled it over to Chilly's cage and at first they were both looking at each other for a few minute sniffing and such. Then Franklin got kind of agitated and was scratching at the ball. But Chilly did not pee, so that is progress in my book.

Anybody have any ideas on where I should go from here? I read some other threads about introduction and that it takes time, I just thought someone might have had a similar experience.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Im new with chins to but i read you should not have them in a ball, but if you do, not for long because they heat up really easily. But it seems like you are doing good. And good luck!
 
Okay, first off, are you sure Chilly is a boy? Generally boy chins don't shoot pee at you, it's girls that tend to do that. And if you aren't used to looking at chin parts, the boys and girls can look the same. A girl will have a cone just like a boy.

Secondly, ditch the ball. They can pee and poop in them and then they have to run around in their waste. Not only that but they can easily overheat in them and get heat stroke.

Also, not all chins want a friend. If they didn't act like they wanted to be together the one time you tried, chances are they don't want a friend and I would not try to put them together again. Atleast not while they're acting aggressive towards each other. If they are acting aggressive they can easily hurt or kill each other.

As for the biting, are you handling Chilly first and then playing with Franklin? He could easily be smelling the other chin on your hand and biting you for that.

Also, most chins do not want to be held, no matter how much free run around time they get. It's just not the nature of a chinchilla. And if you do let them run around, please don't let it be all of your house, there's too many cords and things for them to get into, it's too dangerous. I suggest just letting them run around a bathroom with all the dangerous things cleared out.

And I can assume you haven't been to a chin show, because there's no way most pet store chins are larger :)) Breeder sized chins can be huge.

I'm sure there's more that I can touch on.. But just wanted to hit some of the major issues
 
1) whiskers is right about the ball, they shouldn't have that ball of death. There are many, many things wrong with that ball. They can easily heat up in it, their little feet can get stuck in it, if they pee or poo in it, the pee/poo will get on to their coat, and the ball is bad for their backs.
2) From what I know from doing introductions, you should not do introductions until a couple weeks later (i'm not positive of the specific amount of time). The new chin should be put into quarantine until you're sure that there are no problems and stuff. You should also let the new chin get use to its surroundings and environment before trying to pick it up or give it a new friend. When you get a new chin, you always have to keep in mind that they might not get along. If they don't get along, you'll have 2 chins in 2 cages. Not all chins get along, like people.
3) About the whisker trimming, I thought that it was only for when you keep 2 chins together in the same cage. But i'm not sure, can someone explain/confirm?
4) You should not let Franklin (or any other chin) run around the house as a free run. They can get to wires and plastic things that they should not be chewing on or even get their little paws on. They can also crawl through small openings and can get stuck or hurt. Free time should be in a SUPERVISED, CHIN PROOF room/area. Some people use playpens others use their bathrooms, but ALWAYS supervised. If you don't want to get a playpen, there are cardboard playpens that other members made with little or no cost.
5) Lastly...as for the biting issue, some people but on heavy duty gloves before handling the chin, allowing the chin to bite as he pleases. When he finds out that it doesn't affect you anymore, it'll gradually stop. Another way is to just gently blow on their faces when they do bite, they don't like that and they'll soon know to associate biting and blowing.

I hope this is helpful, I'm sure that there are also alot of other things that I dont' know yet, but that's as much as I can tell you from the time I've joined this forum. =)

Goodluck! ;)
 
Knowing the sexes of each chin is very important because as I've learned here, it only takes them a moment to mate and then you have babies to deal with.

I got my chin from a lady who had to seperate her from the group because she is antisocial. As much as I would like a second chin, I do not have the room for a seperate cage and I know that my chin doesn't want the company.

Did you do the 30 day quarantine and gradually intro them? You may not have given them enough time to accept one another. It should be a gradual process. But again, make sure you don't have a female and male together.

I've had my chin for almost a year now and she still prefers not to be held. Some chins just don't like that kind of contact. Mine loves to be with me, to sit on me and under me, and jump all over me, but if I try and "grab" her, she'll kack at me. Just her preference. I know some chins can be more cuddly.

Good luck!
 
I'm guessing if you've had "Franklin" (let's hope he's not a Francis :p) for three years, you'd have done hair ring checks and therefore would know he is male, or you have not done hair ring checks and he may very well be a female.

As for the "free-run" it sounds like his free runs are in that ball you mentioned, as stated before me ditch the ball and invest in a nicely sized playpen or build you own out of card board (link to the giant card board play pen anyone?) It has enough room for them and no dangers like wires, cleaners, and its easy to clean just one little area.
 
Along with everything everyone else is saying... I don't think you mentioned how long you've been working on the introduction, but like you said, it does take time. And some chins certainly take longer than others, and some chins, just don't get along at all. I have two that are now okay in cages beside eachother, but cannot, even briefly, be together, or they just fight and fight.. I have two other chins that when they first met, went over to eachother, sniffed each other, and it was instantly peaceful. I would say there's no real timeline, but it seems to be going a bit better now, which is good! Just have patience and hopefully they'll be friends. And hopefully they're both boys and there are no surprises. Good luck!
 
Wow! First I would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming response.

This is some great information, and it makes me really feel welcome.

When I switch between the two chins I try to wash my hands and change my clothes if necessary. Franklin has always bitten here and there, just that ever since Chilly has been added to the mix it has gotten a lot worse.

Chilly and the peeing is really unattractive. Is there anything that can be done to discourage this?

addictedtochins said:
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=469&highlight=sexing+chins
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. I just checked tonight, and I am beginning to think that Chilly might be a girl. When I purchased Chilly the previous owner said he was a boy, but that doesn't make them right. I am going to try and take some pics over the weekend, post them up here and let the pros tell me what they think.

HaleyGoBoom said:
I'm guessing if you've had "Franklin" (let's hope he's not a Francis :p) for three years, you'd have done hair ring checks and therefore would know he is male, or you have not done hair ring checks and he may very well be a female.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure that Franklin is a boy. When he bends over from behind he has balls. Also, the breeder I originally got him from told me that he was a boy. I would be very surprised if he ended up being a girl. I was not aware of hair ring checks until this thread, and did some searching and found this great link: http://www.spoiledchins.net/hairring.htm I guess I have something to do over the weekend now.

HaleyGoBoom said:
As for the "free-run" it sounds like his free runs are in that ball you mentioned, as stated before me ditch the ball and invest in a nicely sized playpen or build you own out of card board (link to the giant card board play pen anyone?) It has enough room for them and no dangers like wires, cleaners, and its easy to clean just one little area.
Click to expand...

The ball is actually something I got when I first got Franklin, and he was not a huge fan, so we stopped using it. We use to let him roam around the house for the most part supervised of course, but I did loose a few iPhone chargers that way. Rest assured that going forward the ball is gone.
 
Don't throw the ball away though, they make great swings. Drill a hole in the top, add a chain, watch the fun. :)

I also agree. You need to find out if you have a female there. Males can shoot urine, but it's so pathetic it's almost sad. They definitely don't get the range and aim that the females do (eyes, mouths, face in general). So unless it's just little spurts here and there, you've got a female.
 
If indeed Chilly is a female I would stop trying to introduce them. Because it only takes a second for them to breed. And with Chilly coming from who knows where it's best not to breed that and pass the unknown genetic qualities along. And if she is a female, make sure if you do ever end up putting their cages next to each other, to leave quite a bit of room inbetween the cages because when a male chin is determined to breed, he will breed through the bars of the cage.
 
Sorry for the loss of your iPhone chargers, I can't let Kingston run around my room anymore because even if I think I've chin proofed everything, he finds SOMETHING. Even his wall surfing in the bathroom scares me because he's not that agile x_x

Usually, I think, male chinchillas testicles are inside their body (so I've heard) but Kingston has what I like to call outies as well. If you haven't done hair ring checks, have you ever seen him doing his own hair ring check? You'd KNOW he was a boy then :p :D
 
Haley--that is FOR SURE!! the first time i saw that i was shocked!

Peggy--i would also love to see a pic of the ball used as a swing.

as i have one and it was used once and my chin freaked out and the lid came off and he was running all over! he hated it!
 
Just an update ....

I thought I would throw up some pictures:

Franklin

photo2.jpg


Chilly

photo.jpg



I also looked at the thread that helps determine sex, and I am thinking now that Chilly is a girl, but would like confirmation from the professionals.

Am I a girl or a boy?

DSC01512.jpg


Also, I don't think I ever got a definitive answer. Is there anything that I can do to discourage the peeing?
 
Last edited:
I'm not sure what you could do to discourage the peeing but I just wanted to chime in and give you a definite answer that yes Chilly is a she. :)
Your chins are adorable by the way.
 
Yep, looks like a girl to me. Well atleast it looks like both the girls I have. :rofl:

There's not much you can do for the spraying. Nyx did it once to Petra and now Petra does it if you do anything that annoys her. If you give her more time to adjust and to you and her surrounds and she settles in it may lessen or go away completely. Who knows. Make her comfortable and ease her stress and that really all you can do.:)

BTW, Cute chin kids!
 
Thanks for the compliments.

I guess I'll just have to spend a little more time each day so she feel more comfortable. :)

Now that it is confirmed that Chilly is a girl does that mean that she cannot live with Franklin? Is there away of timing her cycles, and just separating the two of them before she can get preggy, or am I pretty much guaranteed to have little ones at some point if I let them visit each other?
 
Yes if you let them interact they WILL mate, like stated before they can even mate through cage bars, they're very determined little creatures.
 
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