Am I being impatient?

[Earthlyrose]

I have a year+ old female and a 9 month old male who have been together since he was about 3 months old. My female is pretty dominant so introducing them took some time, but now they eat and sleep together. I know male chinchillas sexually mature faster than females, and I was hoping by now they would have TRIED to breed. But I have not heard them (they are in my room), noticed any plugs or excessive hair in cage, nothing that would lead me to believe they have bred. I am constantly rubbing on my female's belly, as she loves belly rubs, and feel no change. Am I being impatient, or should I not expect these 2 to ever breed? I am fine with that if that is the case, but I would have thought by now they would have tried. Thanks in advanced for your replies!

 

[Amethyst]

First of all chinchilla breeding takes literally a second, hop on hop off they are done. You don't always get to see the mating plug when they mate, and not all matings are violent causing fur flying. So unless you watch them 24/7 never sleeping or leaving the room ever then they very well could have mated and you not known.
Another thing to mention is with chins it's common for the female to not show until right before giving birth. Also handling a pregnant female too much can do harm to the unborn kits and even cause her to abort, so I wouldn't advice rubbing her belly.
Third, it takes around 111 days for a female to have kits. Males normally go through puberty around 4-6 months, so it is possible he just wasn't ready to mate yet until recently. Seeing as they have only been together for 6 months obviously they didn't mate right away, but she could be pregnant. Just because they don't have kits yet doesn't mean anything, sometime chins can be together for years before having any kits.

Another thing, is the cage they are in suitable for kits to be born in? 1/2" or less bar spacing. You will also need to remove the male to his own cage (or the female to a kit safe cage) ideally before the kits are born, as the female goes into heat right around delivery. Becoming pregnant again right after giving birth is really hard on the female. You will also eventually have to separate them permanently or get one of them fixed (which is very risky) or they will just keep breeding. Chins can breed until they die of old age, so they don't get too old to, but obviously it's not good to breed chins that are getting old (not sure exactly what age most breeders retire chins).

Honestly I would hold off on breeding until you have done research, chinchilla breeding is not something to take lightly, a lot can go wrong.
Somethings to make sure you know before breeding are, are both chins pedigreed and breeding quality? Not all females have the right size or shape to easily birth kits. What is the mutations in both lines? some mutation pairings are lethal. Are both from clean breeding lines? Some genetic issues can skip generations, so the parents may look/be fine, but it will show up in the offspring. Also if you haven't already make sure you have an emergency vet that will see you 24/7, when delivery issues happen they don't occur during normal hours. Along with that make sure you have a few thousand dollars set aside in case an emergency c-section (or something else) is needed.

 

[Earthlyrose]

I don't actually handle Her, she comes up to the cage and absolutely loved her belly rubbed, she literally holds onto my finger until I do. I have a cage suitable for babies, which can be separated from dad. Both of my chins are from breeders, where I met mom and dad, though I don't have a pedigree. I'm aware of the color lethal genes, my female is TOV and my male is Herero beige. I know I shouldn't breed TOV x TOV or white x white. My goal is to breed brown velvets, they are extremely beautiful to me! My female is smaller, she is a TOV, but her pelvis is the size of my thumb, that space, which is what I am understanding is important. I do have both a exotics vet who does work with chinchillas, as well as an emergency vet that deals with exotics in case my main vet is closed.
I believe I have done as much research as I can online, I have read through many many articles and forums, I think the hardest part is experience. I am aware of the risks, I have seen dismembered kits, mummified kits, and while I have not seen a chin pyo, I deal with cat and dog pyos pretty frequently. Obviously it is different, I'm sure small animals such as chinchillas handles anesthesia differently than larger animals, as well as obviously the possibility of death due to shock or uterine rupture.
But anyway! My big concern was that I have not even seen them breed, but if it only takes a second, I'm sure I cbould have missed it, which boosts my confidence! Like I said, id be ok if they didn't breed or deliver, they are still my babies. Thanks so much for your insight!

 

[Moon droplets]

Sometimes chins can be infertile I new a lady with 4 chins. 3 female and 1 male no babies ever came it was assumed he was infertile apparently it's quite common.

 

[cginlb]

I mean when I was pairing my male and female together I adopted the male when he was 3 months old and the female was 1 year old, it took a while for them to finally have kits, but when she did finally get pregnant I didn't even know until she was two weeks away from her due date, especially if she were to be pregnant with one kit then you may not even know at all until you check on her one morning and there's a little kit with her. And what are your plans when she finally gets pregnant? Are you going to get your male neutered? Im only asking because I just got my male neutered and it can be stressful for you and your male as well as your female since you would need to separate them while he heals, I just hope you know what you're in for, but Good Luck!

 

[Sarah Paes]

[QUOTE = "Earthlyrose, post: 384365, membro: 14381"]
Na verdade, eu não ligo para ela, ela chega na gaiola e absolutamente ama sua barriga esfregada, ela literalmente segura meu dedo até que eu o faça. Eu tenho uma gaiola adequada para bebês, que pode ser separada do pai. Ambos os meus queixos são de criadores, onde conheci mamãe e papai, embora não tenha um pedigree. Estou ciente dos genes letais das cores, minha fêmea é TOV e meu macho é Herero bege. Eu sei que não devo criar TOV x TOV ou branco x branco. Meu objetivo é criar veludos marrons, eles são extremamente bonitos para mim! Minha mulher é menor, ela é uma TOV, mas sua pélvis é do tamanho do meu polegar, esse espaço, que é o que eu entendo, é importante. Eu tenho um veterinário exótico que trabalha com chinchilas, bem como um veterinário de emergência que lida com exóticos, caso meu veterinário principal seja fechado.
Acredito que fiz o máximo possível de pesquisas on-line, li muitos artigos e fóruns, acho que a parte mais difícil é a experiência. Estou ciente dos riscos, vi kits desmembrados, kits mumificados e, embora não tenha visto um pyo no queixo, lido com piros de gatos e cães com bastante frequência. Obviamente, é diferente, tenho certeza de que pequenos animais, como chinchilas, lidam com a anestesia de maneira diferente dos animais maiores, bem como, obviamente, a possibilidade de morte devido a choque ou ruptura uterina.
Mas mesmo assim! Minha grande preocupação era que eu nem os vi se reproduzir, mas se demorar apenas um segundo, tenho certeza de que poderia ter perdido, o que aumenta minha confiança! Como eu disse, eu ficaria bem se eles não procriassem ou parecessem, eles ainda são meus bebês. Muito obrigado pela sua compreensão!
[/CITAR]

I don't actually handle Her, she comes up to the cage and absolutely loved her belly rubbed, she literally holds onto my finger until I do. I have a cage suitable for babies, which can be separated from dad. Both of my chins are from breeders, where I met mom and dad, though I don't have a pedigree. I'm aware of the color lethal genes, my female is TOV and my male is Herero beige. I know I shouldn't breed TOV x TOV or white x white. My goal is to breed brown velvets, they are extremely beautiful to me! My female is smaller, she is a TOV, but her pelvis is the size of my thumb, that space, which is what I am understanding is important. I do have both a exotics vet who does work with chinchillas, as well as an emergency vet that deals with exotics in case my main vet is closed.
I believe I have done as much research as I can online, I have read through many many articles and forums, I think the hardest part is experience. I am aware of the risks, I have seen dismembered kits, mummified kits, and while I have not seen a chin pyo, I deal with cat and dog pyos pretty frequently. Obviously it is different, I'm sure small animals such as chinchillas handles anesthesia differently than larger animals, as well as obviously the possibility of death due to shock or uterine rupture.
But anyway! My big concern was that I have not even seen them breed, but if it only takes a second, I'm sure I cbould have missed it, which boosts my confidence! Like I said, id be ok if they didn't breed or deliver, they are still my babies. Thanks so much for your insight!

The female should always be larger than the male for safe reproduction. it must also be at least 550 grams.