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[brlown510]

I have a male chin, Trevor who is almost 2yrs old and we have had him or a little over a year.  1 1/2 months ago we purchased another chin, Sheldon, who is about 6 months old. 

We started with their cages separate to avoid diseases (just in case) for 3 days and then moved them next to one another. They fought through the bars a tad but for the most part ignored one another ad soon adjusted.

We then began taking them out about 1-2 times/ week into the bathroom and letting them play together, but we have had a lot of trouble.  Trevor sometimes tries to nip and bite Sheldon and for the most part, poor Sheldon tries to hide or avoid Trevor.  He will jump 5 feet in the air in order to get away from him!  We have been doing this for about 1 month.  Although we don't have the time to take them out every night I am afraid they are never going to get along!

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to introduce them another way.  Maybe I am doing something wrong or maybe they won't ever like each other? I just don't know.  Any suggestions at all would be helpful

[olivia41]

there are a few things you can try. since they are in seperate cages, you can try putting each one in the other's cage for a little while to get accustomed to the other's smell. Also, let little Sheldon go in the dust bath first and then guide Trevor in afterwards so he can smell the baby and realize he's just like him. If you notice that Trevor is bullying Sheldon, try grabbing him right when you see unfriendly behavior and if you have a small carrier cage or something like that, put Trevor in and let him watch Sheldon play happily for about five minutes. This can be time-out and if the issue is jealously, this usually stops it. If he continues, keep putting him in for longer time-outs until he learns. they usuallly catch on very quick and he will realize if he's nice he gets to play!

[Ladykelia]

I'm also having some trouble introducing my male chins. Apollo is about a year and a half years old and Loki is about 4 months old (I've had him for about a month). I kept them isolated for about a week or so to let Loki get used to us but now they live in the same room, the cages are a couple of feet away from each other. For the first week or so I would let them out one at a time during playtime to sniff at each other through the cage bars, and for the last two weeks I have let them out to play together. It seemed like they were making progress but lately things are starting to slide downhill again. I thought Apollo would be the trouble chinchilla, but Loki is actually the one to instigate the fights or spaz out if Apollo approaches him. Yesterday Apollo appeared to be grooming Loki's backside (nibbling at the fur without pulling it out) which Loki tolerated for about 30 seconds and then turned around and repaid him by taking out a chuck of Apollo's fur 

They've been in each other's cages and know each other's scent I'm sure. A lot of the time they ignore each other but I haven't seen any friendly behaviors yet. We've tried time-outs in their own cages (a little tricky sometimes since Loki is very fast and hard to catch) and distractions like the dust bath which worked very temporarily. Apollo's poor little butt is starting to look a bit patchy, but there haven't been any injuries yet. I think one part of the problem is that Apollo thinks Loki is a girl, I've seen him flirtatiously wiggle his tail and seems to be a bit amorous. We've tried doing the butt to butt technique as outlined here http://www.chincare.com/HealthLifestyle/Introductions.htm while I held Loki and my husband held Apollo, but it just made them nervous and Apollo kept biting my hubby.

So I'm not sure what step two is. Should we keep going and keep exposing them to eachother, or should we separate them in different rooms for a couple of weeks to let them forget and then restart the introductions with something more like the cage within a cage technique over the course of 36 hours?

I know its possible they are just incompatible, but since it hasn't reached the point of actual hatred, attacking to kill yet I still have hope that we can get them into the same cage, I'm just not sure how to go about it.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

That links says it all 
If after so long and so much trying they are still fighting give up. Your only stressing them and you.
Some just do not like each other from the start,& some will turn on each other for no apparent reason. At the same time I've tried pairings in the past only to find they love each other a few months later.
You have to decide when you've all had enough and settle for separate cages.

[olivia41]

what do you mean exactly when you say Apollo thinks Loki is girl? if Apollo thinks this, then hes probably right  haha chins know better than humans

[LindyLu]

They may never learn to get along.
I tried introducing a 5 yr old male to a 2 yr old male last Summer. I did the cages near each other. I did the switching cages, and sharing dust baths. I did the bathroom play with one in a carrier... I even tried playtime in the whole house hoping they'd be to busy/excited to bother with eachother.
Nope. They found each other and fought. Nothing major...just pulling tufts of hair out...but I'd break it up quickly so it COULD have gotten worse if I wasn't there.

Eventually I gave up and decided they were never going to be friends.
Sometimes you can't force it!

[Ladykelia]

what do you mean exactly when you say Apollo thinks Loki is girl? if Apollo thinks this, then hes probably right  haha chins know better than humans

He'll waggle his tail at Loki sometimes which I read it a pretty classic mating sign. However, I am 99.99% sure Loki is a male. Not that I'm an expert on chinchillas but I did get him from a somewhat experienced breeder, and have gotten a good look at his genitalia myself. There is distance between the anus and penis.
I think I'm going to put them in separate rooms to give them a break for a couple of weeks and then try the cage within a cage technique on a weekend where we can devote a lot of time to it. I know we gotta give up sometime, but I don't think we've exhausted possibilities, and I would greatly prefer that they can be cage mates at some point (though I know its not really up to me  ). There's also the element that Loki is still very young and very high-strung, which I think is part of the problem - he might mature up a bit given some time. Or should I just dream on? Haha.

[olivia41]

maybe you can post a picture of his genitals? mistakes are made, i had a similar situation recently where we had a chin that we were pretty sure was a boy and ended up being a girl and my two other boys were fighting alot, so you never know. otherwise, it might be good to give them a break from each other. don't give up just yet!

[Ladykelia]

maybe you can post a picture of his genitals? mistakes are made, i had a similar situation recently where we had a chin that we were pretty sure was a boy and ended up being a girl and my two other boys were fighting alot, so you never know. otherwise, it might be good to give them a break from each other. don't give up just yet!

Well, on second thought it was Apollo's genitals that I have gotten a good look at before. Apollo is DEFINITELY a male. So you're right, I've only been going off of the breeder's assumption that Loki is a male. Picture attached. Its not the best picture but hopefully good enough, it was a bit hard to get. I think Loki was feeling a bit violated  . Loki is still a baby at 4 months old. Can any expert here confirm Loki's gender?

[olivia41]

i'm definitely not an expert, but it looks like a girl to me. i'm sure debbie, jamie or joann will respond with a sure answer though!

[Jo Ann]

   From what I can see ... 'he' sure looks like a she to me!
 
Sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but now, your problems have been compounded ...

You have more than one male in a cage within smelling distance of a female that will soon be 'in season', but much to young to breed.  The perfect combination of reasons for males that normally get along, to fight.  It is nature's way for the fittest of the species to survive ... It is usually the males that decide this, in a battle/fight of 'life or death'. 

You might want to keep her in a different room (completely different floor of the house) if possible.  She is much to young to be in breeding at this time.  Also ... make sure you handle the boys first, then the new little female.  Scents from her, when she goes in season, left on you, then transferred to one or both of the boys, may give them the excuse to fight. 

I would contact the breeder so she can change/correct her breeding records and your breeding card that came with your new chin.   

   Jo Ann

[Ladykelia]

Nah, I just have the two chins (Apollo and Loki), so no warring boys or anything. I'm just nervous that they have played together and for all I know Loki might already be pregnant if he is indeed a she, but i will keep them separated from now on until I know for absolute sure Loki's gender. Just out of curiosity, how can you tell Loki is a girl from the picture? I looked at how to sex a chinchilla and babys' genitals look nearly the same from the pictures. At what point are they mature enough for the difference to be obvious?

Edit- I took another closer look at Loki's genitals, and lifted up on the skin above them which caused the penis lift up and expose the skin (not vagina) underneath. So I'm fairly certain he is in fact a boy. Yay!