Introducing chinchillas to each other?

[SammehSugarless]

So, I have a chinchilla named Dakota whom I love very much. But, god, she looks so lonely and/or bored when I don't have the time to give her attention. It breaks my heart to see her jump on the cages bars to greet me, but I continue to walk by because I've got so much work to do at times. So I was thinking about getting another chinchilla to give her some company for when I'm not around. I've heard that they love better in pairs anyway, because they cand handle stress easily together.
I went to the pet store the other day, and looked at this chinchilla that they've had for a while. I went in to hold and play with her, and she is the sweetest chinchilla I've ever met. She's a year old and a lot more tame than mine is. Very cuddly.
I'm thinking about purchasing her, and I've did a lot of research on how to introduce chins to one another. But, the thought still scares me because Dakota and the chin I'm thinking about purchasing seem like they're complete opposites. Dakota is 8 months old, so she has lots of energy and is very 'in your face' sometimes. She'll try to jump on my cats and everything. haha. SO much energy. But, I don't know. I just don't want to risk them fighting.

[WinterWinter]

If you don't want to risk them fighting then don't do it, its ALWAYS a risk. Some chinchillas as nice as they are don't act the same towards another chinchilla. I find the younger they are the easier to bond but it is not impossible.
If you are going to get her, first make sure you quarantine her. When a chinchilla gets stressed they can get sick or bring out underlying sicknesses easy and you want to make sure she isn't sick for a few weeks. Second make sure you are willing to have another large cage around permanently if they do not get along , otherwise forget about it.

After quarantine you want to put the cages side by side with about 5 inches in between. They will stick their noses out at least 1-2 inches so you don't want them to bite each others noses because they will and those teeth can do a lot of damage.
Leave the cage like that for 2 days. On the third day switch cages. Put one in the others cage and that one in the new ones cage ( not together) and then switch the cages again the net day and so on for the next 2 weeks. This will let them smell each others things, urine, feces, and get them used to each others scent and each others scents together.
After 2 weeks give them playtime outside the cage on neutral territory ( somewhere they haven't been like a hallway or bathtub etc)
If the playtime goes well, keep giving them playtime together for a week ( always supervised) . After a week you will want to either buy a new cage or take the larger cage and completely sanitize it scrubbing it down. After you dry put all new items in it and in different spots then you would normally. Everything should be new including the wood, houses, toys etc. Make sure you even sanitize the water bottle. You want the cage to look and smell like new and be unrecognizable to both chinchillas. After that is said and done and they are friends at playtime put them in the new cage together carefully with supervision in the morning. This is the time they usually mellow out and go to sleep. Sometimes the timing helps and they will sleep together and bond sometimes not. You will want to watch closely for the next 24 hours and make sure nothing happens. If all is good keep them in a room
you can supervise them for the next week.
If this fails you need to start the process over from the beginning.
Do not rush the intro or try to force them to be together as this can make them hate each other and fight more and never like each other. Or one can start fearing the other. Sometimes it can take months and sometimes it just won't happen. If you see one becoming very stressed then stop the process move them away from eachother and let them live separately.
Although the pet store chinchilla is cute might I suggest not supporting them and trying a rescue who might have one in need of a home who might be good with other chins.
All chins need a home including pet store chins of course but the more we support stores the more they will keep shoving animals in tanks and improper enclosures.