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[olivia41]

hi! as you all know, we have two chins indy and liv who are about 7 months(indy) and a year old(liv). We love them very much and we just got a third baby boy whos about three months old. We tried introducing them in the room and indy immediately started going after him trying to chase him and snip at him. the baby was crying and liv responded by smelling him but he was ok until this morning liv started chasing him as well. the baby's not instigating anything, the boys are just being bullies but should we let them chase him and see how it goes? also, we have him in a seperate small cage and we left him in there and they were both bothering him while he was in the cage. what should we do? help!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Slow down and take your time, and remember they may never get along.
The good thing is it doesn't sound like the new boy wants to be alpha male so that should make things a little easier.
Don't rush it, make him yours first. Make sure he trusts you before you try putting him in the same cage with the other two. Start with short visits, even sniffing through the cage, watching they don't hurt each other.
Hold the baby up to the others cage and if they show aggression, blow at them a little to let then know this is not acceptable.
Put their cages close to each other but not touching.
Once they get the seniority worked out they may get along fine, but I wouldn't leave the kit with the older boys, they could seriously hurt him.

[Jo Ann]

    Chinchillas are very social, as a rule ... it may just take time to get them use to each other (Very closely supervised playtimes).  You may want to try putting both cages on the floor.  Let them out to play.  The first to cause a problem goes in the small cage for about 10 minutes, for time out, while the other two play.  If the next one chases the baby, he can be put in the small cage, too, along with the other one (if his 10 minutes are not up).  Then let the kit play with you and then play in the big cage before you let the two older ones back out.  {This will also get all three of them familiar with each other's scents, because they will leave that behind when they play/stay in the other one's cage.  Chinchillas are very smart ... You would be surprised on how fast they learn that if they are not nice to the baby, they get put in the small cage for a 10 minute time out.   

This method usually works, BUT, as usual, there are exceptions to every rule.  It could also make them more jealous, which would add to the problem, rather than solving it ... you have to decide if you want to try that or not. 

We can give you options that have or have not worked in the past for us, but, when it gets to the nitty gritty of the situation, you have to decide what to do.

Each chinchilla has it's own special personality, and as with humans, some personalities will conflict with others.  As a general rule, if they start fighting immediately, it is almost a lost cause ... but there are always a few exceptions.

   Jo Ann

[olivia41]

thanks both of you! definitely helpful ideas to try. we've been doing the timeout thing with indy since he has been a bully and it seems to be working. also we lightly blow in his face if he nips at the baby and this puts him aback a little but he learns. he has been nicer to the baby, hes such a smart little boy  however.. the baby loves the big boys cage and whenever we have both cages open during playtime he runs in. is this ok? the boys seem to be ok they just sniff him alot but will they see him as an intruder? i just wanna make sure he's welcome! hes a really nice addition, very sweet and loving  ill post pictures soon! thanks again!