Territorial behaviour? and introducing 2 females.

[ishimarumiwa]

Hi, i currently have only 1 female chinchilla, Genie. She's currently 9.5mths old, and i've had her for 5.5months.

Im thinking about getting another female chinchilla, preferably around 3 months old as i have read that younger chinchillas are easier to bond.

I am prepared to keep them in separate cages in case they do not get along, but will try my best with the introduction process first and pray hard that it works!

I have several questions here, hope someone can help out!

Genie appears to be unusually friendly and tame, according to what i've read about "normal" chinchillas. She climbed onto my hand on the very first day we met and let me scratch her on the side of the neck. She now lets me pick her up whenever, even during playtime, stroke her anywhere, hold her, and cuddles with my hand and uses it as a pillow when i put it inside her cage etc.

However, if i put my hand in front of the circular opening of her wooden hideout, she would sometimes freak out and lunge at my hand, making a loud noise(compared to her usual quiet chatter) and bite my hand once. Immediately after, she would calm down and sit and let me stroke her.



1)
Did i startle her? It doesnt always happen, only occasionally. And the bites dont hurt at all. Is she being territorial over her hideout?

I am able to put my hand through the circle of her hideout and push her out through the other opening. She doesnt mind, and would just lay her front paws on the wall/above the door if she doesnt want to come out. I could also leave my hand on the floor of the hideout and she would come over and lay on it and sleep.

Is she territorial then? Would introducing a new chinchilla be less likely to go well?



2)
Also, I would like advice on the best method to introduce female chinchillas.

I wish to avoid the smushing method as i've read that it can make chinchillas aggressive towards each other, and it often does not go well.

I initially wanted to to put the 2 cages beside each other and wait until they seem fine/rest on platforms right next to each other, but i've also read that this would instead reinforce territorial behaviour.



3)
What should i look out for in terms of personality when getting a new chinchilla, to increase the chances of bonding with my current one?


Sorry for the wall of text, hope you dont mind reading through and giving some advice, thank you!

 

[Godofgods]

She could be protective of that area. None of my chins bite rly, but for some reason when they are in there tube and i try to put my hand in they will get very defensive and nip. Like they are protecting there territory. And all of mine seem to do it for that one item only.

Intros can take a long amount of time. You generally want to go slowly. You will start off automatically with a 30 day quarantine when you bring in a new chinchilla. Keeping her in a different room then your current one, just in case she is sick or something. You don't want it passing to your chin. That will also give the chin at least some time to start getting used to the new home and environment.

After the 30 days is up and once the chin has calmed down enough and familiar with its surroundings you can then try placing the cages in the same room. Then its the same thing again; long time to let them adjust to new room and environment, and each other.

Then you can try placing the cages next to each other. But leave a few inches in between them to make sure they cant touch each other.

I like to do around a month for each step myself because im extremely cautious.

After that its up to you on which method you want to use. (Assuming everything went well up to this point.) I got lucky with mine. I just let them out together in a neutral play time area and mine got along right away. But there are other things you can do in terms of intro methods or if things dont go perfectly.

 

[BlueDiamond]

I don't know much about intros, but I think your chin is probably being territorial. I have a rabbit that lounges at my hand if I try to take his fleece after he "vanquishes" my hand,
(I start petting him) he is fine.

 

[ishimarumiwa]

Thanks for the replies!

Since she is protective and territorial of that area only, i should remove it when they eventually live together to prevent conflicts from happening over the hideout. Is it possible to put it back in after i have dried it in the sun to remove her smell from it? Or should i just get a new one?

Im going to follow your advice on the intros and take a month on each step.

I have heard about another method like getting a friend to hold the other chinchilla. Let them face each other for about 30 seconds about a feet apart, then turning them around so that their butts are touching, then letting them face each other for about another 30 seconds.

Has anyone tried this? Does it help?

Also, what personality type is best to suit my current chinchilla? Should i get a mild one (as genie appears quite docile) or should i get a more feisty one(opposites attract?). Thank you.

 

[AcornHill]

This is an old topic but in case someone is still trolling - here's my "two cents". My cages are custom made so that they can be split if needed (male separated during non-breeding time, girls separated, etc.) I've never had a chin that hasn't bonded (yet). What I do is perhaps 1-2 days after having cleaned cages I swap the chins and their cages "without" cleaning them. Let them walk around the other chins smell for a week (you can remove shavings as needed just don't scrub). Then clean by just removing shavings no heavy cleaning and swap them again (in my case at this point I put them in the two separate sides of the cage with a cage wire wall between them). After that I put them together in a carrier...see how it goes then move them into the now not split cage having replaced the shavings and give them a dust bath (this is a must and the container needs to big enough they can fit together - this is where they truly bond)...always make sure until you are comfortable that there are 2 bowls and bottles (separate from each other) and each a house, etc.