four chins?!

[olivia41]

i need some help here guys. as i just posted yesterday, my boyfriend and i are getting a little pink white boy that we hope to bond with our two boys Liv and Indy. we would plan to keep them in the cage together eventually. However, there was a little ebony boy that is a week older than the pink white and he was very sweet. The breeder is willing to offer us a veryy good deal if we were to take both boys, i don't know what to do! i fell in love with both boys and my boyfriend and i are trying to think since we do not have all that much room for chinnies. We have a smaller cage which we would use to hold the baby in during the bonding/quarantining process and our two boys are in a very large dog crate that we made into a cage for them. Do you guys think that it would be possible to put four boys in a big cage together, or would that be too much? i don't want to cause stress to our boys we have now, they are my biggest concern. we could also move around the chin room and possibly put a second cage for the younger two boys if we were to get both. i'm just not sure what to do! so many ideas are running through my head so i decided to come to you guys. any advice/help/suggestions are very appreciated  please!

[LindyLu]

I dunno ... I guess if you want all 4 you should consider a 2nd cage and keep the 2 little boys together, and leave your bonded 2 alone.
I have heard that sometimes male chins, even previously bonded ones, can randomly get in fights and end up killing each other. This would concern me enough not to try to introduce too many males into one cage. AT this point you're not even sure your 2 at home will accept the new baby at all .... so maybe go ahead and bring his brother home too, so they at least have each other if the big boys don't accept them.
I hope you have the time and means to care for 4 chins though! Good Luck, the babies sounds adorable!

[olivia41]

yeah, like i said i have the smaller cage for the one baby when we bring him home but my love for chins is tempting me! you are right that males can turn on each other and thats why i was considering getting the second baby so atleast in each pair there is a buddy for each one. i just dont know what to do! ahh. i do have very much time though since i am just a student right now living at home so i'm often home studying and the boys help me 

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Is the big cage safe enough for babies?
I don't see any problems as long as they have enough room in the big cage. The older boys should take on the roll of caregivers for the new kits.
Then you just never know.   When adding new chins I always recommend having the second cage, as it may not work out.
You may have to have the two kits in one cage and the older boys in another, indefinitely. Unless your prepared for that don't add new chins.
 Even buying the one may not work out , so at least with buying the 2 kits all will have a cage buddy.

[olivia41]

yes debbie the cage is safe for babies, my boyfriend and i had it baby proofed when we got little benji  i just don't want to stress out my older boys. we do have a second cage prepared of course and we know that the little one may not get along with the older boys anyway, so i am trying to convince my boyfriend to get the fourth little one as well, ya know just in case  ill let you know if he buys it! hehe

[Debbie.nl.ca]

 
Ya I know, trying to talk my Hubby into a parrot 

[olivia41]

haha oh that'd be so fun to have! good luck, keep me updated by the way, my boyfriend agreed and we decided to get the little ebony boy along with the pink white  :::grins::i can't wait!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

 


 

[LindyLu]

You better post pics!!  I wanna see those baby boys!

[Jo Ann]

   Congratulations!   

This may sound a little dumb, but please make sure all 4 are males ... even if they are kept in sets of two in two different cages.   To many times over the years, I have seen where a person will purchase/adopt two chinchillas of the same sex (according to the pet store employee and even a few "breeders") only to find out later, they were of opposite sex.   Now's to time to make sure ... before you really get attached to all of them. 

Just a thought.

   Jo Ann

[olivia41]

Yes Joann, thanks for looking out  Since i've already had two situations where chins were sexed wrong  I made sure that the breeder I am purchasing from is reputable and knows what she's talking about. She is a member of MCBA and when I went to see the boys, I used my own slight knowledge to check the babies. Even though I'm still a newbie, I'm learning quickly how to sex chins because of my two circumstances, haha! but yes I am being safe instead of sorry this time!