The Road to Introductions Has a Few Bumps

We started the process to introduce Rossby and Sprite to CB and Foehn again. The first stage in that process was to move their cages within about 18 inches of each other. We did that about a week ago and so far so good. They have been out on the sides of the cage checking each other out.  It has been uneventful and none of them seem to be stressing out over it.

Today we began phase 2. Both pairs got clean pouches, but we mixed the fleece blankets each of them have been sleeping with together. They both have some of their own and some of the other pair.  None of them were too sure about this at first. Since I was cleaning cages today we hung CB and Foehn's pouch in our bathroom while the cage was being cleaned. They weren't quite settled in when I shut the door. When M went back in later they were both asleep in M's sweatshirt, which was sitting on the bathtub, instead of the pouch.  On the other side of the house, Rossby and Sprite settled in pretty well to their pouch. The different-smelling blankets didn't seem to make much difference to them

When the cages were clean and back together I lifted Foehn and CB out of the comfortable nest in M's sweatshirt, placed them in the pouch and hung it in the cage. Foehn and CB came out of the pouch, but it wasn't long before CB was back in and sleeping.  Not Foehn. She seemed to be stressed and did not want to go into that pouch. She ran and the wheel and climbed all over the cage. We figured she would eventually settle down with CB.

When I checked on her some time later I found her curled up asleep in a small watering can toy in their cage. No blankets, no CB - just Foehn looking rather tired and forlorn.

M took the toy with Foehn out of the cage, and Foehn climbed out. We put her back in the cage and she ran around a bit, ran on the wheel, and finally decided to join CB, who now had poked his head out of the pouch to see what was going on. They have been asleep since, except to have their mealworms. M noticed that Foehn had arranged all of Rossby and Sprite's blankets on one side of the pouch.