Moving a new chinchilla in

danakscully64 · 04-28-2007, 09:54 AM

Hey everyone! I'm new to these message boards. I have 3 male chinchillas: Shadow, Twilight, and Midnight. Shadow (gray) and Midnight (Black Velvet) have been living in the same cage since about 2002. In January, I adopted another chinchilla from someone who couldn't keep him anymore. Twilight (gray) has his own HUGE cage and I would love to put all 3 chinchillas in one cage. My problem: Shadow and Midnight freak out! Their cages are side by side, so they know each other exist. Sometimes I let Twilight go into their cage: Shadow ends up on the 2nd story scared and Midnight goes into his house and makes noises at Twilight. Any suggestions for getting them together? Also, is it normal for 2 chinchillas who don't know each other to bite at one another? They don't seem to be hurting each other.

Thank you for reading!

danakscully64 · 04-28-2007, 10:19 AM

Right after posting this, I opened both of their cage doors so they could explore each others cage (I've done this a few times). I ended up getting sprayed by Twilight when he was trying to get Shadow. Twilight sprays while my other chins don't. Twilight is also very adventurous, Shadow is somewhat, and Midnight won't leave his cage. I read online that chewing is something chins do to new things, but could they seriously hurt each other doing it? For the most part, they get along without fighting. Should I just keep letting them visit each other daily and slowly move them in with each other?

Solarsis · 04-28-2007, 12:53 PM

OK I'm going to ask again if you are sure they are all males. Males do not usually spray, that's something females do. I would check and double check Twilight first to make sure he is indeed a he. Otherwise you could end up with babies.

Second, it's not recommended to introduce chinchillas by putting them on the other one's turf while the other one is still in there. This could lead to serious fighting. You need to introduce them on a neutral territory. Some people try a number of different things:

Put a bit of vanilla in their dust bath then get them to bathe seperately in it. This will make them smell all the same and can help them accept one another on the neutral grounds
put a dab of vanilla on each chin's nose and bum. Same effect as above.
"smoosh" the chins in a small space. This looks a bit barbaric but apprently works well. If you do a search for "smoosh" in the chin section, you'll find info on how it's done.
I've also heard of people putting the chins all together in a small neutral area with a lot of toys and a dust bath. The chins are so distracted by al they can do that they forget their is a new guy. They usually end up playing or bathing together.

Obviously, you want to watch your chins like a hawk at all times when introducing, no matter which method you use.

danakscully64 · 04-28-2007, 01:16 PM

I'm scared now... maybe Twilight is a female! I'm going to try and check right now. I will get back to you in a few minutes on how that goes.

When I put them together, my eyes never stray! I'm always afraid something will happen.

Solarsis · 04-28-2007, 01:20 PM

didn' mean to scare you

I just know that it's common to misidentify chins and the behaviour you have been describing sounds like you may have a female on your hands. Especially if you male went bonkers and your new chin has been spraying.

I could be totally wrong though.

danakscully64 · 04-28-2007, 01:37 PM

Didn't scare me... you really brought up a good point though. That wouldn't be a good thing if Twilight was a female and I put her in with 2 males. I took the old owner's word for it when she said Twilight was male. I'm literally going to try and check right now (if he'll let me pick him up without spraying).

danakscully64 · 04-28-2007, 01:48 PM

I think Twilight is a male, almost certain. I now have a chinchilla shirt! Geez, he freaked out and I was so gentle. I used this site as a reference: http://www.huggablepets.com/huggablepets/sexing.shtml

I think midnight id 6 and hasn't had a female yet, that he's willing to settle

Candycane · 04-28-2007, 02:39 PM

My boys have been known to try to spray (especially Santos) but nothing comes out. The way to tell for sure is to try to retract the sheath. If Twilight is a male, the sheath will retract and there will be a penis. If the sheath does not retract, Twilight is female. Have you ever checked for hair rings on your other males? It is the same procedure. You may need another set of hands and a "chinnie burrito" (a chinnie wrapped in a towel) to check.

I have successfully introduced two boys using a couple of different methods combined. Cage swapping is generally effective in getting them used to each others' smells. Every few days, put Twilight into Midnight and Shadow's cage for a few days and vice versa. Does that make sense?

The other method that I used is the "smoosh" method (putting them in a small space as Sophie mentioned) but modified. I put them in a critter ball for short periods of time together. By short, I mean a few minutes at max as the critter balls do not have great ventilation.

Introducing chins can take a very long time and you have to be willing to accept the fact that they might not every get along. It can also be dangerous...but it sounds like you are very vigilant when observing them together. Best of luck!

danakscully64 · 04-28-2007, 05:22 PM

This chinchilla can DEFINATELY spray. I've been sprayed on about 5 times since January. I'm going to double check on Twilight soon... or to be safe, take him to the vet. I'm pretty sure he's a male. I know for sure my other 2 are... they keep themselves "groomed." I've never checked for hair rings. I actually had to look it up just now. I have multiple books and I've researched for years and have never even heard of it. Now that I know, I will have to check them regularly

I've been kinda doing the "switching cage" thing, but not regularly. I'm afraid to leave Shadow and Midnight in Twilights cage because the floors are plastic. The person who owned Twilight before me bought a ferret cage for him, not really thinking about how unsafe it is. Twilight doesn't chew on it much (very very little), but my other 2... it would probably be eaten in a day! I want to buy a cage the size of Twilights (it's almost 5 feet tall), but all wire and put all 3 in there. Right now, I don't want to shell out $145 plus $45 shipping for the cage I want. I'm in the process of trying to find a local place that sells chinchilla cages. It's not the $145 I mind paying, its the shipping I think is insane, especially if I can find one nearby.

Have you ever built your own cage? I'm considering it. I really like Martin's Chinchilla Cages... you can even get the slide-out tray option. I have searched the web and have found a ton of really neat homemade cages. I don't think I have time to build one though.

Thanks for the info

danakscully64 · 04-28-2007, 06:45 PM

Oh no! TWILIGHT IS A FEMALE! I kept checking and she looked male. Then I read in my book to compare... I check Midnight and sure enough, she's got to be a female. I am SO glad you said something to me before I moved them in together. Thank you SO MUCH. You saved me a lot of stress and time

Do you by chance know of any cages I can buy that have 2 seperate compartments, maybe stacked or side by side that have a slide-out tray? Having two very large cages is really taking up space in my small room.