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A few things to keep in mind when adding another chinchilla.
First it would help if you say where in the world you live, that would help people narrow down what breeders might be in your area. For example I live in Alberta Canada and don't know any breeders around me, let alone any that breed white chins so I can't help there, but if you live somewhere else maybe some one else can.
Next are you wanting a female as a second chinchilla in another cage, never actually interacting or are you looking for a cage mate for your male? If you are wanting a playmate and cage mate, is your male neutered? If not I suggest getting a male unless you have experience breeding chinchillas or have a breeder to mentor you? Breeding is not for the fate of heart a lot can go wrong and can get expensive quickly (an emergency C-section for example can easily cost a few thousand dollars with no guarantee the female or kit(s) will survive), and require a breeding setup. Also do you know your male is from good clean genetic lines? Breeding chins with unknown genetics is asking for trouble, you could be dooming future chinchillas to short painful lives from issues like genetic malocclusion.
If he isn't already neutered I personally I don't recommend it. It's a risky surgery (less so if you have a vet that is very experienced with neutering chins), has a long recovery (which can require round the clock care for the first week or two), and no health benefits. The only real "benefit" is you might possibly be able to bond him with a female without risking them mating. Spaying females is even more risky and not recommended at all and most vets wont even do it unless it's a life or death situation since there is such a high risk of death.
Another thing to keep in mind is not all chinchillas get along with all other chinchillas, and gender doesn't really matter, just like humans it comes down to personalities, so a male is no more or less likely to get along with a female then a male. If your plan is to eventually have them both in the same cage, if it doesn't work out would you be ok with having two cages for the life of the chins? Or would it mean giving away the new chin if they don't bond after a certain amount of time?
The way I recommend bonding chins is slowly, start with the new chin in a different cage in a different room for 30 days. That time allows the new chin to settle in and for you to get to know it, as well as allowed any illness to show up, or at the very least gives you time to get the chin checked out at the vet, before exposing your current chin. After the 30 days you can move the cage in to the same room as your current chin and start the intro and bonding process. Keep in mind bonding can take anywhere from days to years, and as I mentioned doesn't always work out, if their personalities don't mesh it wont work. Having another chin around, even if they don't get along, can be beneficial though, like having a neighbor vs living in isolation.
First it would help if you say where in the world you live, that would help people narrow down what breeders might be in your area. For example I live in Alberta Canada and don't know any breeders around me, let alone any that breed white chins so I can't help there, but if you live somewhere else maybe some one else can.
Next are you wanting a female as a second chinchilla in another cage, never actually interacting or are you looking for a cage mate for your male? If you are wanting a playmate and cage mate, is your male neutered? If not I suggest getting a male unless you have experience breeding chinchillas or have a breeder to mentor you? Breeding is not for the fate of heart a lot can go wrong and can get expensive quickly (an emergency C-section for example can easily cost a few thousand dollars with no guarantee the female or kit(s) will survive), and require a breeding setup. Also do you know your male is from good clean genetic lines? Breeding chins with unknown genetics is asking for trouble, you could be dooming future chinchillas to short painful lives from issues like genetic malocclusion.
If he isn't already neutered I personally I don't recommend it. It's a risky surgery (less so if you have a vet that is very experienced with neutering chins), has a long recovery (which can require round the clock care for the first week or two), and no health benefits. The only real "benefit" is you might possibly be able to bond him with a female without risking them mating. Spaying females is even more risky and not recommended at all and most vets wont even do it unless it's a life or death situation since there is such a high risk of death.
Another thing to keep in mind is not all chinchillas get along with all other chinchillas, and gender doesn't really matter, just like humans it comes down to personalities, so a male is no more or less likely to get along with a female then a male. If your plan is to eventually have them both in the same cage, if it doesn't work out would you be ok with having two cages for the life of the chins? Or would it mean giving away the new chin if they don't bond after a certain amount of time?
The way I recommend bonding chins is slowly, start with the new chin in a different cage in a different room for 30 days. That time allows the new chin to settle in and for you to get to know it, as well as allowed any illness to show up, or at the very least gives you time to get the chin checked out at the vet, before exposing your current chin. After the 30 days you can move the cage in to the same room as your current chin and start the intro and bonding process. Keep in mind bonding can take anywhere from days to years, and as I mentioned doesn't always work out, if their personalities don't mesh it wont work. Having another chin around, even if they don't get along, can be beneficial though, like having a neighbor vs living in isolation.
Thank you for the message, I actually live
in Las Vegas Nevada, and have a special
room for my chin decked out with a stand alone A/C just in case the one in the house goes down also have a thermometer attached to the cage
and keep it a constant 65.
I have a 4 section hutch that’s about 6 feet tall, am going to expand it to give
the chin more room like a small city
Mervyns is not fixed, would like to get
a In cage female that is not fixed either
and let nature take its course.
My son has cats and there fixed and they
are very lathargic, and lay around allot
Thanks, Ashley
Ok so since you are planning to breed I assume you got him from a good breeder from good genetic lines then, and you have already done research into breeding chinchillas. So I would contact the breeder you got Mervyns from then, they would likely be able to help get you a female that fits with with you are planning to breed for since they would know his genetic history and know a good genetic match for him. I also assume you also have a setup to move the female to for after breeding (single story with 1/2" or smaller spacing), they can't live together all the time even if they do bond, they need to be seperated before the female gives birth. I assume you have already done your research and already know but the female can get pregnant again while pregnant if only pregnant on one side, as well as as soon as she gives birth. So if you keep them together he will mate with her again causing her to be pregnant again while still trying to nurse and raise the current kits, which can kill the mother and the kits. If it takes too much out of her she wont beable to stay alive, grow another litter, and produce enough milk for her current litter. If you are lucky the male wont kill the kits trying to breed the mother again, but after back to back pregnancies it will eventually make the mother sick and die. In case you are wondering, in the wild they aren't trapped in a cage with the male(s).Thank you for the message, I actually live
in Las Vegas Nevada, and have a special
room for my chin decked out with a stand alone A/C just in case the one in the house goes down also have a thermometer attached to the cage
and keep it a constant 65.
I have a 4 section hutch that’s about 6 feet tall, am going to expand it to give
the chin more room like a small city
Mervyns is not fixed, would like to get
a In cage female that is not fixed either
and let nature take its course.
My son has cats and there fixed and they
are very lathargic, and lay around allot
Thanks, Ashley
I don't advise neutering do to the risk, but chins don't become lethargic after neutering, unless something is wrong, and neither do cats for that matter. It sounds like something is seriously wrong with your son's cats he needs to get them checked out at the vet that is not normal at all.
Also, in case you aren't aware, the males and females will mate with each other even if related, and inbreeding is not a good thing, even if they are from good genetic lines. Mother and father chins will mate with their offspring if given the chance and sisters and brother will mate with each other as well. So you will need a setup for housing the weanlings as well.
So the PetSmart you got the male from was able to tell you the genetic history of him at least a few generations back and he came from a good breeder? If so that is very surprising since most get them from large breeding mills This Is Where Petco And PetSmart Get Their Animals If not genetics are still very much an issue if they breed. Apparently you don't realize but the babies get the genetics from both parents, so do you know for sure the male has no genetic issues? If they breed it is 100% your fault if the kits inherit any genetic issues like malo, dooming them to live a short painful life, you may not care but it's basically animal cruelty since it's 100% avoidable since you intentionally put a male and female together. It's literally because of uncaring backyard breeders and large scale breeding mills that there are now so many genetic issues found in domestic chinchillas.He’s actually from my local pet smart
I should be getting the other in a couple
weeks from a breeder in California looking
for an all white female so genetic lines
shouldn’t be an issue
What is your goal in breeding? Do you actually have any goal or are you just breeding purely to bring more genetically unknown chinchillas into the world?
If you really want to get into breeding a much better idea would be to buy a male and female from good genetic lines, not breed genetically unknown chins, keep in mind that good breeding stock is going to cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. At the very least if you insist on breeding read through the breeding info here Breeding & Babies FAQs That way if you actually care about your chins at all you have a better understanding of what you are getting into.
ChinsForLife
Well-known member
I found this video too. So sad!So the PetSmart you got the male from was able to tell you the genetic history of him at least a few generations back and he came from a good breeder? If so that is very surprising since most get them from large breeding mills This Is Where Petco And PetSmart Get Their Animals If not genetics are still very much an issue if they breed. Apparently you don't realize but the babies get the genetics from both parents, so do you know for sure the male has no genetic issues? If they breed it is 100% your fault if the kits inherit any genetic issues like malo, dooming them to live a short painful life, you may not care but it's basically animal cruelty since it's 100% avoidable since you intentionally put a male and female together. It's literally because of uncaring backyard breeders and large scale breeding mills that there are now so many genetic issues found in domestic chinchillas.
What is your goal in breeding? Do you actually have any goal or are you just breeding purely to bring more genetically unknown chinchillas into the world?
If you really want to get into breeding a much better idea would be to buy a male and female from good genetic lines, not breed genetically unknown chins, keep in mind that good breeding stock is going to cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. At the very least if you insist on breeding read through the breeding info here Breeding & Babies FAQs That way if you actually care about your chins at all you have a better understanding of what you are getting into.
Just a warning though, this video is VERY disturbing so watch at your own risk.
Spoof
Kung Fu Chinny!
I found this video too. So sad!
Just a warning though, this video is VERY disturbing so watch at your own risk.
This person is no longer in business - was shut down years ago. They were also the last pet wholesaler in the U.S. so now all pets supplied come in from overseas like Poland or the Czech Republic where there are no animal husbandry laws. That's why the illness/death rate is so high in pet store chins these last three years. Not only do they have to survive the trip but there are no health regulations.
I agree with above, unless you know the background of your chins you are really just contributing to the problem. It is often very reasonable to get good breeding stock, a lot of breeders like myself will start off new folks with an experienced pair for next to nothing just to make sure they start on the right foot. If you are picky about colors and ages that is when it gets expensive.
ChinsForLife
Well-known member
Yes, I was aware that they were shut down. I think they actually mentioned that in the post this video was in...I had just seen this and thought I would mention it as another example of what some are like.
