Getting Another Chinchilla... Or Two

Sondra asks...

Pikachu is my one and only chin. My husband said that one of the girls at his work has a friend who is moving and can't bring her chinchillas with her. Also, the female is pregnant and so the owner said I could have one of the babies. Well, that fell through, because her brother took in the chinchillas.

I had my heart set on getting another chin, especially a baby, and the fact that it was my hubby's idea! So you can imagine how heartbroken I was when I found out I wasn't getting one. So I've been searching at humane societies and rescues. Eventually I was referred to this person who rescues chinchillas and I was going to adopt this male named Oscar. When she sent me a video of him, it showed him next to his buddy that she said he always snuggles up to. Being the big moosh that I am, how could I possibly adopt him and seperate him from his buddy? Well I can't and told her that, so she offered for me to adopt both of them.

So, here is my dilemma, if I get two more chins, my husband will kick me and them out on the curb, so I can only get one more. So do you think I should just forget it and look elsewhere or go ahead and adopt both? (I know my husband would get over it).

Chinchilla Planet answers...

You definitely don't want to break up the bonded pair which it sounds like you already agree with. From what you described, I would keep looking for a lone chin.

Introducing two chins to your one chin at the same time could turn out to be quite difficult. You might get lucky, but the introductions that I've done have always been a little rough for the first few weeks and they were always individuals.

And I'm sure you thought about this, but if you do decide to go for that pair, make sure you have enough room for them. Is there enough room outside of the cage for all three to run around? Would you want to add another wheel to the cage? And you might need to clean more often with 3 chinchillas which means taking more time out of your day.