So in November I had to put one of my Chinchillas, Gandalf, down because he had malocclusions that couldn't be treated. He was one of two chinchillas I owned and the two chinchillas were cagemates for pretty much their entire life, as long as I and the previous owner had had them at the least.
Now my remaining chinchilla, Merlin, is acting in a way that makes me wonder if he is depressed over the loss of his lifelong friend. Right after Gandalf died Merlin became lazy and disinterested in leaving the cage for play time and only left his hidey-hole to eat and drink. In early December he seemed to be getting better and getting a bit more spunky, and then I had to leave for my dad's for Christmas and New Years. I was gone for about 2 weeks and when I came back Merlin was acting depressed again. Normally when I leave for vacation he is fine but I'm thinking I may have messed up leaving him when I did.
So far this month he has gotten a little better, he comes out for treats, and will sit on my shoulder for a little while, but over all he still seems pretty sad, and still doesn't seem interested in play time outside the cage
The thought has crossed my mind that maybe he needs a new cagemate, but I've heard chinchillas can be aggressive to other chins they don't know that they are introduced to as adults. My chinchilla is at least 5 years old and I don't know what to expect when introducing a new chinchilla.
If you can think of anything else that might cheer him up besides a new chin to play with I would ba happy to hear those suggestions too.
