Newbie

[Mindelicious420]

I recently became the proud mama to 2 chins. I was told from the seller that one was about 2yrs old and female and the other was about a year old and not sure of the sex. I have had them for about 2-3 months and have come to realize that the younger chin is in fact male. For the first time last week I noticed the male 'having his way' with the female chin. She didnt seem to happy! She was also actually wet around her tail and such. That is the only time that I have actually witnessed it happening. Now for the last week the female has been sleeping so much more than she has since I got them. She has also seemed to ave calmed down, as in letting you pet her through the cage or reach in and get her. The male is just the opposite and plays a game out of trying to catch him! Just wondering if I should be looking for signs of pregnancy, and where to go from there?

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

Welcome! First off if you really care about your critters, you need to separate the two chinchillas ASAP! With no known pedigree you have no idea if they are passing genetic faults into future generations, which can lead to a lot of heartache, and suffering for the animals. Look in the health and hygiene section on this board and you'll see a few cases.
The birthing process doesn't always go as planned either. You can have emergency c-sections that are not cheap. The babies can be born dead, or can't pass the birth canal, and in some cases if the female feels threatened, they can kill their offspring.
I don't mean to preach to you but my best interest is always with the chinchillas.
The cage the female is in needs to have very small bar spacing, to prevent babies escaping if she is indeed pregnant. You can't always tell. Weight gain can be a sign, but one doesn't always know. Do you have a scale that weighs in grams? That's one way to start. The gestation for chins is approx 111 days give or take from mating.
I do hope you stick around. This board has a lot of information that you just won't find elsewhere. I'm glad you found us!

 

[Claire D]

:wave: Hello & welcome to the forum.

Oh dear, sounds like you're about to have a steep learning curve with your chins. The seller should really have known the sex & age of both chins so I am suspecting they didn't come with pedigrees.
I am afraid you will have to count 111 days since the mating & get a kit safe cage ready because you're more than likely going to have kits appearing.

In the meantime I would suggest reading through the Breeding & babies FAQs which will give you plenty of info on preparing & looking after the female & kits.

Right now, though, I would suggest you separate the male into a different cage. Without background on the chins most responsible chin owners would agree that you don't really want to be breeding them - mainly because they may have some genetic problems that could be passed onto any offspring.
You can either get the male castrated (by an experienced chinchilla competent vet) or just keep him separate from the female in another cage - that means no playing together or visits off anything. As you've seen, it takes seconds for mating to occur.

I think the FAQs are fairly comprehensive & will hopefully answer most of your questions but please do keep asking if there's something you're not sure about - most chinny mothers are pretty good when it comes to raising babies but it never hurts to be prepared for all eventualities - the basics are a kit safe cage (small bar spacing, not high, no ledges for Mum to get up to etc), keeping Dad separated, having milk formula on hand just in case, & a good vet.

Best of luck & do please keep us posted.

 

[Godofgods]

If you dont no, its probably better to assume that she is pregnet. (wish i had) If they are indeed male and female pair and shes not pregnet yet, if left together, she soon will be.

You should probably seperate them asap. And do some checking to make sure of each of their sexs. Often times ppl are wrong in the assumption. And even female can hop on the back of other females. (Dominance thing). If your able to, get a good picture of the area and post it here, and let some of the ppl help you out. (Glad i did, was planning on puting my two male kits in with daddy after they weened... untill i found out the're actuly female)

If she is pregent, you absoutly want to get a cage with very small wire spaceing (half inch or less). Other wise kits can and will (oh boy will they ever..) excape form the cage constently. If you cant you need to look into way to prevent them from getting out of what ever cage they are in.

After their seperated, count the 111 and keep an eye out as well. Chins can show signs of pregnecy such as nesting, and increased weight gain/appatite. But its not a guarentee. My girl showed every sign i could think off before she was introduced to my male. And ended up not pregnet at all. However later in life, she showed no signes at all and suddenly theirs a kit! So you have to keep a close eye on them.

 

[Claire D]

And do some checking to make sure of each of their sexs. Often times ppl are wrong in the assumption. And even female can hop on the back of other females. (Dominance thing)....

Did you actually read the OP? After witnessing the mating, the female was wet around her genitals - pretty sure females don't leave wet patches on other females when they dominance mount since they don't contain sperm. :nah:

 

[Cuddlebug]

Just a quick note here. If she is pregnant, the kits could arrive anytime between now and 111 days since the chins have had ample opportunity to mate without being seen.

 

[Godofgods]

Did you actually read the OP? After witnessing the mating, the female was wet around her genitals - pretty sure females don't leave wet patches on other females when they dominance mount since they don't contain sperm. :nah:

yes, i did.
I still prefer to be sure about something. When it comes to something that will drastically effect a chins life like this, i try not to simply assume things

 

[LeoMonster]

Just a quick note here. If she is pregnant, the kits could arrive anytime between now and 111 days since the chins have had ample opportunity to mate without being seen.

Or did the first owner keep them in the same cage as well? If so, I'll assume it spossible they could have mated at her house and the female is pregnant now without the OP knowing?

 

[Claire D]

yes, i did.
I still prefer to be sure about something. When it comes to something that will drastically effect a chins life like this, i try not to simply assume things

Okaaaay then - you're suggesting they could both be female whereas I am suggesting that females don't leave ejaculate on their submissive partner..... *shrugs*