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.
Entries (RSS)
July 11th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
I recently purchased a chinchilla who has grown up with a bunny. The purchase of the chinchilla included the bunny which was OK because I didn't want the chinchilla to be traumatized by a new environment and the losing of a friend. I would like to separate the two so that in the future I can possibly introduce my young boy to a very attractive young girl without the bunny interfering with them. Can you give me any tips on the smoothest way to separate the two and the amount of time I should leave in between the separation and the introduction of a new chinchilla?
July 11th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Critters15,
We have to admit that we haven't had to deal with a situation similar to yours. You are right to be concerned though. Our best advice is to do a test separation of your chinchilla and rabbit. Then watch the behavior of each to see if they "miss" each other. Good luck!
January 6th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
My chinchilla is as far as I know healthy, but in the last few months his hair is sticking out longer than others on his back end. Is this a problem with his fur or health? Is it necessary to brush or comb their hair regularly and because we don't, could that be part of the problem? We have had one male chinchilla for about a year now and this is the first concern we have had.
January 7th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Mary Ann,
It's hard to know for sure from what you've described if your chinchillas has a health problem. The first thing to find out is if the fur is attached or not. It could be that your chinchilla is just shedding some fur and so it looks longer. If possible, try gently combing your chinchilla to see if the fur falls away. Combing is not usually necessary.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I have a chinchilla at home and since I'm away to college for 4 days a week, my little sister gives him company every day for an hour or two. I was wondering what would happen if I brought home another chinchilla so he wouldn't be too lonely. How many chances there are that they would fight if I get him another male? I've heard that it's more possible for them to like each other if there are two males together rather than two females. I don't want to get him a female because I don't want any cubs.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Katarina,
There's no way to know ahead of time if two chinchillas will get along. In your case you shouldn't get a female as there's no way to ensure that they won't breed. Be aware that introducing chinchillas can take a few weeks so be sure your sister is up to the effort.
January 15th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Chin Planet,
I just purchased a sweet little male ebony chin from a breeder; he was born back in September and was in a cage with two other ebony males and a pastel when I picked him out.
He's in his new home now, with a whole two-story cage to himself with chewable toys, hidy places, comfortable bedding, etc. We familiarized him with the room. He loved hopping about and climbing on us, but then when we checked on him hours later, he was just sitting in one place and kind of lethargic.
Could he be lonely? Is there and huge chance that getting him used to living by himself, with only us to play with during nights for a few hours, would fail?
January 15th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Marilyn,
Two things… The first is that chinchillas sometimes go in to this trance-like state where they sit very still with their eyes open. If you approach them slowly, they don't move. You can even pet them during this state. This behavior can explain short periods of quiet.
The second thing is that chinchillas can be very nervous creatures. When they hear something such as you approaching their room, they'll stop whatever they're doing and listen to the noises so you may not be able to catch them being active.
Does your cage have a wheel? If it doesn't, you should get one. And if it does, try to listen for it while in another room. That's a good sign that all is OK.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Thanks so much! I had no idea they went into that trance-like state. He doesn't have a wheel right now, but I'm hoping to score one soon, since they do run a little expensive. Right now, he has a big tube, a big round seagrass hut with holes for him to jump through, and I heard the little bell several times from the other room last night from one of his chew toys hanging from the cage ceiling. He must be getting accustomed to things.
At least now, I don't have to worry overmuch. I'll definitely be getting that wheel though!
July 26th, 2007 at 2:29 am
I have male chin , Im interested in getting him a female , is there any way that one of them can be spayed or nuetered so that there woudlnt be any babies ?
July 26th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Ricky,
We don't have first hand experience with spaying or neutering chinchillas, but we've read that it can be done. You'll want to seek out a vet that has specific experience with exotic pets. We've found that most vets aren't prepared/willing to deal with any animals other than cats or dogs.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Hi Critters15
I used to have a guinea pig (Betty) living in the same cage as my male chincilla (Billy), we decided in the end after a quite a few hot summers that we should separate them due to the mess Betty made and the smell, we trailed them apart for a week and been as they both seemed ok Betty went to live with my niece and nephews in her own hutch. All went well with this and we left it about a year so as not to cause to much confusion to Billy as he did enjoy Betty's company after his brother George died, and we have now successfully put a female chincilla BooBoo in with him after a period of them living next to each other.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:16 am
I have a male chinchilla. He's probably like a year and a half and I want to get him a friend. However I'm not sure if getting another male around the same age is a good idea. I don't know if maybe im better off trying to find a female friend instead. I don't want an older one but does age matter?
September 18th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
HELP!!!!!!
I adoppted 2 chins a week ago. When I woke up today the femail had had 2 kits and it seems that she killed them. She had blood all over mouth, chest, and paws. is this normal for a mother chin to kill her young?