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[BrightEyed]

One of my new chins is a mean little girl. She is moody.. sometimes she doesn't mind me giving her attention and other times she sprays me (thank god shes not got a perfect aim!) I have her in quarantine now awaiting her fungal culture results.. so I have her in small cage in a seperate room and the cage opens from the top.. so I have to slowly stick my hand in and see if she approves. She bit me today when I got her to clean her cage and sprayed me when I put her back in and moved her hay away from her water bottle.

Does anyone else have and seriously moody chins? and is there any way other then time and trying to gain trust to get her to maybe calm down? all my other chins are sweethearts and Weeza seems a bit stressed.

She will be going back into the chin room this week b/c nothing has shown up as a fungus on the culture and we arent expecting it to. Maybe she hates being isolated- I'll have to work with her and see!

[Jo Ann]

   If a chinchilla is use to having other chins close by and/or sharing a cage with one, yes, they can get very moody ... then, sometimes, they just seem mad at the world for no reason ... even other chins ... but there is always a reason    you just have to find out what it is.   

Jack, a standard gray of ours had been through two previous breeders and no one could figure out what it was he was not happy with.  He would fuss and nip at us, but not hurt us ... he just seemed to want to be left alone.

We tried talking to him ... nothing.
We tried giving him time to adjust without intrusion ... nothing.
We tried treats and dust baths ... nothing.
We tried one-on-one time ... nothing.
We tried male cage mates ... still nothing.
We tried two different female mates ... he did not hurt them, but he would have nothing to do with them.
We tried a third female, Daisy, and it was like turning a light switch on ... he loved every body!  We had finally found his true love for him.      They had several litters over the years, then, he passed away.  We are now trying to find a mate for his mate he left behind ... she will have nothing to do with any of the males we have tried to introduce to her ... so far.   

Sometimes you just have to continue to try different things to bring them around.   

   Jo Ann

[Abby W.]

I have a little male just like that, Jo Ann!  He's about 18 months old, Tan TOV, and he's been with me for about a year...I have tried him with males and with females. He beats up on every chin I put near him.  I have tried all of the other things you mentioned...extra one-on-one time, time alone, bigger cages, smaller ones...I just don't know what to do with him....

[ChinchillAZ]

Megan: Is there any possibility that she might be pregnant? I know some of my girls get a bit more moody when they're pregnant.

[BrightEyed]

you know- I was questioning her being pregnant also and weigh her more often now to see if she is gaining weight. She was born 7-14-07 (almost 4 months old) and is 465 grams. Im keeping a close eye on her. She is clear of fungus so she is being moved back into the chin room. She will be happier there I believe. Well see 

That is cute you matched him with his true love.. and now she wont move on. Maybe with time.. 

[Jo Ann]

  

you know- I was questioning her being pregnant also and weigh her more often now to see if she is gaining weight. She was born 7-14-07 (almost 4 months old) and is 465 grams.

What males has she been around?  Her daddy or brother?  Or another male chin?

She has the capability to be pregnant at 4 months old, but is much to young to be carrying any kits ... her body is not ready for that yet.

   Jo Ann

[BrightEyed]

I have had her around no other males. I have had her since October 20th.. so it would have had to be before I got her. That most likley would mean it would be a brother.. unless she was allowed to be around another male which I really doubt.. but she has been with no males with me.

[ChinchillAZ]

Please keep your eye on her over the next (approximately) 94 days.  With her being so young, I'm surprised that she has such an attitude and I do worry that pregnancy might be a possibility.   

[BrightEyed]

I will be weighing her religously. If she did turn out pregnant I will contact the breeder to see if she had any brothers. I'll be doing that if I notice steady weight gain. I'm super worried about her now  She is way too young and it would have had to be a family member. Two things that really scare me.

[ChinchillAZ]

Unfortunately, weight gain won't necessarily tell you anything...  She SHOULD be gaining weight, whether she's pregnant or not!  After all, she's still a baby herself.   

[BrightEyed]

Good news. We moved her into a run.. I wanted her to be around other chins so I put her in a run where I have a male's hole open so she could see him and interact with him. (he is not who she would be bred with) She changed instantly.. no barking.. no biting.. no spraying.. she is like a new chin. I think she was very unhappy when she was isolated. Poor thing. I'm still watching her for signs of pregnancy. I'm not so worried about it anymore tho since she has changed her behavior. I just wanted to update on her since she is doing better now. 

[ChinchillAZ]

You're allowing a male to interact with her?  Am I missing something?   

[Jo Ann]

Good news. We moved her into a run.. I wanted her to be around other chins so I put her in a run where I have a male's hole open so she could see him and interact with him.

     Am I understanding this correctly?  You put your 4 month-old female in a run with access to a male?

(he is not who she would be bred with)

Did you tell them they would not being paired together for mating?  
They understand allot of things, but I don't think that is one of them.  

    male + female = opportunity = pregnancy

(A female chinchilla that is pregnant before she is mature enough, can = death to the female if she can not deliver the kits.)

[BrightEyed]

she is in the same run.. her hole is closed... his is opened so he can walk in the run. I would never open her hole.

[BrightEyed]

I was simply seeing how she would react to other chins since she was so evil towards us. I used the run as a safe haven because she could not hurt him if she did become aggresive and I could see how she acted without putting anyone in danger