I have purchased a male chinchilla may of 2012, and recently pre paid for a female from the same pet shop.. after paying, the owner shared that my male and female share the same mother. The plan was to put these two together once Pearl is old enough... But what if they mate?? Is this dangerous? The owner of the store is a Breeder and she told us that it would be fine... I'm still worried. Advice?
My Male & Female are half brother/sister?!
- Thread starter TiaraME93
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Dreamlite
Well-known member
Did your male come with a pedigree? Did you tell her before that you planned on breeding? Is your chins of breeding quality? Its impossible to know if they will grow out to be good enough for breeding so you can't order a breeding quality 'kit'. I wouldn't breed chins that closely related unless they were totally amazing animals. If she is selling through a pet store and they aren't out of show lines I wouldn't even think about it.
ArmyWife
Well-known member
Just because they're related doesn't mean they aren't going to breed. I would keep them separated if you don't want your female pregnant.
Riven
Bad Chin
I agree with comments above. Have them been evaluated for quality? Putting a male and a female together is called breeding. Moms and sons, dads and daughters, brothers and sisters... animals don't care about lines, they care about reproducing their species.
ticklechin
Well-known member
Since she can't have babies forever and you bought her as a "friend" for your male, I would rethink your whole plan.
Pookinaround
FUZZ BUTT ENTHUSIAST
The owner of that pet store obviously wanted a sale and should not have knowingly sold you a half brother/sister pair they knew you wanted to house together.
Cuddlebug
Well-known member
It's not a "what if?" situation. If they are allowed to share a cage or even playtime together, they will mate. You cannot stop it and the chinchillas do not care whether or not they are related. They need to be kept separate for the rest of their lives.
VolunteerChin22
I <3 dustbunnies
Agree - this is not a what if situation. They will mate and then you will be inbreeding chinchillas.
The fact that this "breeder" does not care about that and told you "it would be fine" means this person has no standards for breeding their animals - how do you know the mother and father of your chin weren't also siblings and you are perpetuating 2nd generation inbreeding?
If they have no qualms about breeding related chins they probably don't have any qualms about breeding inferior quality and poor health animals too - I think you're not only asking for problems with breeding two animals that should never be bred in the first place, but I think you're also risking poor health and the potential for malo, seizures, and other health disorders in your pets.
Why would you continue to purchase from someone like this?
I would find another breeder - where are you located? We could help you find someone with higher quality, same sex animals for you to consider...
The fact that this "breeder" does not care about that and told you "it would be fine" means this person has no standards for breeding their animals - how do you know the mother and father of your chin weren't also siblings and you are perpetuating 2nd generation inbreeding?
If they have no qualms about breeding related chins they probably don't have any qualms about breeding inferior quality and poor health animals too - I think you're not only asking for problems with breeding two animals that should never be bred in the first place, but I think you're also risking poor health and the potential for malo, seizures, and other health disorders in your pets.
Why would you continue to purchase from someone like this?
I would find another breeder - where are you located? We could help you find someone with higher quality, same sex animals for you to consider...
Thank you all for the responses! Very helpful. We've decided to withdraw our purchase and just wait a while. We aren't specifically wanting to breed at this point,so we will most likely end up looking for a similarly aged male to be Beado's playmate. If they don't like each other, we have the spacr/time/means for separate housing, but buddies would be ideal. Breeding is a serious responsibility.. I can see us doing it in the future, but not right now. Whenever that time comes, I'll be sure to ask around on here before we make a commitment to another Female! Thanks again for the feedback!
VolunteerChin22
I <3 dustbunnies
Good call. :thumbsup: If you are looking for a male from either a reputable breeder or rescue, listing your location might help us, help you!
Zoaea
O.o
For others facing a similar dilemma (like maybe they thought they got 2 males but didn't, ect) you can also try for getting the male fixed.
greychins
NWI Chinchillas
The male can definitely be fixed, by a competent vet that knows what they're doing, but that doesn't solve the immediate caging problem. Even after the male is fixed, there's still the possibility of impregnating the female for a certain period of time, so the two chins would still need to be caged separately for a period of time. So it wouldn't help in the short term if someone discovered, oops, they have a male and a female.
Chin_Pig
Well-known member
A month would be sufficient wouldn't it, as it is in neutering dogs?
Cuddlebug
Well-known member
Mot people recommend 6 weeks, just to be safe.
