I need your help with chins!

Question
Hi!  I have had my chinchilla Celia for about a year now, and recently introduced a new chinchilla friend named Lexi.  For the past month I've kept their cages side by side and when I let them out Celia seems to want to go after her.  =(  Lexi however could careless and seems like she wants to be friendly.  I don't know what to do to get them to become friends.

Kenny

Answer
As you probably know, chinchillas are stubborn.  My first chinchilla, Clio, always saw herself as the dominant chin in the herd.  As a result, she never really got along with any other chinchillas--with the possible exception of one male one time (her daughter Loki being the result).

There's a dynamic growing between Celia and Lexi.  It sounds to me that Celia wants to be dominant and Lexi is fine with that arrangement.  As long as Celia is not doing Lexi any injury, this might just be the relationship they're going to have.  I tried the "getting to make friends" thing a number of times and I learned one thing--chinchillas make their own relationships and there's no persuading them otherwise.

Basically, unless something changes between them, they may continue to have what looks to us like an antagonistic relationship, but in my experience this is pretty standard behavior, and you shouldn't worry about it.  I do admire you for your attempts!