Beast - blessed Chinchilla owner

[Smlatul11]

I am extremely blessed to have such an amazing chinchilla in my life! He has a great personality; very mild tempered, but also extremely playful and funny! He's not so much into being held, but he will come up to me on his own and snuggle, ask to be scratched, or beg for treats. I walk into the room and he immediately greets me at the cage. I have two larger dogs (but extremely nice) who are always interested in him, and Beast is just as interested back. Sometimes it even seems that they are communicating or playing together. My brother also bought a male chinchilla about a week after I bought him, and I've heard the rumors that fighting could occur between two males, so we put them in a secure room and monitored them. Him and Beast immediately hit it off so they often have play dates, and always seem a little sad when the other has to go home. I also came into having a female, and Beast immediately got along with her too. I have a two story Ferret Nation cage, and keep the two floors blocked off, I will not keep them in the same cage together unattended because I have not taken her to a vet yet to get information on her and make sure she is safe and able to breed. But I do monitor their play dates, and make sure there isn't any funny business going on just yet. And they are constantly squeaking and communicating back and forth in their cage. Rocco still comes over for play dates with Beast, and I keep him away from Beauty. The two males seem to get along perfectly fine still, even with them both knowing there is a female in a cage and in the room. The only problem I have with Beast is he does NOT like to share his treats, he always snatches them out of my hands, and is always begging for more. He is such a cutie though! I will post a couple of pictures!


Beast (male)


Beauty (female) and Beast (male)


Rocco (male) and Beast (male)

 

[Bovril]

What beautiful babies you have! Just be careful--breeding takes literally seconds so even supervised the deed might be done before you can spring to separate them.

 

[mgonya]

They're adorable..Congrats

 

[Dreamlite]

'Play dates' are extremely unsafe. I've seen way too may chins get beat up or killed with visiting chinchillas. Not to mention all the health problems. Traveling for a chin is not something to do on a whim.my chins only travel if sold, to a show or to a vet.

 

[3CsMommy]

If you haven't had them both evaluated at a show to make sure they're bettering the species in captivity, breeding is really not worth the dangers and heartache it causes.

Breeding ANYTHING shouldn't be a fun idea just this once to see something cool. You're creating lives that deserve a decade or more of secure care; that can be hard to provide, even to just one or two animals.

There is a lot of very good *honest* information in the Breeding and Babies section of this forum. Please read it before you risk your animals lives any further. (Chins will kill each other in territorial disputes even when the female is receptive to mating, so it's not just Beauty in danger from pregnancy and labor complications.)

 

[Cuddlebug]

Animals that you have no background on such as pedigree, breeders' names, heath history of the lines, etc. should never be bred. You do not know what bad genetics like malo or heart murmurs you are passing on to the offspring. A vet cannot tell you if she is of breeding quality or physically able to pass a kit. They are not taught that. The vet can only tell you if she appears to be healthy at that moment. You need to have an experienced breeder or chinchilla judge check both of you animals and then they should only be bred if you know who the breeder is and can get some information about their lines.

 

[Smlatul11]

Not once have any of my chins tried to fight or cause harm to one another. I don't plan on breeding my chins without knowing if Beauty is able to or not. Would I love to breed her and Beast someday, if they are safe and able, yes. But not right now, especially knowing the harm it could cause to her, and I love my chins like their my babies. And my brother only lives around the block, so his chin doesn't travel far and he loves the play dates with Beast.

 

[Dreamlite]

The point is they may get along today but there is no guarantee tomorrow or next week. Chins can change their mind in a moment with a cagemate much less a visiting chin. Also if you do breed (which isn't advised) he will become territorial since being with a female and will be very likely to attack your brothers chin. What is your goal in breeding? Just cause she is sweet? Personality is not genetic. Again a vet can not tell you anything bout her breeding safety or what she will pass on. So I'm not sure what you mean by deciding if its safe for her.