Just bought a pair of chins... I have a question

[renzo0684]

I read all the FAQ's and notice that it said to leave the chins alone for the few days to get used to the new enviroment. The thing is my female is very active and loves coming out and has adjusted really well she sleeps eyes closed and everything. The male on the other hand he whimpers if the female comes out or if we move him to to clean his out his house. He sleeps eyes open if we are in the room. Would it be better just to leave the female in the cage and alone for a few days to help calm the male or does that matter?

 

[Euphoric]

Well, they shoud be seperated anyways, otherwise you are going to get babies. You can go to the breeding and baby section so see how dangerous that is.

I would just let the male calm down by himself in his own cage, give him lots of scratches and small treats, don't grab him and let him feel safe. Maybe give him an extra hidey house?

 

[renzo0684]

We bouught them because they were already a mating pair and have had kitts already. I did not want to seperate them when I got them. Since they have had kitts before do you still suggest that they be seperated?

 

[Peep_erz]

Unless you plan on breeding and are ready for kits right now I would separate them. there is a high possibility the female is pregnant already. You may want to read the breeding section of the forum to get prepared.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Just because they've had kits safely before does not mean she will continue to do so. If you want to enjoy them as pets I agree that they need separated. If you think breeding is something you'd like to pursue (yes...putting a male with a female makes you a breeder) then you need to start reading through the FAQ's in the breeding section and educating yourself.

I've been breeding for 8 years and I can tell you, you WILL have kits die. It is not something that should be taken lightly. I found a dead kit on Friday in a cage with a new mother. Another breeder on this forum had an experienced mother give birth to four babies...all four babies died. It's not a pretty or easy thing and it should NOT be taken lightly.

Welcome to CnH! You're going to find a lot of good information and good advice on here from people with many years of experience.

 

[Euphoric]

If your worried that they are "bonded" I can tell you they will do just fine seperated. I had two chins togetehr for a long time, but now they fight and are seperated just fine.

A. What if she doesn't want to mate one day, or gets angry at his aggressive advances and they get into a fight? A fight until one dies? It is common.
B. Having kits is dangerous and difficult. RDZC will gladly tell you, and show you pictures of what can happen
C. If they have had babies already, that means the female has alredy been put under stress and why keep her breeding her constantly? If the kits don't die, she surley will do to contiuous pregnancy

If you wanted a pair, it should have been a same sex pair, but even then chinchillas in pairs doesn't always work.


If you have photos, I am sure we would all love to see the cuties.

 

[renzo0684]

Thak you all for your help! I knew this forum was the right one to join! I was interested in breeding them well the pet store that I bought them from said they think she maybe already pregnant. About 3 weeks is their guess. How many litters should a female have? I mean I dont want her to be a baby factory I would like to see her have at least one litter. Again thanks for the quick responses. =]

 

[CerLynn]

Chins with unknown backgrounds (i.e. petstore chins) should not be bred - their genetic makeup has likely not been well-controlled, and they may be predisposed to diseases such as malocclusion. The last thing you'd want to do is produce kits that are destined to suffer from these issues. Just because they've been bred before does not mean they should have been. If it were me, I'd separate them immediately.

 

[Euphoric]

I agree, but if she is already pregnant, she will probably have 2 kits. You can go to the breeding section of the fourms for more information.

 

[threewingedfury]

I agree, but if she is already pregnant, she will probably have 2 kits. You can go to the breeding section of the fourms for more information.

Probably have two kits? Are you saying this on an average, because there's no way to know how many kits she will have. She could have 1 or even 6 (though extremely rare) - you don't really know how many there will be.

 

[Euphoric]

Probably have two kits? Are you saying this on an average, because there's no way to know how many kits she will have. She could have 1 or even 6 (though extremely rare) - you don't really know how many there will be.

Sorry, yes I mean average..at least that is always what I have come to hear and have been told. Thats why I said "probably"
If that is incorrect, I apologize, that is what I have always been aware of.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Thak you all for your help! I knew this forum was the right one to join! I was interested in breeding them well the pet store that I bought them from said they think she maybe already pregnant. About 3 weeks is their guess. How many litters should a female have? I mean I dont want her to be a baby factory I would like to see her have at least one litter. Again thanks for the quick responses. =]

More than likely they never removed the male when she had her last babies which caused a breedback. A breedback happens when a female chinchilla becomes pregnant slightly before giving birth to a litter or right after giving birth to a litter. This means they are pregnant with kits while nursing kits. It's not an easy thing on their little bodies and too many breedbacks can cause serious harm through malnutrition to the mother and future kits.

For me...my females are allowed to have one litter a year, two at the absolute max because I don't allow excessive breedbacks. Females can continue to have babies up to 8 to 12 years of age...some have gone longer and are still having babies at older ages. Since your two are from a pet store that probably knows little to nothing of the chinchillas' backgrounds I would retire them ASAP.

Also...there's no way to tell if a chinchilla is pregnant when she's 3 weeks along. No way at all unless they witnessed a positive breedback. I'd question their knowledge of chins though as they seem to think chin=babymaker.

Also, the average gestation for a chinchilla is 111 days(about four months) and then the mother needs to nurse the kits for 8 weeks before they are weaned. As mentioned earlier, the average litter is two but she can have as many as eight babies. The larger the litter the more likely the mother and/or kits will die. Did the pet store tell you any of this before sending a possibly pregnant female home with you? If not...PLEASE separate them. The pet store doesn't know what breeding chinchillas entails. They care about making babies to sell to make a profit.

Just because you CAN does not mean you SHOULD.:thumbsup: