For many years I have heard good and bad about caging two or more males together where
there are females present. Each person seemed convinced of what their practice had been,
whether it be keeping the males separate or together.
For years, I have successfully housed males together and have had almost no problem .... ah,
but do not boast ... it will come back to bite you!
As I recently stated on one of the forums, it is your choice, but if you do, be prepared to
accept the results.
One of my momma chins needed a break, so I let her have her own cage and housed father
and son together ... no problems ... females all around were going into and out of season ... no
fussing or fighting between these two! But don't ever speak to soon ....
Father and son had been together from January to September and got along just fine.
Someone had decided to adopt the son, so he would soon be placed with what would soon be
his cage mates in his new home. No real problem, I had plenty of time, the adoption was
weeks away. But ... never put off till tomorrow, what you can do today!
The female next door was going into season again and apparently both father and son were
both interested ... so was her mate that was with her. Apparently she was not going to put up
with any of this ... she was not ready yet. Her mate gets sprayed and so do the admirers in the
next cage ... she must have drank the whole 8 ounce bottle of water by herself to make such a
mess out of all three of them!
Apparently aggravated and frustrated, father and son fought over the female neither
would/should/or could get. They were still fighting when I found them and the son was
loosing. Quickly, I separated them and examined both. The father had little to no injuries.
But, no such luck for the son. I had to bathe him in water (not normally done) to get all the
urine off of him and to find out how serious the injuries were. Most of them were superficial,
but a few were deep, but not wide enough for stitches. After drying him, I covered the wounds
with triple antibiotic ointment and kept him nuzzled in my arms, wrapped in a towel.
Today is day 3 and he seems to be doing pretty good, but it's not over yet. He does not seem
quite as sore as he was yesterday and is a bit friendlier. There is no swelling and little redness.
Neosporin is still being applied twice a day. This triple antibiotic ointment keeps the scabs
soft, so as they heal they do not draw the skin and add to the pain, as well as helping it heal.
Below are 3 pictures of him one as he looked when I found him and two shortly after I
cleaned him up. As I said, they had been together without a problem for seven months. But,
this is the damage that can be inflected in a matter of minutes. It is graphic, so if you are
squeamish, do not look.
But, IF you are housing males together, or plan to, with females present, you need to look. It
takes only minutes to inflict severe damage.
| Housing Male Chinchillas Together ... When Females are Present ... Yea or Nay? |
| CAUTION: If you are squeamish, do not go all the way to the bottom of the page. The pictures there, are graphic and not suitable for children! |
| This is what the father did to his nine-month-old son over a female in the next cage that was in season. |
