New chin introduction?

[Srlampron]

I am adopting a young chinchilla from the Humane Society today. She has been thoroughly checked for health and pregnancy by a vet. She is very healthy. I'm wondering if introducing her to my other two girls should be easier because I am assured of her health.

Should it be faster? Can I do a combined playtime soon?

I'm so excited about my new baby. I want her to be with her new family as soon as we can.

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[Stackie]

Despite her getting a clean bill of health by the humane society, you still need to quarantine her from your other chins for at least 30 days. This means separate cage in a totally different room and absolutely no contact until those 30 days are up. While she may seem healthy now, the stress of a move and new home can cause her immune system to weaken and allow any underlying illnesses/parasites to crop up. Other illnesses also have longer incubation periods and she could have been exposed to something but not showing signs of illness yet.

Unless they took x-rays, there's no way to know for sure she isn't pregnant if she's been exposed to a male. Even x-rays can miss the babies if they are taken too early. Gestation is 111 days, I honestly would keep her alone in a baby safe cage for that long if there is any chance she could be pregnant.

Rushing is not a good way to go about introductions. Just because she's healthy doesn't necessarily mean they will by any means get along. In my experience, introducing a new chin to an already bonded pair can go very sour. Instead of getting a trio, the bonded pair may begin to fight because of the upset in dominance so you end up with 3 single chins instead of 3 bonded ones. I have had trios before but they only got along for a few months before starting to fight. I have had to completely separate them, and in another instance I got two paired back up but the third is a single chin. Of course some people have trios that are okay, but I have read many stories on here about trios not working out and in my own experience I have 0% success rate with them. And of course, some chins may never get along with others, may only like certain chins but not others, etc. There's no guarantee the new girl will get along with your other girls, or vice versa.

After the quarantine is over, you still need to take introductions slowly as rushing them usually does more harm than good. I would move their cages side by side for a few weeks until they are comfortable with each other's presence and then slowly go from there.

 

[ticklechin]

Also, quarantine is used to make sure the chin is eating and drinking, lets her get used to her new home and makes the adoption process for her less stressful since she is not getting used to a new home and new room mates at the same time. Take it slow.

 

[GrumpyCat]

I can only tell you my experience with bringing new family home. I have two adult females as a bonded pair. In the spring, I decided I would like to get another chin and thought I could just get one to bring in with my big girls. Each breeder I spoke to strongly advised against this for the same reason that Stackie mentioned earlier.

Instead, I decided to get kits from the same litters and put them in their own cage. Even this was rough on my first chin, Pandora. She was very jealous and would get very upset when I gave attention to the kits. (We were very close before, as her cage-mate does not like to be held). She started fur biting and giving me the stink eye when I would try to talk to her. She would even turn away when I tried to give her treats! I thought this might be my imagination, but my husband confirmed that he was noticing the same behavior. I made it a point of always going to her before giving the kits attention. She is always the first one to get spoken to, have her dinner served, get the bath, get treats, or lap time. It took a month or so, but she is finally starting to come around and be my sweetheart again. She has also stopped ripping her beautiful coat. This experience has taught me how sensitive they can be.

If I ever bring any new chins home, I will be careful to do anything very slowly and to not disrupt the routine of the chins I already have.