one added to the family

[Rosiems12]

I just got a female 6 month old chin who is absolutely adorable and sweet as can be...WAY nicer than my male when I first brought him home! I was wondering if someone can lend some advice as to how to introduce them. I want my male (who is about 1.5 yrs old now) to have a "girlfriend". Also, on that note, is it better to spay the girl or neuter the boy...obviously, I do not want little chins running around!

Right now, I have the new girl "Sweat-pea" (cus she's sssoooooo sweet) in a separate cage...they will have to live separately until I can get one neutered. The cages are close enough so that they can smell and see each other. So far, Henry, my male has been very excited about the girl. At first, I introduced them through the cage bars and held the girl up to Henry's nose...he sneezed a few times and I thought he was upset, but then he started running around his cage hopping around like crazy...I think he desperately wants to meet her in person! I am afraid to let them out in the open together...

How long should I wait before letting them get acquainted with no cage bars to separate? What are some good signs and some bad signs I should look out for to make sure they will actually get along when released together?  Which one should I get neutered, the boy or the girl?

I also worry about too much excitement on the first day home for sweet-pea...I worry that Henry is a little bit too excited for her right now....

THANKS!

[Ladykelia]

I don't have any advice to give on the acquainting thing or the neutering thing, but thought I should tell you that you should give your little girl at least a week to herself to get used to her new environment and to you before having her cage so near the other's. Being in a new home is very stressful, even though some chins show it more than others, it is probably adding to her stress that there is another chin in the cage over. Its also a good idea to have them in isolation so you can watch  her for signs of illness that you wouldn't want to spread to your male.

[LindyLu]

It's much safer to NEUTER the boy than to spay the girl. The female's surgery is much more intrusive. But ANYTIME a chin is sedated, it's a risk!

[Rosiems12]

So far, Henry makes a LOT of noise towards Sweet-Pea...I was wondering if female chins will also "call" back to the males they are attached to? I am trying to watch for signs that tell me Sweet Pea is ready to meet Henry face to face and so far, Henry seems much more enthusiastic than Sweet-Pea!

[olivia41]

boys are more interested naturally in mating than girls, girls will not usually respond right away they may just give in and let the boy "do it already" if you noticed Henry rubbing his tail on the floor, that is a way to try to show off and shows that he wants to mate. other noises are also a sign like this. listen to chin sounds online to try to figure out what his squeaks mean! http://www.chinchilla-sounds.de/index_en.htm

[LindyLu]

listen to chin sounds online to try to figure out what his squeaks mean! http://www.chinchilla-sounds.de/index_en.htm

Thank you for posting this!! I have heard these sounds from Dewey, but I wasn't sure if they were "mating calls" or if he was griping at her! LOL

[Rosiems12]

Alright...at first I thought Henry would be the problem chin...but now I think Sweet-Pea is causing problems...

I have had her for a little over two weeks now and have recently put the two cages side by side. Henry calls to Sweet-Pea frequently (in fact almost all night!!!) and I know he desperately wants her to reciprocate!

Originally, I thought Henry didn't like her because he was making "sneezing" noises at her when they sniffed through the cages. BUT, now Sweet-Pea "sneezes" at him. For a few days, they had been sniffing nicely through the bars and Henry would groom Sweet-Pea (what he could reach of her)...she usually just sits there with no problem while he combs her fur, so I thought it would be a good time to introduce them outside of their cages. They come face to face and sniff and sometimes even "kiss" for a fraction of a second, but then Sweet-Pea "sneezes" and runs away. If Henry follows her, she grumbles at him and I have already had to separate them because I thought they might hurt each other. I read that when chins meet face to face, there are sometimes minor brawls that need to be broken up and as long as neither chin is physically hurt, the process can continue after a timeout...well, I put Sweet-Pea on a time out tonight and five minutes later when I brought her back out, she continued to "growl" and "sneeze" at Henry.

Any suggestions? As long as they are in their separate cages they seem to get along very well?!? It's just that Henry desperately wants to get at her   
THANKS!!

[Rosiems12]

So I thought I would add some video so that you can see how they respond and let me know if this we are moving on the right track...lol...I get confused because they seem to have some really cute, really great moments toghether, but then out of nowhere, Sweet-Pea (usually) runs away. Then, Henry gets mad and chases after her in "fight-mode"...ugh...

visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEtC8CWEcNE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxLFhluqvLc

if you turn up the volume in the second video...you can hear him getting "mad" at her...