KJsChillas
06-25-10, 01:27 PM
Well, I have 1 loner chinchilla (Escher) right now and I know someone trying to rehome another (Hoopla). I'd love to have Hoopla but I'm afraid they won't mix well and if they don't, I don't have room to keep another large cage. Does anyone have tips other than having their cages right next to each other / switching them back and forth between cages?
They are both boys, Escher is about 5 years old and Hoopla is around 2 years old.
Escher has always been aggressive with other chins which is why we've left him by himself. His cage is next to a cage with 2 females so I don't know if he's only aggressive with females and maybe he'll be okay with the new male or if having the females close to the males would be worse on the males.
Someone suggested getting one, or both, males fixed but I don't know if that even lessens their aggression (like in dogs). Maybe I can rearrange the cages so the boys don't see the girls but will they still smell them? They'd have to remain in the same room.
I also have another male (Chilly) who has seemed pretty good with other chins in general. Right now he's alone because his girlfriend (Pepper) just had babies and so we seperated dad from mom. He may do okay with the new male but then mom would be alone (after we rehome the babies). We have previously tried to get Pepper to live with the other 2 females (Divinity & Berry) but with no success. There were lots of fights. That was about a year and a half ago. Would we have better luck now? Then we'd have 1 cage for the 3 girls, 2 boys in another, and Escher still by himself.
Chilly & Pepper have been together since we got them over 2 years ago and I'd hate to seperate them but if that's what's best...
Ideally we don't want more than 3 cages but if we ever manage to get all the boys in 1 cage and all the girls in another, we could upgrade to bigger cages. :)
Ahh, sorry this was so long and confusing! :/ Any help is MUCH appreciated!
They are both boys, Escher is about 5 years old and Hoopla is around 2 years old.
Escher has always been aggressive with other chins which is why we've left him by himself. His cage is next to a cage with 2 females so I don't know if he's only aggressive with females and maybe he'll be okay with the new male or if having the females close to the males would be worse on the males.
Someone suggested getting one, or both, males fixed but I don't know if that even lessens their aggression (like in dogs). Maybe I can rearrange the cages so the boys don't see the girls but will they still smell them? They'd have to remain in the same room.
I also have another male (Chilly) who has seemed pretty good with other chins in general. Right now he's alone because his girlfriend (Pepper) just had babies and so we seperated dad from mom. He may do okay with the new male but then mom would be alone (after we rehome the babies). We have previously tried to get Pepper to live with the other 2 females (Divinity & Berry) but with no success. There were lots of fights. That was about a year and a half ago. Would we have better luck now? Then we'd have 1 cage for the 3 girls, 2 boys in another, and Escher still by himself.
Chilly & Pepper have been together since we got them over 2 years ago and I'd hate to seperate them but if that's what's best...
Ideally we don't want more than 3 cages but if we ever manage to get all the boys in 1 cage and all the girls in another, we could upgrade to bigger cages. :)
Ahh, sorry this was so long and confusing! :/ Any help is MUCH appreciated!