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[Rachael29]

Okay so ...

We have had our chinchillas Onyx and Coco for about a month now.
They seem to have settled well and will snuggle in the cage with each other while sleeping and Onyx has started sleeping on his side. (I Freak out but he jumps right up when i go over to the cage which I have read is just them getting comfy with the new environment)

So my question is are they playing or fighting at play time outside the cage??

They will run around separately and sometimes make a squeaky noise and reconnect im sure its called, the best way to describe it is like if you were to give some-one a peck on the lips .... sounds weird but its like they want to make sure they are both still there because they are running around separately.

I did have an issue with dominance mounting but that seams to have calmed down alot.

The best way to describe it is that they both try to mount each other or kinda running around in circles together bearing in mind this might not be the case as they are that quick! and we panic and get them away from each other as quick as possible.

they dont do this in the cage or very often they do it maybe once every few days at play time outside the cage.

so i guess my question is .... Do chinchillas play together, or can we assume they are fighting? They have no issues with each other inside the cage and as i said they often snuggle on a shelf together. They are both about a year old and have been together since they were 12 weeks old so they are not newly paired. I know about a year old they hit what we would call puberty so maybe thats a factor?

thanks for any and all information you can give!

[GrayRodent]

I would say if they are getting along in the cage together you are not seeing fighting. My two will fight occasionally where they will make kacking noises at each other and they will stand up and face each other. In a more serious fight one will get cornered and there will be bearing of teeth. I've seen this kind of behavior early on with my two when I first introduced them but I haven't seen that in a long time. Squeaking noises are not fighting noises, but instead kacking and spitting noises.

[Rachael29]

See none of them bark at each other (Onyx has barked twice the 1st at night ( assuming in his sleep) and the second for no reason we could see or hear but he was nowhere near Coco so we dont think Coco has set him off. I know their hearing is better then ours so we assume it was a noise outside)
And i have watched some videos online regarding chinchilla's fighting. In all the videos they are stand offish and in each others faces as you said but when mine are ..... doing whatever they are doing they are around each other if that makes sense it isnt stand offish or like you know somethings going to go down between them they are together, reconnecting like face to face, im sure one has started because Onyx tried to mount Coco then they were like running around together.

Is this Fighting? should I be separating them? or should I leave them be as they are playing together?

I watched this video and videos similar to it and what my 2 are doing is nothing like this at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u9MnZegOoQ

i suppose im just worried i dont want to leave them alone incase it is fighting, and i dont want to separate them if they are playing.

[GrayRodent]

No don't separate them. If they're going to fight they will do it in the cage as well. Mounting is not a problem either. Chinchillas do this on occasion even when are well bonded. You know what to look for now and you're not seeing it so don't worry about it and even if you do see it don't separate them unless it becomes a pattern or gets violent (tearing each other's hair out). But even occasional clumps of hair doesn't necessarily mean danger. Squeaking and grooming each other is not a sign of fighting. Occasional squabbling in the cage is to expected with any pair of chinchillas but it should not be a pattern.  Kacking, spitting, stand-offish behavior like in the video is a sign of fighting but even these chinchillas may be okay depending on their circumstances and that must be assessed by the way they normally behave around each other. You have to look at it as whole and look for patterns.

[Rachael29]

so are we calling it playing?

I will try and get a video of them if they do it again.

but it they do do it again just leave them be?

Thanks

[BLS Chins]

If they are fighting instead of playing you will find pulled hair and bite marks. Kacking and mounting are normal for any group of chins. Does it only happen at play time or when they are in the cage?

[Rachael29]

It only happens out side the cage never inside .... They don't kack at each other either. They done it again last night and it was like they were holding on to each other going round in circles it only lasted like 3/4 seconds then they were fine we didn't interrupt them.