Pregnant chinchilla?

[Danky]

Hello!

5 days ago I bought 2 chinchillas:White male 4 months old and grey female 6 months old.They were together when I bought them but aren't related. I don't know if this is normal but the female looks about twice the size of the male.

They are very carefull when I'm around and get scared my unknown sounds.While the male is very playfull,likes to explore the female is acting a bit weird.

She pretty much sits in the same corner all day.I've seen her drink and eat and the only time she shows interest is when I put the dust bowl in the cage.She lets me pet her,but after a few seconds she pushes my finger away. She also likes to lay on her side.Today she layed down while I was at the cage which is strange since they are still a little bit frightened.

Is there any way of telling if she is pregnant and is it even possible bacause they are both very young?



Thank you for your replies!

 

[tunes]

There is every chance that she is pregnant, and if she is, she's too young. I would separate them and keep your fingers crossed that she is not pregnant. Make sure she's in a baby safe cage, wire spacing no more than 1/2 x 1" openings, no high levels or shelves, and then you wait.

 

[ArmyWife]

Like Tunes said, it's definitely possible that she's pregnant. You need to separate and prepare a baby safe cage. The only signs of pregnancy that you can actually observe is weight gain and extended nipples which occurs near the end of pregnancy. I would recommend providing her with some alfalfa hay just in case she's pregnant, it'll increase her calcium intake to help with breast milk production.

Side note, my female has always been bigger than my male, even though he's older. Some females tend to look "blocky"

 

[Dreamlite]

Please seporate them. Females can be bred as young as 3 months old which is very unsafe and unhealthy. Count 111 days from when you take the male out and if there are no kits by then she isn't pregnant. As far as size it can varry quite a bit depending on what their full grown size will be.

 

[Danky]

Female is 507 grams and male is 390g.

I'm feeding them with

Science selective Chinchilla

as treats I use Beaphar care+ (Crude protein 20%,Crude fat 3,3%,Crude fibre 20,1%,Crude ash 5,7%,Moistude 9,5%,Ca 0,79%, Mg 0.20%,Na 0,20%.K 1,04%,P 0,57% Additives: vitamin A,D3,E,Cu.

and Milk thristle meadow (hay,10% milk thristle)

Going to buy Alfalfa hay tomorrow.

I have a smaller cage with only 1 shelve which I can put right beside the larger cage but will the separation have an effect on them as they really like each other?
Will another weigh in in 1 week be enough to see if she's pregnant or not?


Even if she isn't pregnant I should still separate them until the female is atleast 8 months old?

Thank you!

 

[tunes]

I wouldn't even breed at 8 months old unless the female was huge. I prefer to wait until at least 10 months of age before I start my females, unless it's a black velvet and I MIGHT start them at 8 months if they are of sufficient size.

Definitely separate them either way. If she is pregnant, it would be tragic for a breedback to occur with her being so young. If she isn't, then she needs to have time to grow before going into breeding. Not just for her health, but to find out if she is of a quality to be bred. There is also no way to know if the male should be bred because he's too young to judge.

 

[Dreamlite]

A weight in a week will prove nothing. She is still growing so there is no way to know if it is just her or babies. They should stay aprat until she is over 600 grams and he should be 8 months old at least. Does either chin have a pedigree? Where did you get them? Do you have several spare cages ready?

 

[LouandRoo]

I have a smaller cage with only 1 shelve which I can put right beside the larger cage but will the separation have an effect on them as they really like each other?
Will another weigh in in 1 week be enough to see if she's pregnant or not?


Even if she isn't pregnant I should still separate them until the female is atleast 8 months old?

I honestly don't agree with everyone saying to separate them. Daddy helps with the babies when they are born. I would make the cage baby safe but I wouldn't separate them. My female had kits with daddy right at her side and he did an amazing job. Daddy helped clean the babies and wtched after them while mommy rested. I was told by a well respected breeder not to separate my pair when my female was pregnant. Just my opinion but they aren't my babies. You do as you feel best. Good luck!

 

[tunes]

I honestly don't agree with everyone saying to separate them. Daddy helps with the babies when they are born. I would make the cage baby safe but I wouldn't separate them. My female had kits with daddy right at her side and he did an amazing job. Daddy helped clean the babies and wtched after them while mommy rested. I was told by a well respected breeder not to separate my pair when my female was pregnant. Just my opinion but they aren't my babies. You do as you feel best. Good luck!

Did you read the original post? No "well respected breeder" would tell you to keep a four and a six month old together for the purpose of breeding. I don't separate breeding pairs, but I would never consider breeding a four and a six month old together.

 

[Dreamlite]

I would not leave them together. If she isn't pregnant already she soon will be. The longer you wait the more likely she is to get pregnant. The age and size is our biggest consern, not having a father to 'help' with the kits. And if she manages to give birth she will get bred back (they can breed the day they give birth) if the male isn't seporated.

 

[LouandRoo]

No, I would not breed that young. I misread the age of the female. My apologies.

 

[AZChins]

Yeah, breeding a female too young is not a good idea. If she isn't large enough, kits can get stuck. There are way too many drawbacks to breeding a female before she's maybe a year or more old that it isn't worth it. So much can go wrong when conditions are ideal. I refuse to sell chins all the time when people are wanting babies for other chins of the opposite ***. It isn't worth the risk...

 

[Danky]

Thank you all for replies. Today I separated them.I'm so sad that I had to do it because they like to be close to each other

Thought about it and decided I will not let her get pregnant(hope that she isn't already).
How old does the male have to be to be ready for castration?

Can the separation affect them so much that they won't want to be together once the male is castrated?

 

[Cuddlebug]

They will probably pout for a day or two, but they will get over it. It is far safer, cheaper and easier to just keep them in separate cages than it is to have him neutered. Why put him through surgery when it is not necessary? Also, there is no guarantee that they would still like each other once he has healed from his surgery since he would need to be kept in a separate cage for 6 weeks after the surgery to make sure that all the sperm has died off.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

You might think about rehoming one or getting same *** companions for them. But obviously that would mean more $$ for food, vet costs (if they were to fall ill) and potentially more cages/space if they decided not to get along. Unfortunately, unless the male is neutered there will be no other option but to keep them separate permanently unless you plan to have and provide for babies continuously.

Neutering the male is an option, but it does come with some risk as chinchillas aren't the best at handling sedation. You would need an experienced vet - I would be very picky about this. And as mentioned, you'd need to separate him long enough for him 1) to heal from the surgery and 2) time to let the sperm in the tract die and this would be for a couple of months. And there could be reintroduction issues. Not to say it couldnt be done - certainly could all go well and work out. Just something to consider.

Also what type of wood are the shelves in your bigger cage made out of? Looks like a nice cage but that wood looks thinner than I would expect pine to look...

 

[ArmyWife]

I chose to neuter my male so him and my female could live together. I chose a very experienced exotic vet. After the surgery, I had to hand feed my male for 4 days because he was in too much pain to eat. I thought everything was going great until he developed an abscess at the neuter site. I've had to take several trips to the vet. He isn't in any pain and is eating and pooping normally but it's taken about a month for the abscess to heal. Part of me regrets my decision and I feel guilty but I also feel my male and female would be better together. I haven't fully reintroduced them yet since he's still healing and his sperm is still viable. I just wanted to share my experience with you to give you some insight.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I chose to neuter my male so him and my female could live together. I chose a very experienced exotic vet. After the surgery, I had to hand feed my male for 4 days because he was in too much pain to eat. I thought everything was going great until he developed an abscess at the neuter site. I've had to take several trips to the vet. He isn't in any pain and is eating and pooping normally but it's taken about a month for the abscess to heal. Part of me regrets my decision and I feel guilty but I also feel my male and female would be better together. I haven't fully reintroduced them yet since he's still healing and his sperm is still viable. I just wanted to share my experience with you to give you some insight.

Thank you for posting this. Handfeeding during recovery is definitely something you'd need to factor in - many chins don't eat when on antibiotics or pain medicine so this would be a real possibility and commitment as he'd need to eat every few hours.

 

[ArmyWife]

Thank you for posting this. Handfeeding during recovery is definitely something you'd need to factor in - many chins don't eat when on antibiotics or pain medicine so this would be a real possibility and commitment as he'd need to eat every few hours.

I bought critical care ahead of time just in case. The first four days were exhausting and scary. I was really worried about him getting enough nutrition and not going into GI stasis.

 

[Danky]

I'm quite angry with the store(they said the grey one is a female,going to give them a call tomorrow to see who checks them for gender) but the same time relieved as I'm pretty sure they are both boys.
Today I saw the 'female' licking her bottom and there was no ****** to be seen so I checked them both and they both have penises! Took a picture of both.
ArmyWife:It's horrible what happened to your chin.I hope they will like each other once you reintroduce them.

The cage is made of beech and the shelves are made out of plywood. I know these aren't the right type of wood for them.They tried it but as it's very hard wood so they weren't able to chew on it and they didn't try again after I gave them apple and pear sticks and grinding stones.

Please check the pics.I'm pretty sure that they are boys but I want to be 100%.

Thank you

 

[LouandRoo]

Looks like a couple of boys to me.