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[HanneyVC]

Hi there,

We have had 2 chinchillas for about a year or two now. Both are male and are believed to be brothers. Recently one of them has had a very sudden change in behaviour. Prior to the change he was very friendly and quite social. For about 1 week or so now he has became quite a bit more aggressive.

Through the bars of his cage he will try to lunge at peoples fingers if they are put against/through the bars. The same applies for faces, if a face is to near the bars of the cage he will also lunge and make an angry keck sometimes. He will also bite pretty hard aswell if he manages to catch your finger. He is only aggressive like this when he is behind bars. As soon as the cage doors is open and a hand is put in the cage he is more friendly and will rotate his neck for fingers rubs and is even comfortable enough to stand on my hand/arm and sniff around and come right up to the cage door but as soon as the cage is closed he resorts back to the aggressive biting at keeking through the bars. He gets along fine with his brother too most of the time.

We're not sure why this sudden behaviour occurs and what caused it to begin with. The only thing we can assume is that its a territory thing/hormonal dominance thing. Has anyone had a chin with similar behaviour or any idea what may cause it?

Thanks,

[GrayRodent]

If I were you I'd get a veterinary exam to make sure there is not a physical problem or injury that can be causing this. Have him evaluated to make sure he is at a healthy weight. If his weight is way down and everything on the outside looks fine you may need to have a dental exam. I'm suspecting there is some kind of pain causing this, however, it is odd it only happening in the cage, so it still could be something else.
Male chinchillas together can become very aggressive towards each other if they sense a menstruating female. They can pick up on other animals and even people. There's another line to investigate.

[BLS Chins]

Chins are very sensitive animals. It could be anything from a change in your laundry detergent to a health problem. I would start with a vet visit to rule out any pain or under lying problems then narrow down any changes in the home if that comes up negative