Inherited 3 grey chinchillas

[JohhnyBishop]

Hi All,
I hope you are well.
Due to a family tragedy we had to take care of 3 grey chinchillas. I don't know much about this species but initially it was said these are 3 female chinchillas.
As the time progressed it turned out one of the couple is a buck.
By analyzing their weight the oldest female is about 6.5 months old while the sister/brother couple (look alike) is about 5.5 months old.
I don't know if they were kept together or separate or together at play time because there were 2 cages that could be joined together.
These 3 chinchillas were together I think for over 4 months.
After 2 weeks of observation they go along with each other and sleep mostly together, all 3.
What would be the best setting for the chinchillas moving forward?
Should I keep the buck separate from females or sterilize it or find another owner for it.
Please advise.
Thank you

 

[Amethyst]

Weight alone doesn't really tell you anything, full grown most pet chins are about 400-800g, at around 6 months they will be close to their adult weight.

I would take the male out and put him in a separate cage. Mating can take a split second so you can't even allow them to play together unless you get the male neutered. Also make sure the females are in a kit safe cage, bar spacing no bigger then 1/2", ideally 2' or less high, and no ledges. Count 120 days from the time you separated them to watch for babies, pregnancy lasts about 111 days, so counting to 120 just makes sure they are for sure not pregnant if they don't have kits by then.

It's really up to you what you want to do, you can keep the male seperate and just have two cages of chins (if the females have any male kits they can often be bonded with the father), you can rehome the male (and any male kits if the females are pregnant) if you don't want two cages, or you can have him neutered and try to reintroduce him to the females when he is healed. Neutering the male is less dangerous then spaying a female but still a risky operation. If you choose to do that make sure you get a vet that is very experienced with chinchillas and with neutering them, a lot can go wrong. If they survive the surgery recovery time is also long, assuming no complications roughly 2 weeks for the male to heal externally and up to 8 weeks for all the sperm to be gone and for it to be safe to allow the male back with the females.

 

[JohhnyBishop]

Hi again, great, thank you for clarifying.
I put the male in a separate cage until he gets neutered or forever.
Can I keep the cages close or in different rooms?
I think this is going to impact his well-being as they bonded.

 

[Amethyst]

You can keep them in the same room, just make sure the cages are atleast 6" apart or they can still breed through the bars of the cage.