Chinchilla squirted pee at newborn baby

Question
One of our first time mother chins, squirted pee at her own baby. The baby is only 2 weeks old and came through a PVC tunnel in their cage. After being out for about 5 seconds (long enough for mom to realize the baby wasn't a threat), Mom reared up and sprayed her baby in the face. Do you know why? Mom isn't the most social chinchilla. She is 3 and was rehomed to us 1 year ago.

Answer
This is territorial for some Chinchillas and relays being in charge or dominant. She knows that he pup but she wants to make sure it knows its place. If she was a very unsocial Chinchilla before then you can't expect her ,even with pups, to much different. As long as she is caring for them every other way she is just being stingy with this area of the cage. No harm just one stinky pup :)


Dawn