People often wonder about introducing  chinchillas. In the natural habitat, chinchillas will roam in a herd. It is possible to keep one chinchilla and have it be very happy. However, chinchillas need a lot of stimulation. If you are only going to have one chinchilla it is important to give it a lot of attention. It is more common for a female chin to get lonely. If you are interested in bringing two chins together, you must realize that it may not always work. Some chins will just simply not get along. I was fortunate enough to have two set of chinchillas that got along very well. Spicoli was a bit aggressive towards Pedro DePacas at first, but it didn’t take long for them to become friends. I was very careful when I introduced them. The most important thing is to watch them very closely. It is not hard to tell when the chins are upset.

There are a few methods that people have used to introduce their chinchillas. One way is called smooshing. Essentially, you shove two pets in a small space and this will force them to get along. I honestly can’t say if this works, because I have never tried it. I can’t claim to know all the facts. Personally, I think it sounds like a horrible way to treat your pets. There is a far better way to bring two chins together.

The next method that is popular is putting two chinchilla cages side by side. It seems logical that this would work. The chins will get to know each other, but cannot do any harm to each other. This isn’t entirely true, though. One chinchilla can still display it’s dominance over the other chinchilla even when they are not in the same chinchilla cage. One chinchilla may become stressed. If you choose to do it this way, please watch the chinchillas very carefully. Just because they can’t attack, does not mean that they can’t hurt each other. Just because they get along side by side does not mean that they will get along when they are released. Once you let them out of their chinchilla cages, they may attack each other. The chinchilla may see the other one as the threat from the other cage. It may feel like the new chin is invading its territory. Be careful and watch the chins.

The preferred method is the cage within a cage method. Remember that the introduction will take time and patience. You must be willing to accept that two chins may not get along. It is important that if they are not getting along, or one chin is stressed. Take them away from each other.

The cage within a cage method is just as it sounds. You will need to put a smaller chinchilla cage inside your larger chinchilla cage. You will want the smaller of the chinchilla cages at the top level or close that level off. You do not want the free chinchilla to get on top to show dominance. Put the more aggressive or trouble chin in the smaller cage. You will need to cover the top and two sides of the smaller cage. By blocking off two sides, the chin will have a space to go and not worry about being attacked from every side. Put all chinchilla supplies, especially chinchilla toys they can chew, on in the cage, but no house or wheel. The chinchilla dust bath should be removed as well.

After about 5 minutes, you can let the chin out of the smaller chinchilla cage. You have to have your hand in there to stop any problems. Watch them very close. Otherwise, stay out of the way. You do not want to become a distraction.

If aggression is shown, put the bad chin in the small chinchilla cage for awhile. Continue this until the chins seem to get along. You want to avoid any action that involves one chin dominating another. Also, keep the house and hammocks away. You don’t want one chin to get territorial. Keep a constant eye on them for the first 24 hours. Do not give them a territorial spot for at least a week. You can give them a wheel or saucer if they seem to get along well on it. Here is a good website full of information.

On a final note, when you have two chinchillas, it is especially important have a large chinchilla cage in order to give them enough room to run around.

Related posts:

1. Choose a Large Chinchilla Cage
2. Things to Put in Your Chinchilla Cage
3. Custom Homemade Chinchilla Cage