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[swendog4]

We have a pair of chins, one male (Earl), one female (Pearl) who bred and had 2 babies (both boys, Bo and Fro). They are now weaned but still in the cage with Pearl. We have tried to introduce Earl back into the same cage as Pearl after putting the boys in a separate cage. Pearl snaps and attacks Earl the entire time we had him in there. He sticks up for himself by growling and 'fighting back', but it's a constant battle.
I have read in other places that putting Pearl in Earl's cage (identical cages next to each other), might be helpful since this might be a territorial issue and that we may have to trim Pearl's whiskers to make her less dominant.
Earl was neutered (successfully) because we wanted to make sure he could live with her again, plus we didn't want there to be problems when she goes back into heat. We will also get the babies neutered when they are of age to make sure they are healthy/strong enough for the surgery and that there will be no problems with them when she goes into heat.
I have a two-fold question:
Will Pearl and Earl ever be able to be in the same cage again? We want them to be in the same cage and the boys in their own cage. Earl has been depressed since the day the boys were born because we had to separate them. Pearl has been his only companion since he was weaned.
And, if she doesn't accept him, am I better off putting the boys in with Earl or leaving them with Pearl?

[chinclub]

Chinchillas have short memories of other chinchillas, so it is not uncommon for the female to not want the male back.  You have to start all over as if they just met.  Keep the cages side by side if you haven't already done so and give them time to get reacquainted through the bars. Then put HER isn't his cage.  Never the other way around.  It might take a few tries to get them together.   You might as well just be patient with these two.  She will except him again eventually.  You would have to go through the same thing when you wanted to put her boys back with her and that would be even harder because you would be dealing with 3 chinchillas.

[swendog4]

We put his cage next to the original cage (now with Mama and babies) immediately after the kits were born. We have tried to put the Mama and Daddy together in his cage, but they do nothing but chase each other around the cage, fight, growl, bark, and there is slip everywhere. After about 30 minutes of her terrifying him, we separate them and it takes quite awhile for the male to calm down.

We will be trimming her whiskers today and reintroducing them. If that doesn't help, then:  Is it okay to put all three males together (Daddy and babies) and leave the mama alone? Or can we just leave the babies with mama?

[chinclub]

The boys need to leave mom before 3 months of age so there is no breed back.  Have you tried introducing mom and dad in a neutral place like your bathroom?

[lilchinchilla]

What I do for introductions and it works fairly well, is I take the dominant one of the two and trim their whiskers down to an inch in length (they grow back, so no worries.).

First thing in the early morning hours, when they are all tired out from their long night of playing, I will put both of them in a neutral (and chin proofed) room in my home, lay out a dust bath, and maybe some tunnels or objects to keep them distracted from wanting to hurt one another, and I will just sit and watch.

I stay for a good 2 hours, and if all is well, I will put them in the male's cage (much like Jamie mentioned). I will supervise for another two hours, to ensure there is no fighting. If there is fighting, then I separate and try another introduction method on another day, but usually this way of introducing works well. There is the odd chinchilla who is just not interested in having a buddy, but that's only ever happened once before and I've introduced numerous chinchillas for other pet owners, my own, and for friends.

If it does not work out, you could try the same introduction method with the dad and babies (if all babies are male). There is no harm in doing that either.