Adopting pair of Chins Need Advice

[clpamc6898]

I'm considering adopting a pair of chins today. I've had chins in the past, but in more ideal conditions. The pair that is up for adoption is a brother and sister that have bred. Both are a year old. The female is due soon.
I'm wondering if I'm getting myself into more then expected. I can handle babies, but I'm concerned that this pair is bonded and how to go about separating them to prevent anymore breeding from happening.
I feel bad for these chins and want to care for them, however am I getting in over my head??? thoughts??

 

[Sandi]

Only you can answer that question... you HAVE to think about the "what-ifs":

* Getting double or triple of everything, meaning cages, ledges, water bottles, etc.

* Complications at/while giving birth... you should read the section on this forum called "chin breeding horror stories"

* Vet bills if there is a complication during birth or for the adult chins if you decide to keep them together because you will have to neuter or spay to guarantee no more babies.

 

[Godofgods]

Sandi pretty much hit it on the nose with those types of questions.

Alls i can really add is my experience. I had to separate a bonded pair. It was a little more complicated due to the fact that my male (i didn't know at the time) had a heart murmur and was prone to seizures. So after a while of being separated in different cages, when he would see her, he would go nuts. And would start having medical problems. So i have to make sure that he can not see her. - In this case, its merely a fleece sheet attached to the side of the FN cages. Same thing if they run around where the cages are. But that was the only medical type problem that i personally experienced.

Since my girl was pregnant again before i new she had her first kit, she ended up having two litters in total by the time they were separated. One boy in the first litter. Then a few months later, two girls. I'm quite fortunate in that after they were weaned, the boy went to live with dad, and the girls with mom. And so far they all get along well. Tho you do have to be prepared for that to suddenly change.

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

If you have a good chin vet you can have your male neutered and then they can live together. You have to be prepared for each chinchilla you have to live separately though, because even if they get together now, they might not always get together and depending on the sex of the babies and how the babies change the dynamic they might need to be split up as well.

Edit: Just realized this is a week old thread. Sorry for unneccesarily bumping it up.

OP: what did you decide?