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[cusunfireguy]

Well, I believe that I have made a bad mistake.  I have two grey males in a cage and they have always gotten along.  I recently got a white male baby Chinchilla.  I did the quarantine time in a separate cage next to the boys.  Everything went fine.  They were playing during supervised play time.  There were no signs of fighting or any aggression.  After a few weeks, we integrated them.  Everything was great.  Last night during play time, the two grey males got into a huge fight and one of them got both of his ears torn in a matter of seconds.  I separated everyone and treated the torn ears. 

I then had a horrible thought, what if I should not have taken the word of the breeder that the white chinchilla was a male.  We checked him very carefully and I'm quite certain our "Juno" is a female.  After reading posts, I'm certain they had a battle over the female.  I have been in tears over the torn ears and I'm not sure what to do at this point.  We have bonded with Juno and couldn't imagine giving her up.  Who should we keep separated?  I'm not sure the two boys will accept each other again with a female in the house.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Very sad in Denver,

Steven

[Abby W.]

Steven,

I am so sorry about your troubles!  You might try non-toxic skin glue to see if his ears will heal back together.  I have not used it, but have heard other people have had success doing that.  And, don't be too hard on yourself.  Many people make mistakes when sexing chinchillas.  It can be very tricky sometimes to tell for sure.

I would be very concerned about putting the males together again.  At the least, I would put the female in an entirely different room for several weeks before you try re-introducing the males again.  If she is in another room where they can't see or smell her, the males might be okay again.

Good luck!

[Jenova]

Or you could get another female and have two pairs... depends how many chinchillas you want in the end.

I agree though, keep the males seperated for a while but in cages next to each other, perhaps let them out together but under very careful supervision. Personally I wouldn't want to risk r#them together again, but you know your chinchillas best. Good luck.

[chinclub]

If the female is out of the picture (in another room) the boys should bond back together again just fine.  Now that you know the new one if female be sure to keep her far away from the boys.  You don't want her having a chance of breeding before she is fully grown herself (8 months +).

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Be sure you have a female, I've seen both sexes turn on each other. Some just don't get along and never will.
Just be sure of the sexes first.

[cusunfireguy]

Thanks for all of the advice.  I have decided to rehome one of the males to a very good friend of mine that lives next door.  He is doing well.  In the mean time, I have the other male and the female separated but in the same room.  I couldn't bare giving up my little white baby after driving so far to get her, plus, she is super sweet and loves to be held.  We will see where this takes us.  As far as the ears, I took Buster to the vet and he gave me some ointment to put on them so they would heal but he said no matter what he did, it was very unlikely that they would heal back together and it won't affect him any.  He just looks a little weird.  That's ok though, I love him and he's still my special guy.  A big lesson learned though.  I was in tears that I had made such a horrible mistake but your words of kindness and wisdom has really helped.  Thanks so much everyone!

Happy again in Denver,

Steven

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Ears!!!
Well I have 2 with none, and I think I love them more because they are different.
Sure doesn't effect them any, and I don't think the other chins even notice.
Glad your all happy again.