More advice please

[Doghouse135]

I've got two male chipmunks - Alivin and Theodore.  Both were rescues and we placed their cages next to each other for a while before introducing them into a much much larger new cage.  Everything has been absolutely fine until the last couple of days - Theo has spent quite a bit of time making this incredibly high pitched squeak and then yesterday started attacking Alvin.

Now I know I'm not the brightest star in the sky but it has suddenly occurred to me that Theo might in fact be a girl !!! - He's very very young (5 months ?!?!) so I'm assuming that they wouldn't have mated and am hoping that they've just had a falling out.  I've seperated them but they can still see each other.  Alvin's not a happy bunny so I'm wondering if Theo has started attacking him because Alvin may be ill or weak.  He's not showing any signs of illness apart from hiding a little more than normal (that would be consistent with the bullying wouldn't it ?) - He's eating and drinking well and very mobile.

I can't give you a photo to check if Theo is a girl as they've bedded down for the night but obviously that's something I will be checking first thing tomorrow.  My question is: Assuming Theo is in fact male (as I've always thought), do you think I should give them another chance to settle down together or leave them seperate in two very large cages ?

[DizzyMoo]

Hi doghouse , The fighting may not be that one is female. Fighting occurs in males more than male/female , This is mainly due to breeding seasons & their hormones, Although breeding season has ended really each environment is diff so some breeding seasons start earlier & some end later etc etc. Having said that females can fight of a male if he is wanting to mate & she doesn't want to but its not usually much aggression, 1 other possibility could be you "may" just have an aggressive chipmunk due to inbreeding or previous poor treatment. These are just possibilities to find out more you would need to keep your eye on them. I would be more inclined to say they are both males which if they are you can eventually get them to live together but they may need more time settle with eachother or occasionally you may need to remove one during breeding season. To confirm sex try offering your chipmunk a peanut or grape through the cage bars so that he/she climbs up & is belly facing you "called starfishing" . Have a look whilst holding the peanut or grape but letting the chipmunk bite or taste it to keep it there. A male even at 5 months can be distinguished from a female. The females genitals are virtually touching & of course with fur hardly visible , but you should be able to see a males testicles or "lump" as some say. If you still struggle try get a piccy ( difficult i know ). Seperate them for now & give it another week . you may find after breeding season has well & truly finished they will be ok.

Hope this helps a little

[Gilly]

OOOOOO! I was just going to start a similar post. One of my supposedly males sat on a branch chirping like crazy this morning. I did think he was then a she (crying game). But they have both get on great as they are brothers, and play fight all the time.
One of them did it a few weeks ago when the cat had pounced at the mesh and scared him. This time nothing had happened though.
The owner I got them from was pretty good and I don't think she would get that wrong. Could be time to check or is chirping a male thing too?

[Doghouse135]

Well I've checked Theo and he's definitely a male - Alvin is a lot happier now they're seperated but they got on so well before I'm surprised that Theo started bullying him.

The big question is 'Do I take the risk and try them back together again?'  I'd hate for one of them to get hurt just because I 'think' it would be nice for them to live together.  Plus, with all the pets I've got it would be difficult to squeeze another large cage in - I'd manage it but I'm running out of room.  I'm going to put them both into an outdoor aviary in the Spring but need to keep them indoors through the Winter months. 
Thanks Dizzymoo - I've taken on board what you've suggested and might try them together again at a later date.  Theo is only about 4/5 months old so do they have a period when their hormones 'kick' in like teenagers 

[Nate]

Sorry there is no hard and fast answer, but some things you could try.
I think you may have three aviaries, one of them being the big one which was to be their intended home. I would clean all the surfaces of the big aviary (to get rid of Theo scent), then put Alvin in the big aviary for a couple of weeks to let him get established, with Theo able to see him. Then when you have some spare days introduce Theo. I say spare days, as you will need to watch them both to ensure Alvin doesn't come to any harm. Before reintroducing them, you could try letting both out on free range at the same time. This might help them get used to each other, with enough room for Alvin to get away if he had to. It's preferable to have two sharing if you can, some of them can become firm friends, but sadly it's nothing you can have much control over. They seem to like each other or at worse remain enemies. You're right about the teenage years though, they do seem to have them. It seems to be a time when they become bossy, and one will always be the boss.

I have a girl and boy (Willow and Billy) who are brother and sister. They have never been apart, and she will sometimes chase him around like mad, but at the end of the day they get on, and Billy never comes to any harm. But I think if I were to introduce them to each other as strangers, Willow would have none of it, she is very bossy by nature. My Izzy was absolutely mad through his teenage years, but he now has a big friend in Almond. He's always snuggling up to her, but you just can't tell at the end of the day who is going to get on with who. Most of my pair are boy/girl, though I do have two boys with one girl. It took ages for the boys to get on, and now I would say they only tolerate each other. So I hope as yours get older they can get more tolerant. It does not sound like another member (Sheila) recently posted that her Timmy was hiding all day at first.  Theo sounds as if he's out and about and no too intimidated.

[DizzyMoo]

Hello again ,
In time it is possible to re-introduce 2 males to live together & they may live happily until breeding season when you may need to seperate them again. Letting alvin have roam of the enclosure is best yes as it will give him chance to establish some territory & then when theo comes in he may not feel as higher arcy anymore, One thing to also check is your nest box's . They all need to be the same height again to prevent one thinking he is higher arcy. Ideally per chipmunk 2 nest box's , one for sleeping one for storing food unless they have a preferred area for storage that is. Seperate nest boxs per chipmunk also mean if they do fight they each still have their own space to retreat too, I had 2 males & although they lived happily together i did have to seperate them during breeding season & eventually one of the males had to live alone not ideal but in some cases there is nothing you can do. Siblings usually get on better but again the chance of them becoming agressive with eachother still stands during breeding season or when one is trying to establish he's the boss. Give it time & be patient it may pay off for you .

good luck

[Doghouse135]

Hi - me again 

Well I scrubbed out their cage and reintroduced them together and they were absolutely fine - Eating from the same food bowl (although I've put two in there just in case) and quite happily mooching about until yesterday and now Alvin is chasing Theo around like an absolute loon !!

I'm beginning to think that perhaps I overreacted in the first place and this is normal chipmunk chasing, playing behaviour    Any of you that know my story regarding chipmunks know that my first experiences haven't been good and therefore I'm beginning to doubt that I even know what 'normal' is anymore 

[Nate]

It's not your fault you are doing everything right from what you've said, chipmunks are very much individuals.  I've found all of mine to have very distinct personalities, just like the seven dwarfs, happy, grumpy, sleepy and so on. On top of that, chipmunks can be moody, they have off days, manic days and lazy days. So, no matter how many years you have kept chipmunks I don't think anyone would be able to say which two chipmunks are going to get on.

I do think it's worth you trying again, but this time let Alvin live on his own in the big aviary for up to a month. This will give him a good chance to establish himself and when you reintroduce Theo he maybe alright. Plus, in a months time we should be out of the breeding season, perhaps hormones are playing a part in Theo's behavior.

I found chipmunk behavior quite bewildering in the first years. One minute two chipmunks can be sharing some food together, the next one is chasing the other around aggressively. If at the end of the day they both end up in the same nest box, you can take that as a good sign that it's only squabbling. If Alvin spends most of the day hiding, and hardly venturing out of his nest then for his sake they may have to be kept separate. I don't think I can describe very well the difference between a pecking order squabble and a serious fight. But if you do witness a serious fight you will know it, it's horrible and quite shocking to see. In the meantime check on them both each day, look for nicks in the ears and bloody noses, as those are the places they often go for. Biting on the back and tail are also common, but this is often less visible because of their fur.

Stick with it, I've found after the first year or so things get much easier. As they get older they do calm down, and neutering can also help vastly cut down on the testorone levels in their bodies.