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[hoss7071]

Hello, we own two Chinchillas.  One is a male named "Bonkers" the female is named "Lola"  We have had our male for almost a year, and our female for a little over a month.  The problem I am having, is after the introduction phase we put them in one cage to live together.  They got along great, and really seem to enjoy the company.  All of a sudden, be begins pulling her fur out of the top of her head.  We thought it may be just nerves, until we awoke to her ear being all bit up....

She is doing okay, we have separated them into different cages and monitor them when we let them play together.  The thought of putting her back in with our male, terrifies me.  Which is why I am writing this.  We love both of our Chins, they play well together.  However, should we keep them in separate cages on a permanent basis, since the male is being so aggressive?  I am wondering why he would be so aggressive toward a female chin??

BTW:  I am new, will have some pics up of our Chins when I have some more time. 

[chinclub]

First I have to ask the important questions:  Is your female at least 8 months old and Do you know their history enough to know they are safe to breed?

Sorry, gotta get the basics out of the way....

Ok, You are having a unique problem as it is usually the female the beats up the male.  It sounds like the male is wanting to mate and the female isn't ready and isn't very good at protecting herself.  Let us have the details about their ages and we can give some better advice on what to do next.

[cusunfireguy]

Yep, totally weird.  The female is usually the dominant one.  As chinclub stated, he may be wanting to breed and she's not ready.  I wouldn't think it was a case of him not being sure how to groom her properly.  However, chins can be kinda funny.  Without more details, it's hard to figure out what's going on.

Steven

Good luck!!

[hoss7071]

This is Hoss's fiancee. I have had chinchillas in the past and they breed. I kept one of the babies and he was smaller at 6months compared to Lola now.  We can't say for certain her age. We THINK she is older than six months going only by size.  We bought her at a pet store and they knew very little about her.  We don't even know Bonkers' age. On the first day we put them together he tried to mate with her and a few days after that but he stopped really trying after that. They also look different.  Bonkers looks more like a bunny in the face and Lola looks almost like a rat in the face. We weren't really looking for them to mate we just wanted bonkers to have a friend. Is that enough info if not please ask anything you would like to know.  Thank you for all your time.

[chinclub]

Age and size are very important as are genetics. It sounds like your female is still too young which is why she didn't stand up for herself.

 Female chinchillas MUST be over 8 months old and fully grown before they are around a male.  Otherwise they will get pregnant too soon and the babies will not be able to fit out during delivery and mom and babies will die.   Also, since you don't know the backgrounds they could be carrying the malocclusion gene.  If so, their babies will have horrible tooth problems later in life.

 If you want to breed chinchillas please consider getting a breeding age pair from a good breeder and reading up on what is involved.  A chinchilla that looks like a rat obvious comes from bad lines.  No reputable breeder would have bred for that trait so you know she is not safe breeding quality.

If you really want Hoss to have a cagemate please get him a boy and keep Lola away from him for her safety. 

[cusunfireguy]

I couldn't agree more.  Tough situation.  It's hard when you want to do what's best for them but "chinclub" is right.  Don't let them breed if their heritage is in question.  Breeding is very hard on the female under ideal situations but in a situation as yours, you could be spiraling into a bad situation full of heart break.  My suggestion to you would be to check out websites and such in your area like craigslist and find a male that someone can't take care of anymore.  There are usually quite a few out there and move your female as far away from the male as you can.  Still, would be interested in pictures of both of them so we can see this bunny and rat like appearance.

Wow, my heart goes out to ya!  Good luck!

Steven

[hoss7071]

This, is Lola.


This, is Bonkers.


Sorry about the quality.  We don't have a very good camera yet.
Thank you so much for your help!

[cusunfireguy]

They look pretty "normal" looking to me.  Bonkers is still small but looks ok to me.  Is Lola's ears folded or rolled?  Not quite sure about those ears.  Could be normal in an older chin maybe.  Would like to hear "Chinclub"s view on the ears. Bonker's looks like a "Wilson White", total cutie!


Steven

[chinclub]

Her ears are ok.  They look a little beat up but nothing to worry about. 

Wilson Whites are actually hard to come by and are pure white.  Bonkers is a White Mosaic.
 

[hoss7071]

Thank you very much for all of your advice and compliments.  The reason we decided on a female, is we heard that two chins of the same gender could be a problem.  We still let them play together, and have no issue with keeping them in separate housing.  We do not wish to become breeders ourselves. Chinchillas, are magnificent creatures and I don't mind paying any extra costs from a reputable breeder in the future.

There is too much I don't know to be a breeder, I would feel awful if Bonkers or Lola or any off spring had to be put down as a result of improper breeding.  Thank you again!! I look forward to talking to you all in the future

[chinclub]

That is great.  Keep a very close watch if you let them out to play.  It only takes a second for them to breed.