Just rescued 2 Chins

[Oldmischief]

I just rescued a male and female chinchilla from someone who had no idea what they were doing (granted since these are my first chins I am still learning but even I know when to do research when I am lacking in knowledge)!

First off: I was told by the person selling them that they were 99% sure the female was pregnant. I asked how she knew this and was told that she had chins and babies before... When I got them home I double checked their genders and the "female" was a male... I'm not sure how mix that up. And of course the "male" was a female.

Secondly: The chinchillas were on a cheap guinea pig diet, "because it's all basically the same". Not only that but they had no hay and lots of different kinds of treats for them.

Thirdly: Both chins were being housed in a small dilapidated cage. Some of the ramps were not connected and just hanging, and one of the levels had broken hinges (and by broken i mean not there) on one side and just asking for an injured chin. Some of the metal rungs at the bottom of the cage were also rusted... poor chinchilla feet!

Old cage:

New cage:

I am currently using Aspen as bedding, from my understanding this is a safe substrate to use. Please correct me if i am wrong. I am also planning an adding some wood perches for their chewing pleasure and exercise. Is poplar a safe wood to use? Both chins are very friends but the female is a little shy, does anyone have any good ideas on helping me gain her trust? I also have them on Mazuri pallets, is this good? How much do they eat normally? I put three table spoons in last night and it hardly seems like they touched it. They do chew their apple sticks and eat their hay so I'm not too worried... but still concerned.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

ps Their names are Kilo (male) cause he is the biggest chin I have ever seen and Skylar (female). Can anyone tell me what colors they are? I was thinking medium tan and dark tan, but that's just a guess.

 

[Stackie]

Since you have no idea how far along the female is, I would move her into a baby safe cage. Babies could squeeze right through the bars of that cage. Start counting down the days to 111 (chin gestation). Start reading all you can in the Breeding & Babies section of this forum and gather the necessary supplies needed for baby chins.

Secondly, I would separate the two permanently anyway. Chins with unknown backgrounds should not be bred, and it will be better off for them. If you feel they need cagemates, you can get them same sex cagemates or look into getting the male neutered. It is however a somewhat costly procedure and you must make sure you have an experienced vet to do so.

Mazuri is an ok pellet, not one of my favorites but it is a lot better than most out there. You can free feed them. Chinchillas do no overeat.

As for the colors, I can't really tell you for sure unless you get some better pictures with better light. In the 2nd picture it is a beige because of the white belly.

Watch for all that plastic, chins like to chew everything and you will most likely end up with chewed up shelves, houses, etc. Don't leave the dust house in permanently as constant dusting can dry out their skin. I would throw away that saucer wheel because from what I have read, the chins can barely even use it because it is unsturdy. The two most recommended wheels are Chin Spins and (metal) Flying Saucers. Poplar is a safe wood to use, but pine is a lot cheaper.

Anyway, I think your top priority now should be separating the two and preparing for babies.

 

[alli713]

Welcome and congrats on your first chins!

First off, I would separate the male and female. Of course this means you need another cage, but it really is in their best interest. You can get into all sorts of issues while breeding, which can ultimately lead to the death of the mom or the babies. Also, you don't know these guy's backgrounds, so they could have genetic issues such as fur biting and malocclusion (where the teeth roots continually grow leading to a very painful life and death) I'm not trying to scare you by any means, but this really is the best option.

You would not be able to allow any contact between the male and female, meaning cages need to be 6 inches apart and separate play times at all times. It literally only takes a second to breed and you can't watch them that closely all the time, and they can breed between the bars if they can reach one another. The male has a rather, um, large male part.

Yes, aspen is fine for bedding, and Mazuri is good for food too, I've used it and my chins did well on it. They probably didn't touch much food being nervous being in a new home. Poplar or kiln dried pine are fine for shelves. You'll want to take out that wheel, it's a crappy wheel. The only real good ones are metal, solid running surface wheels that can be bought online like the chin spin, or the metal flying saucer.

Gaining your trust is going to take time. For some chins, it takes months, others days, and still others they never completely trust you. Just spend time with them talking to them and giving them treats out of the palm of your hand. Don't grab them or scare them with loud noises.

To me, one looks like a tan and the other a beige. If they have a white belly it'd be a beige, if the color goes all the way around it'd be a tan.

Edited to add: You'll want to make sure they have free access to hay at all times too. Timothy is the best option, but orchard grass or bermuda grass are also alternatives. And are you leaving the dust bath in their cage? You should only be giving the dust bath once or twice a week, and don't leave it in the cage. It can dry out their skin if you offer it too much.

 

[Stackie]

Wow Alli, great minds think alike. Our posts are almost identical. haha

 

[alli713]

lol! I know, I must just type slower

 

[Oldmischief]

I forgot to mention that I am working on separating them. I just got to get another cage.

To Stackie: the female that they thought was pregnant was actually a male. So i dont know if the actual female is pregnant.

thanks for the advice

 

[Stackie]

I forgot to mention that I am working on separating them. I just got to get another cage.

To Stackie: the female that they thought was pregnant was actually a male. So i dont know if the actual female is pregnant.

thanks for the advice

She most likely is as long as she had any contact with a male. It only takes a few seconds for a male to impregnate a female. Make sure the cage is baby safe.

 

[alli713]

It wouldn't really make much of a difference as to which is male and which is female as far as being pregnant. They're together, so you just assume that the female is pregnant. And the female can get pregnant again right away after giving birth to her last babies.

So it would be safest to assume that the female is pregnant. Just get a baby safe cage (wire bar openings are small enough that babies can't escape). I'm not sure which cages that you can buy at the store are going to be baby safe? I think that the critter nation has smaller bar openings, but it's a tall cage, which isn't very good for crawling babies. If worse comes to worse and you can't find a baby safe cage, you can wrap the cage in 1/2" x 1/2" or 1/4" x 1/4" hardware cloth for the time being. But if she does give birth you'd have to make sure there aren't shelves and things for mom to jump up on and potentially jump off and squish the babies.

 

[Oldmischief]

squished babies would be bad! If its got to be baby safe ill probably just build my own cage out of wood and galvanized mesh wire.

 

[Ash]

Since they thought one was male and one was female and they one they thought was female is actually male... Are you sure you don't just have two males and they thought one was female?

 

[Oldmischief]

I am 99.9% sure one is male and one female. The anogenital space is non existent in the female. I even double checked this morning to make sure it wasnt just a young male. The male was pretty obvious due to his penis size and ~1 inch long anogenital distance

 

[Ash]

Alrighty. Just wanted you to double check so you didn't get over excited for "nothing". Good luck and follow the advice given by Alli and Stace. Depending on where you are in PA, you might even be able to find a breeder willing to lend you a baby-safe cage.

 

[JoSamL]

A good way to gain their trust would be to slowly pet them give them treats and move the female to a baby proof cage. Give them supervised playtime together but really watch them.

 

[rcr]

The first thing that caught my eye was the hanging dust bath. If the plastic clips broke and it fell it could really hurt the chin inside or fall on one below. I'd move it closer to the floor of the cage. Beautiful chins. They look like a beige and a tan to me. )

 

[Little Chinta]

So glad you were able to take that pair in! I saw them while on Craigslist while searching for chinnies, but was in the middle of purchasing my own little girl... I hope all goes well and, if the female is pregnant, she has a safe and healthy delivery!

 

[CerLynn]

A good way to gain their trust would be to slowly pet them give them treats and move the female to a baby proof cage. Give them supervised playtime together but really watch them.

They can still breed in a second during supervised playtime - once they're separated, they'll need to stay that way. Good luck and congrats on your new fuzzballs!

 

[Stackie]

A good way to gain their trust would be to slowly pet them give them treats and move the female to a baby proof cage. Give them supervised playtime together but really watch them.

No, don't give them supervised playtime. They can mate in seconds. Females and males should NEVER be together if they do not need to be bred.

 

[Oldmischief]

So glad you were able to take that pair in! I saw them while on Craigslist while searching for chinnies, but was in the middle of purchasing my own little girl... I hope all goes well and, if the female is pregnant, she has a safe and healthy delivery!

Thanks, I saw the state of their cage and was just appalled. It was such a shame too since both are so friendly and sweet. Haha I believe the post is still up actually!