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[jmrothermel]

I have two chinchillas one which is a younger male and also one that is about a year old female.  They are both newly acquired to our family.  I put them in the same cage together, and there has not been one sign of aggression, in fact they like to groom each other and are sweet when they are around each other.  They don’t sleep together yet, the female jumps to the top shelf (her favorite spot in the cage) and the male is too little and hasn’t figured it out yet so he stays towards the bottom.  So my question is this:  They have been together for 24 hours and over night and everything is great.  I am going to keep them together the rest of today and also over night tonight.  But in the AM we leave for a 2-day vacation.  Have they been watched enough to be trusted alone?

Thanks for any help and insight.

[ThreeLilChins]

Rushing a new union can cause disaster. One of the chins could be hurt or even killed. You may just want to put their cages side by side while you are on the lil get away. The vet can be kind of pricey. If you do leave them in the same cage you may want to have someone come over and check on them, as well as to give them some fresh hay, water & whatnot. Are you planning to breed the chinchillas? If you are not you will want to remove one of them. Best of luck with your chinnies.

Oh and welcome to the Chinchilla club.

[Joyce]

If it were me I would not leave them alone together unless I were going to be there to monitor for awhile longer.  You just never know!  I'm thinking 24 hours is not long enough to really know yet.
We have encountered situations here where in a split second one can take off a finger, or part of a nose from another chin requiring instant medical attention.  No fun for anyone and expensive.

[jmrothermel]

Thank you very much for the warm welcome, and your fast replys.  I was afraid I wouldn't know the answer before I left tommorrow, and I was panicking as to what to do.  I do have someone coming over to give them fresh water, hay, food, etc. but you are right things can happen in a second when someone isnt here all the time.  So I guess if you all don't mind, here's just one more set of questions: When I separate them while I am gone to avoid any potential problems, which do I take out (the male or the female), and when I reintroduce them are they still going to like/remember each other or could I run into potential problems?  Oops and one more thing, I’m sorry, but if he likes the bottom corner, and she likes the top corner, how do I get one to flex in their sleeping spot so they cuddle together?  I appreciate your insight and knowledge!

And to ThreeLilChins, yes I do plan on breeding them, we had chins growing up so I have knowledge on it, but I'm not looking to do it as a "full time" thing, the female is just going to have one (maybe two) litters of kits, and then I am going to separate them and probably house her with one of her female kits so she is not alone.

Thank you sooooo much!
Jacqui

[ThreeLilChins]

It doesn't really matter which one you take out. Just sit the cages next to each other. The chins will be able to see and smell each other. Which will also make it easy when you are trying to house them together.

[chinclub]

the female is just going to have one (maybe two) litters of kits, and then I am going to separate them and probably house her with one of her female kits so she is not alone.

You have to be really careful with this plan.  The male will get really attached to the female and you may have problems trying to separate them.  I have had males stop eatting when they were separated from their life mate.  I had to put them back together to save the male.  I had another male lose his mate from complications with a pregnancy and he stopped eatting and died within the week.  Chinchillas mate for life and it can be very traumatic when you split up a monogamous pair.

[jmrothermel]

Thank you Jaime for the information, thats kind-of what I was afraid of    I had thought about the castration route, but I just felt it was too risky for him.  I wouldn't mind her breeding more than once or twice, but I am one who looks to the future and I just hate to part with all the kits to homes where you don't know what might happen    Especially after reading some horror stories about chinchilla abuse/neglect lately.  Thank you for all your advice, I will think for a little while longer when deciding what to do.

[Abby W.]

If I were you I would remove the female from the main cage.  Females tend to be more aggressive.  If you try to re-introduce the male to the female's home turf, she may be pretty hostile, but if she is going into new territory that is already belonging to the male she is more likely to be accepting.  Since they have already been together without problems this probably won't be an issue, but better safe than sorry.

I agree with Jamie about breeding.  Once bonded many pairs are practically inseparable.  I would not recommend spaying or neutering unless the animal's life is at risk.  Surgery is always risky for any pet, and even more so for chins.

Have fun on your trip!

[Jo Ann]

Hope you had a good trip ... how did the chins do while you were gone?

Spaying or neutering can be a death sentence to a chin at the hands of someone that is not highly skilled in this area with chinchillas ... even then, chinchillas do not react to surgery well at all.

If you want to have only one or two litters, there is another option ...

Keep them separated, in separate cages side by side ... but at least 3" apart ...

Check her daily, when she goes in season, put them together long enough for them to mate, then move her back to her cage, leaving them side by side.

   If this is what they are use to (being side by side and not cuddling together in the same cage) and you only want 1 or 2 litters, this way you and the chins can have the best of everything.  They can not miss what they have  not had and you will not have to worry about overpopulation of chins.   

 
Jo Ann