If you are new to chinchillas, and have never owned one before, there are lots of things to think about before purchasing one. If you are wanting to purchase only one, and do not know whether to buy a male or female, in most cases the best to purchase is a male. If you want two or more, you can put same sex pairs togehter with no problems. Not all the time but some chinchillas will be okay with it. However make sure that there are no females around that go into heat, if you have two males living together. This will cause them to fight otherwise. Same sex pairs however can and will fight. Please make proper introductions with your chins before allowing them to live together.   Females can also fight with other males or females as well, not often but sometimes. Age factors also need to be taken into consideration. Are you wanting to breed your chin? Or just have it as a pet only? If you are wanting to breed your chin, it is best to get one between the ages of one to two years old. Males will always be able to breed no matter what age. If you are only wanting a chin as a pet, then any age of a chin would be fine. Don't always feel, that an older chin is not what you want. Remember that chins live as much as 15 years or more. As long as it is tame, an older chin is fine as a pet. Do you want one that is quiet, playful or affectionate? The best way to find out if your chin is the one you want, is by handling it.  Hold it and see if it squirms in your hands, bites, or just rests in your palm. Please check how the breeder holds it as well. Because if it squirms in the breeders hands, then that tells you it has not been handled much. Since it has lived with that breeder for most of its life, it should be used to them. If you already have a chinchilla and are wanting to buy another one to keep it company. If your chinchilla is older than three years of age, try not to get one that is a baby. A chin one year old or as close in age to your own is fine. Never put a much younger chin with a much older one, especially if the older one has been alone for a while. The older one could fight with the younger one and this is not only in the case of males but females as well. The older ones will fight with younger ones. So it is best to try and find one close to age. Sometimes it is also the younger one that fights instead, on rare occasions. Always make sure that if you purchase a chin, that the cage is big enough for it. If you have more than two you have purchased, make sure that the cage is big enough for the both of them. Chins need alot of room, for running and jumping. The perfect cage for a chin needs to have platforms for it to jump onto, a sleeping box,chew toys, food dish(ceramic is best) and a hay rack. The cage should be no smaller than two feet wide by three feet high. That is for only one chin, if you have two or more, the cage should be much larger. Please take into consideration all this before purchasing a chin.