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Q & A / Unwelcome new arrival
« on: October 08, 2006, 04:02:54 AM »
My 2 year old brown velvet Lucy lost her friend Timmy a couple of months ago and since then Lucy and I have become much closer. However, I couldn't help but feel that she was lonely at night when I went to bed because when I closed the bedroom door she would sometimes bark loudly and I would have to console her. I took the plunge and got a 5 month old beige female, Scarlet, as a companion for her yesterday. I have them in separate cages pushed together in "Lucy's room" in order to slowly introduce them to one another. As soon as I put Scarlet in the room Lucy went ballistic and tore about her cage which I half expected anyway. She is normally clean and tidy but this morning when I went in to see her she had spread her hay everywhere and had gobbled up every morsel of food. I think she was afraid the new arrival might get some of it. She is very jealous when I spend any time with Scarlet and attempts to seek my attention as soon as I walk into the room. When I put my fingers through the bars of Lucy's cage she puts her tiny paws onto my fingertips and snuggles up closely.
Although she has calmed down a bit she is demonstrating rather aggressive behavior toward Scarlet who doesn't seem at all bothered with Lucy. Scarlet is so calm and friendly. Already she is walking up my arm and onto my shoulder. She lets me scratch her under her chin and I can pick her up with absolutely no fuss. She seems to enjoy a cuddle. She has had a short wander around the room and casually hopped back into her cage. She is an absolute dream. This is the first time I have attempted to introduce two chins so I have no idea whether I am doing things right. I am hoping they will eventually accept one another but then again, I know there are no guarantees. I will keep my fingers crossed and given time I hope they will be great buddies.
Although she has calmed down a bit she is demonstrating rather aggressive behavior toward Scarlet who doesn't seem at all bothered with Lucy. Scarlet is so calm and friendly. Already she is walking up my arm and onto my shoulder. She lets me scratch her under her chin and I can pick her up with absolutely no fuss. She seems to enjoy a cuddle. She has had a short wander around the room and casually hopped back into her cage. She is an absolute dream. This is the first time I have attempted to introduce two chins so I have no idea whether I am doing things right. I am hoping they will eventually accept one another but then again, I know there are no guarantees. I will keep my fingers crossed and given time I hope they will be great buddies.
I only had Tim a couple of weeks and decided to get him neutered so these 2 chins could stay together. The op went well, I got him home and within a few hours he had chewed through his stitches and muscle and had punctured his large intestine which had spilled out. Despite doing all we could to save him he died at the vets the following day. 
Has anyone heard of chins doing this? I am still trying to find out why. 