My female has a *****!!

[Patiofarmer]

I have two twin girls, Lola and Wednesday that are about a year old. Today I saw Wednesday hunched over for a while and I looked closely to see what was going on and I saw IT. My husband was sure I was wrong so we double checked some websites that help with chinchilla sexing and (with a lot of difficulty) I was able to get a good look and there can be no doubt that Wednesday is male. :cry3:

We'd never had chinchillas before and we were promised that they were both female. We'd never had any reason to doubt that. Now I don't know if Lola could be pregnant, what complications could come of having inbred babies or what to do to prevent pregnancy if by some miracle she's not already pregnant.

I know that the first answer is to separate them, which I hate to do because they're so closely bonded. The larger problem there is that we have one very large cage for the both of them and no place to put one that might need to be separated.

Another thought: would it be better to fix the male or the female? I've heard that the male is still able to impregnate a female for up to 6 months after it's been fixed. Is this even possible? It seems that it might be less invasive than fixing the female who, god willing, is not pregnant.

I'm really freaked out right now. I don't have a lot of money but I need to do what's best for my chins. What do I do???

 

[GahhItsLee]

I heard fixing the male is rather expensive but your only real option is to separate... Its sad but inbreeding can always turn out bad. Ive heard some breeders do it for one reason or another but id say dont chance it. Maybe run out to home depot or a similar store and just make a pine barrier to make the cage into two sections

 

[menagerie]

It is less invasive and less expensive to neuter the male than spay the female. A male should be kept away from the female for 6 weeks after surgery to ensure that he can no longer get her pregnant.

Have you checked both of them to see if they are the same sex? It is possible you have two males instead of two females.

 

[Patiofarmer]

I'm making an appointment to take them to the vet to be sexed but I'm pretty sure that Lola's definitely female. It looks like neutering Wednesday is about $129 plus $50 for the initial visit. I can't really afford this plus another cage for keeping them apart but I know it's just going to have to be done. I really hope that Lola's not already pregnant.

I feel like such an irresponsible owner but I specifically chose to get 2 girls so that there would be no chance of breeding. Now I'm almost in tears at the thought of keeping them apart.

 

[Carol~Anne]

Don't beat yourself up over this b/c it's is NOT your fault if in fact the chins have been missexed, it's the breeder's fault. I understand that separating them even if it's just temporarily is heartbreaking but until you know for sure their sex then that's what needs to be done. Can you hold the chins up by the base of their tail, get someone to snap some pics of their parts and then post them here so others can look and help you figure out what sex they are? It's quite easy to tell which sex they are if you have a clear enough pic and could save you a vet visit.

 

[Patiofarmer]

Carol~Anne, you've just given me another thing to worry about: I didn't get them from a breeder. I wanted to rehome because everything I'd read made it sound like the more responsible way to adopt a chin. It was just a young couple who weren't responsible enough to keep their chins from breeding. Maybe mine are already inbred? Oh, man.

I can't make any promises on pictures. It was unbelievably hard to get a good look for even the second that I did see it. She/He does not like to be held upside-down (on his/her back) and I don't want to hold him/her too tightly. She/he got away from me a few times and I've been making up for the whole experience all day with extra love so he/she knows I'm not trying to be mean.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

The easiest way to sex a chin is to first put it on a table. Then grasp the chin by the very base of the tail and lift the hind quarters by the raising tail. Allow the front feet to rest on the table. You can see the sex organs clearly when you look at the chin from behind.

 

[Patiofarmer]

The easiest way to sex a chin is to first put it on a table. Then grasp the chin by the very base of the tail and lift the hind quarters by the raising tail. Allow the front feet to rest on the table. You can see the sex organs clearly when you look at the chin from behind.

Thanks, I'll try that and see if I can get some pics up tomorrow.

 

[Cheknnudol]

I had this same scare when I first got my chinchillas. We were told they were both female and thought that we were doing this huge service by adopting from irresponsible owners rather than buying from a breeder. Of course during play time we noticed some anatomical discrepancies, and immediately came on the forum. One member was generous enough to actually send us a temporary cage to separate them until we could get definitive answers on their genders. Luckily enough, they both ended up being male (clearly the previous owners paid a lot of attention to them :\ ).

I hope that you receive similarly good news either by way of them being the same gender, or by way of neutering expense. It may be worth your time to contact rescues; they may have cages you could either borrow or use for free that were surrendered along with chins. I'm sure people on the forum have extra cages as well that they may be willing to sell, or give to you outright provided that you pay to have it shipped.

Good luck!

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I heard fixing the male is rather expensive but your only real option is to separate... Its sad but inbreeding can always turn out bad. Ive heard some breeders do it for one reason or another but id say dont chance it. Maybe run out to home depot or a similar store and just make a pine barrier to make the cage into two sections

You heard breeders do what for one reason or another? Inbreeding?

 

[JennyBug]

Man this stinks!

Do you have any ideas where their previous owners got them from? They might be able to tell you whether or not they are related.

Calm down, and take a deep breath. Whatever has happened, has happened; it can't be changed now. What kind of cage are you using to house both of them? Is it possible to create a barrier with mesh fabric or anything like that? I would carefully monitor if you use pine - you know how chins like to chew! Check craigslist.org for a cheap cage. You can usually find some pretty good deals on pet stuff, just try to steer clear of the animals (adopting animals from CL is highly addictive!)

IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT THAT YOU WERE MISINFORMED! It's a shame, but some people aren't the most scrupulous, especially when it comes to pets. However, if something good has to come of this, you (along with many others, myself included) learned a very important lesson: NEVER take someone's word for it regarding the sex of a chin unless it is an experienced breeder or an experienced vet! I feel horrible that you are having to deal with someone else's error, but you will get through it, and you will be a better chin owner because of it!

 

[menagerie]

IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT THAT YOU WERE MISINFORMED! It's a shame, but some people aren't the most scrupulous, especially when it comes to pets. However, if something good has to come of this, you (along with many others, myself included) learned a very important lesson: NEVER take someone's word for it regarding the sex of a chin unless it is an experienced breeder or an experienced vet! I feel horrible that you are having to deal with someone else's error, but you will get through it, and you will be a better chin owner because of it!

I never take anyone's word on the sex of an animal. I always look for myself.

 

[AZChins]

I agree, always take a peek and make sure that you have a girl or a boy. So many times a rescue "boy" or "girl" will come in and not be what the owner thought! I always check everyone again before anyone goes to a new home...just to be sure.

And, people are always shocked when I tell them the news...

 

[Melissa]

I know they do spay/abortions for dogs. Do they do these for chins?

If you arent ready for babies and if you are deciding to get one of them fixed anyways you may want to look at a spay/abortion for your chin.

 

[Brittany]

I just had a thought. If you decide to go the neuter route perhaps a shelter in your area would allow you to borrow a temporary cage for 6 weeks?

 

[Crazy]

My girls were miss sexed and one died from a uterus infection I could have saved her from had I known. Just think, they aren't dead and you found out rather fast. It would be unfortunate if she turns out to be pregnant, but you're doing what you can to fix the problem at hand. I hope everything works out okay. I'm rather glad you decided to not separate them. I would hate to hear if they got depressed. It's rather depressing to hear that your chinchilla is the opposite sex after you named it a very gender based name (Chico). Lol oh well I don't think it should change your opinion of him. He'll still be a screw ball and make you laugh all the same. Best of luck!

 

[caiti]

You heard breeders do what for one reason or another? Inbreeding?

I think they meant keeping a male/female pair together in the same cage. Which, I guess could turn into inbreeding...ok now I'm as confused as you are.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Actually, when a new crops up, the breeder often has to use inbreeding to get enough chinchillas of that color or that are carriers of the color in order to make more of them. This is something that should only be practiced by someone who is extremely knowledgeable in chinchilla genetics since it can also cause inherited deformities to show their ugly heads.

 

[Dani721]

This happened to me too. I was told by the breeder that they were both male and that they were brothers. A little over a week ago, one of my chins gave birth to 3 kits which means they were inbreed. If I had known this I would have gotten the male neutered. One of the kits didn't make it. I don't know if this was a result of inbreeding, but either way it was extremely sad ='(

 

[Shooper]

I'm just glad that these babies are in your hands now and not the previous owners. Atleast you pay enough attention to them that you noticed and now are willing to set things right! Your chinnies are lucky to have you!