Question:
Hello,
We have a very happy chin family. Our family includes mom, dad and their 2 male kits. We have sucessfully housed all four of our chins in the same living space (two 5 ft x 3 ft cages connected with tubes). We would like to add a 4-month-old female to our happy family. Is there anything we should be concerned with since the new chin will be quite young? Will our mom chin step in as a surrogate mom to the chin? Will dad accept the chin? Will the brothers be accepting?
All of our males have been neutered and we do not plan to breed any chins. I have listed information about our chins below:
Gizmo aka Gizzy - White mosaic male (approx 3 years old). Gizmo is an awesome dad and was a "paws-on- dad" from day one! He appears very gruff, but has a true heart of gold. He was quite hard to win over in the beginning, but is now quite taken with us.
Aquarius aka Pretty Girl - Standard grey female (approx 3 years old). Aquarius is a wonderful mom and extremely mischievious! She is our adventurous chin and we look forward to her nightly escapades. She also has the sweetest face!
Note: Mom & dad were rescued from the SPCA 1 & 1/2-years-ago. Mom delivered 2 male kits 1 month later.
Scooter aka The Scoot - White mosaic male (14 months old). Scooter is our little daredevil. He also loves to follow mom and dad around and do everything they do. He also likes to nibble on my toes and he will occasionally use my husband's face as a sitting shelf!
Tigger aka Tig or Tiggy - Grey standard male (14 months old). Tigger can be quite shy, but he is very sweet. He spooks very easily, but is so incrediably endearing and affectionate. He loves belly rubs.
Any feedback would be very much appreciated.
Thanks!
Kathy


Answer:
Hi Kathy! I cannot remember hearing of anyone housing five chinchillas happily together, but I suppose it is possible. I have done three at a time. When females go into heat at our house, even males in other cages can become quite aggressive. How do your males deal with each other and Aquarius when she is in heat?

As for introducing a new chinchilla to those already established together, it can actually be better to introduce a younger chinchilla, as you are doing. I would advise taking it very slowly and being extremely patient. You may have all of your current four happily accepting the new addition, or none of them, or one of them becoming violent with the new female. It is impossible to tell. Have you an extra cage for quarantine time?

Have you ever introduced chinchillas? There are several threads in the archive section here on POTN you can look at that have dealt with just that issue. There are various methods and theories on how to introduce chinchillas. I hope you keep us up-to-date on how things are going. By the way, we love pictures! (hint hint)


Answer:
Wow, 5 in one cage I have had 3 all live happily together, 5 would be awesome to have living together


Answer:
2 females and 3 males??? Hmm, even nuetered I'd be very careful. When the females go into heat there could be alot of fighting, even between the girls. It would be better imo to seperate the boys and girls and keeps the cages seperate.


Answer:
I'm with Lizz. I wouldn't risk it. Even neutered, males can get very aggressive. Little chins are especially vulnerable to attacks by bigger, older chins.

If you do try it, let us know how it goes.


Answer:
Thanks so much for all of your feedback! I really appreciate it. I was thinking (My husband thinks I'm silly) that our female would like another female for company. She is afterall the only female.

We have only had to separate our chins twice. Both times were when mom went into heat and before the boys were neutered. As soon as mom was no longer in heat, we put all of our chins back into the same cage, as they all seemed quite stressed by the separation. We have enough cages to separate all of the chins if needed. As well, I read all of the threads on here regarding this topic, however; the threads did not seem to address age. I was worried that maybe our 14-month-olds would be jealous, or mom or dad would not be accepting of the new addition.

Our chins get along quite well and because their living area is quite large, when there is an occasional disagreement, they have the room to separate.

My husband was worried that because we have an even number, our chins have already "paired up". Sometimes the pairs are mom & dad, and at other times they switch and are paired 1 parent with 1 kit. My husband is worried it might leave the new kit "odd man out". As well, he thinks if the new kit has a different colouring, she might not be accepted. Is this true?

I know how to handle chin introductions. I just want to gather as much feedback as I can before making a final decision.

Thanks again!

Kathy


Answer:
Colour should not make any difference at all. Atleast I've never heard of it doing so. It's quite possible the new chin will be odd man out, or they could bond closely. There is no sure way to know without trying. Each chinchilla is so uniquely different, you just can't guess! 14months is 'older' for a new addition, so be sure to watch them closely. Make sure the intros are on neutral territory and that the new chin is quarintined before being intro'd to yur guys. Good luck!