Introducing Chinchillas, Degus and Guinea Pigs
Pinknose and Dizzy bonding by face grooming.
Introduction
This page is about introducing Chinchillas, Degus and Guinea Pigs to new friends. It's a very early version and is a bit rough I'm afraid but I will revise it when I get a chance. I've written it as one page as a lot of the information is relevant to all 3 species, but there are some individual notes on differences. The advice is also relevant to rabbits, but since I have little experience with them can I recommend the pages by the Rabbit Welfare Association if you want to introduce two rabbits.
With maybe the exception of hamsters, all small domestic rodents benefit are social and benefit from company. I get quite cross when I see advice to keep them on their own as it makes them more friendly - we should be thinking about the animal's quality of life and not the owner's. This is also not necessarily true - animals on their own often become quiet and withdrawn and nervous animals, in particular, really benefit from the example of a tame cage mate. Animals with company are also often much more active which is good for their health. Poor eaters may develop a better appetite when they have someone to compete with for the food and I have also noticed that a cage mate that eats a range of vegetables will often encourage a veg-shy cage mate to try new things.
However introductions are not always easy - particularly with chinchillas. Be prepared to:
Take your time and persevere.
Have two cages for some time if there are problems.
Quarantine any new animals until you are sure that they are no health problems.
Wait until neutered males are safe to be introduced before starting.
Never try to break up a fight by hand
Take your time and persevere :o)
Who should I introduce?
With all of the species the younger the better - babies to about 12 weeks can usually be just be put together and get along (although take care). The notes below are really about what you should do if you have a lone adult.
Guinea Pigs
The best combinations for guinea pigs are a neutered boar and a one or more sows, or two sows. Neutered boar, single sow introductions are usually straight forwards, but sows can be surprisingly stroppy with each other and may need a little time.
It's not something that I'd try but some rescues do introduce boars - a baby with a grown adult seems to be easiest. But bear in mind that there may be problems when the younger male reaches maturity and challenges the adults dominance. Never try introducing two males unless you are quite happy to keep two separate cages if it doesn't work out. Boars can be kept side by side so that they can talk to each other but not fight. Never, however, keep an unneutered boar side by side with a female - they are the most amazing escapologists if they think they might have a chance with a girly. If you are interested in introducing two boars then go to the Barmy4Boars site for information.
Chinchillas and Degus
Best combination is definitely a neutered male and female. But two females can be successfully introduced. I'm not in favour of introducing two adult male chinchillas or degus, as fights can be serious and fatalities can result - it's certainly more dangerous than getting a male neutered by an experienced vet. More than one male should not be kept together if there are females in the same room as they may fight when the females come into season.
Groups
Larger groups may be possible but need very careful introductions as groups develop a pecking order. If another animal is introduced the pecking order has to be re-established, which can mean that not only can you have problems with the new animal, but your existing pair or group may fall out as well. There is more likely to be bullying within larger groups. This will be aggression below the level of fighting - for example pushing one member of the group off the food continually but it can cause ill health or even death because of stress. However, additional females can usually be introduced to a neutered male guinea pig and his existing hareem if care is taken.
Neutering
Neutering will not reduce aggression in males and allow them to be kept together. The only reason to neuter a male animal is to allow him to be kept with a female.
Neutering is a controversial subject as unfortunately there is no guaranteed 101% safe operation for any small animal. However it should be bourne in mind that fights between two males kept together are quite common and can be fatal, particularly in chinchillas and degus, but male guinea pigs can also do a lot of potentially fatal damage to each other. If the alternative is your pets breeding then fatalities during pregnancy can be as high as 1 in 5, much worse odds than the risk to the male of neutering. I am in favour of neutering all single male guinea pigs, chinchillas and degus in rescues because I think that a life alone is miserable for them and the small risk is worth it. Although I feel that it is a little bit negative about the risks there is some really good information on the Cavy Spirit Neutering Page and so I won't repeat it here as this page is about introductions. Remember to wait between 3-6 weeks after a male animal has been neutered until he is safe to go in with females - ask your vet how long he/she recommends.
Spaying - the neutering of female animals is more risky in all 3 species and not something that I would recommend simply for birth control. It is occasionally possible to find a spayed female guinea pig in a rescue - some rescues neuter all their sows and some need to be spayed for ovarian cysts which is worth investigating if you don't want to neuter your boar. Spayed chinchillas are rare and I've never heard of it being done on a degu.
Introductions
First things first - never ever just dump a new animal in the existing animals cage.You will need to have two cages for the duration of the introductions. Just chucking them in together is asking for trouble as the new animal will be an invader in the original animal's territory. The art of introductions is to get them so used to each other that by the time you put them together in a cage there isn't any trouble. Chinchillas and Degus will face groom when they are accepting each other and the ultimate aim is to get them asleep in a heap together. Guinea pigs are more herd animals and don't tend to face groom in the as me way - acceptance is usually indicated by them ignoring each other!
Neutral Territory
Looks sweet but Smudge is about to shove Angel over.
When introducing for the first time it is important to do so in neutral territory. For guinea pigs an outside run can be good as there is the added distraction of grass to eat, failing that try having some interesting food on the floor where the introductions are done as shown above when I was introducing Angel to Smudge and Charm.
Some sites recommend using a bathtub, which might be good for degus, but chinchillas really need more space to rush around and get away from each other. You will usually get some fur pulling to start and I tend to use my hall which has plenty of room. Remember that for a chinchilla the area that they use to exercise in is their territory as well.
For some guinea pigs and neutered male-female degu pairings you can sometimes get away with just introducing them in neutral territory and then put them in a cage together once you have given it a really good clean out (so that it does not smell of one animal or another). I have heard of this being achieved with chinchillas but usually it takes quite a while of careful supervised introductions before they will accept each other in the same cage.
Some sites suggest putting a dab of something strong smelling such as Vicks Vapour Rub on noses to confuse smells or even in the case of guinea pigs (not chins or degus) giving them both a bath. This might help but it's not something I use as I want them to get used to each other's smells.
Expect a bit of stroppy behaviour (and fur pulling in chinchillas) but separate if the behaviour turns into lunging and biting. Never, ever try to separate by hand as this can lead to a serious bite. Have a towel handy to throw over them.
Split Cage Technique
Attempting to get Indigo to learn some manners.
A standard way of introducing animals is to use the split cage technique. In this method both animals are placed in the same cage but it is split with a divider, or a smaller cage is placed in a larger cage. They are then swapped over between parts of the cage so that they get used to each other's smell in their territory. Finally they are then introduced in neutral territory before being put into the same cage together after a good clean out.
I've used this technique with difficult guinea-pig intros such as Indigo and Smudge where he was very over excited and kept pestering her until she got bad tempered with him. You do have to be careful as male guinea pigs can dig and climb amazingly well when they have the motivation, so make sure that he cannot escape.
Degus and chinchillas need more care as they have a habit of trying to bite through mesh. This can result in the loss of toes or potentially nasty injuries to noses (I've heard of fatalities caused by this). In this case they should be in separate cages placed far enough apart that bites cannot happen through the gap. In this case the swapping of cages to mix territories is more important than direct contact. Care should also be taken if you have one chinchilla in the cage and another out for a run.
The Small Box Technique
This can be a remarkably successfully technique with chinchillas who have been already been introduced in neutral territory, but you are having problems with getting into a cage together. It requires great care to avoid any potential flare-ups in an enclosed environment. It would probably work with guinea pigs although I've never needed it, but I don't know about degus as you'd need quite small tank and they could potentially fight very quickly.
Basically it involves placing both chinchillas in a smallish box and walking around the house with them. This keeps them slightly off balance and makes them forget about bickering. When they are settled they can be put down and watched carefully. If there is any trouble pick them up and walk around again - there is no need to shake the box at all just the movement of walking around. I've seen it recommended to drive rabbits around in a car but there could be a problem if a fight breaks out in that environment so I prefer to just walk around. The idea is for them to spend an extended period of time together without any bad temper and get used to each other. The picture below shows Spike and Fidgit - I'd got them playing ok out of the cage but Fidgie would not let Spike in her cage without trouble. After an hour or so in the tank they canbe seen displaying grooming behaviour and then they flaked out and went to sleep together. You may need to do this for a few days running before trying them in a cage together again.
Fidgit and Spike bonding after being stuck together in a small box.
Putting in the Cage Together
The most difficult thing is always getting them to tolerate each other in the same cage - you need to take things slowly. It's worth doing this stage first thing in the morning so that you can watch them all day, and then make a call on whether you feel safe to leave them overnight. If in doubt then give it a bit longer.
If your guinea pigs are kept outside make sure that you wait a little bit longer to be sure that they are getting on as you are less likely to spot problems. Indoor piggies are pretty easy as trouble usually starts with a large amount of noise.
Refuges
If trouble does break out it helps for your pets to have plenty of places to hide from each other. A refuge is a wooden box that is just big enough for one animal to get in, turn around and guard the entrance. These are a really good idea and can save lives, particularly for chinchillas. There are suitable sized wooden houses sold or put together your own.
Guinea pigs benefit from lots of tubes and boxes - they seem to prefer boxes that have two entrances. It is essential that there is at least one hiding place per guinea pig to prevent fights if they are scared and so be prepared to adapt your hutch.
If things don't work out.
Keep an eye out for trouble - it's never worth risking injuries and they should always be separated if either party gets bitten. It is normal for Degus to bicker noisily particularly over food (two food bowls can help) with lots of pushing and shoving, but they shouldn't be biting or rolling around. Guinea pigs will often bicker as well with lots of rumbling and strutting around. Face to face with raised hackles isn't such a good sign and should be watched carefully although it can sometimes settle if one piggie backs down. But they should be separated if there is any serious lunging or biting. Female guinea pigs can sometimes get stroppy when they are in season and may benefit from a divided cage for a few hours even after years together. Chinchillas generally don't bicker in the same way. Occasionally a male will get sworn at by the female and she might have a mouthful of fur if he pesters too much, but they certainly shouldn't be pulling each other's fur out regularly and large amounts of fur means there has been a fight.
As I said at the start of this article, there is always the chance that you will end up with two cages permanently. Even then it's better than having animals on their own as you can stand the cages next to each other for company. Chinchillas, in particular, can take weeks to months to introduce successfully so don't give up too easily. Your pets will really benefit from company of their own kind.