I have had 2 males and 2 females housed all together for the last 4 or 5 months. I have found teats on one of my females so I put her in a smaller cage and am not wanting anymore babies right now so I put the other female with her. Do you think this will be ok? They seem to be fine right now all snuggled up together. I am just wondering what will happen when the kits come?
Pregnant Female caged with another female???
- Thread starter mtspann
- Start date
Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:
You need to immediately separate your males from your females. You can never, ever, house 2 males with 2 females. I am amazed that you don't have a bunch of dead chins.
Whether you keep the females together or not depends on the females. Oftentimes a second female will help care for the kits, but again, it will depend on the females.
Again, I can't stress enough how important it is that you get those males away from the females and keep them apart permanently.
Whether you keep the females together or not depends on the females. Oftentimes a second female will help care for the kits, but again, it will depend on the females.
Again, I can't stress enough how important it is that you get those males away from the females and keep them apart permanently.
VolunteerChin22
I <3 dustbunnies
Not sure why you wouldn't have seperated them in the first place if you weren't wanting babies...male + female = babies...
I do want babies just don't want both to have litters at the same time. All of my chins are young and have always been together. They all sleep together and get along fine. I also have two friends here in town that house multiple males with females and have no problems. I am not worried about my males and females together they are fine. I only worry about the pregnant female not wanting the other female around.
ticklechin
Well-known member
Must be a big chinchilla enclave in WY to have all these people with all these male and female chinchillas together with no issues, must be the water that keeps them inline.
chinchillalover0927
to many chin chips??
Wow I'm shocked that you were told your males will fight over the females and you don't care.....how will you know who is the father??? You just give people both options and say good luck???
When you house animals of the opposite sex together you have no control over when babies will be born. Like VolunteerChins said, it's nature boy+girl=baby.
They've ALWAYS been together? So you're breeding littermates? If they're young then some of them may not have reached sexual maturity. Eventually they will fight and someone will get killed. Again its nature, even our cute cuddly pets act on instinct. You seriously need to read through the breeding FAQ's. Many people breed in colonies (1 male + multiple females) without issue, so as you've already been warned, housing the 2 girls together should be the least of your issues.
Last edited:
Is it possible you might have seen the term "colony" breeding and misunderstood what it meant? Colony breeding is when you put one male with multiple females in a large cage. You don't put multiple males with multiple females in the same cage.
I'm also very worried about your comment that you put them together at a young age. No female should go into breeding before she's 8 months of age, and even then it's usually black velvets that get started early because they can be stubborn about breeding. Most hobbyists hold their female chins out of breeding until they are 8 months to at least a year. Putting them in too young can cause several issues; first it can be dangerous for mom to give birth because the mom may simply not have enough room for the kits to pass through at birth. There is also the issue of what kind of drain it puts on mom. Mom needs to be in peak physical condition to have kits. If she's still a baby herself, then you are taking vital nutrients away from her that would allow her to grow to her full potential, and in turn, you could end up with a mom who won't produce milk because her body just isn't fully matured. That means you, the breader, get to hand feed those kits every 2 hours, around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until they are at least 2 weeks old, possibly 3. After that, you still have to hand feed them every 3-4 hours until they are ready to wean at 6-8 weeks.
I understand that you want cute, fuzzy babies, but there is a right way and an incredibly wrong way to go about producing them and the way you are doing it right now is not only wrong, it's very, very dangerous for all the animals involved.
I'm also very worried about your comment that you put them together at a young age. No female should go into breeding before she's 8 months of age, and even then it's usually black velvets that get started early because they can be stubborn about breeding. Most hobbyists hold their female chins out of breeding until they are 8 months to at least a year. Putting them in too young can cause several issues; first it can be dangerous for mom to give birth because the mom may simply not have enough room for the kits to pass through at birth. There is also the issue of what kind of drain it puts on mom. Mom needs to be in peak physical condition to have kits. If she's still a baby herself, then you are taking vital nutrients away from her that would allow her to grow to her full potential, and in turn, you could end up with a mom who won't produce milk because her body just isn't fully matured. That means you, the breader, get to hand feed those kits every 2 hours, around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until they are at least 2 weeks old, possibly 3. After that, you still have to hand feed them every 3-4 hours until they are ready to wean at 6-8 weeks.
I understand that you want cute, fuzzy babies, but there is a right way and an incredibly wrong way to go about producing them and the way you are doing it right now is not only wrong, it's very, very dangerous for all the animals involved.
liewwan
Well-known member
I understand you currently feel that they don't fight and they get along great, cuz one month ago I felt the same way. ALL the individuals above my comment made me realize I'm making a big mistake! I ended up separating my 2 males and my 2 females that was in the same cage!!!!! I even considered neutering my boys so they can be housed with the girls, "since they got along". However thinking further and reading more I realize that in time they can still fight over the female. They might not be able to make babies, but like all male they still want to "get their grove on". It was hard for the first few days seeing them apart but I knew it was best for them (thank you ladies by the way).
As now I have a situation where one of my girls may be pregnant. Same as you! I didn't anticipate to have any kits, but now I have a high chance I will be.
As for my two females being in the same cage with one possible one being pregnant, I'm going to wait till I can feel movements before I decide should her sister be separated from her. Even though "they get along great" accidents will happen!
As now I have a situation where one of my girls may be pregnant. Same as you! I didn't anticipate to have any kits, but now I have a high chance I will be.
As for my two females being in the same cage with one possible one being pregnant, I'm going to wait till I can feel movements before I decide should her sister be separated from her. Even though "they get along great" accidents will happen!
Mt. Zion Chins
Barb
I would leave the 2 females together. I find that most of the time, the 2 females still get along after the 1 gives birth. In fact, lots of time the other female helps with keeping the babies warm. After the birth just keep a watch, just in case
You people are no help.....none of you seem to want to help just critcize and try to make people feel stupid. Well let me tell you I don't I know my animals have been fine and still are fine. I will be deleting my account cuz this place is stupid.
Dragonflye
Well-known member
Nobody is trying to be mean or make you feel stupid. They are simply trying to alert you to a potentially dangerous situation (which you apparently don't want to hear). That is not mean, it is expressing concern for your animals. That is why this forum exists.
Delete your account if you feel you must, but there is still plenty of valuable information here. There are quite a few very respected breeders who are willing to share their experiences to help you.
Delete your account if you feel you must, but there is still plenty of valuable information here. There are quite a few very respected breeders who are willing to share their experiences to help you.
Not a single person in this thread said you were stupid. I myself wondered (and asked you) if you might have been misinformed about what colony breeding is. If I didn't ask, I wouldn't know.
If you want to leave (you can't delete your account, only an admin can) then that's your choice. But you are doing your chinchillas a great disservice by not following the advice given above to not house the males and the females all together in a big group. I have been breeding chins for 10 years now. Not ever, in any of that time, would I have ever considered putting 2 males in with 2 females. Chins are no different than any other animal. Would you put 2 intact male dogs in with a female dog? Of course not, because the males would very likely fight to the death over her. It would be incredibly dangerous to throw 2 stud horses into a pasture with mares. The studs would fight and would very likely cause great harm to each other. It's no different with chins. Males are programmed to breed their females. If another male gets in the way, he's going to die.
If you want to leave (you can't delete your account, only an admin can) then that's your choice. But you are doing your chinchillas a great disservice by not following the advice given above to not house the males and the females all together in a big group. I have been breeding chins for 10 years now. Not ever, in any of that time, would I have ever considered putting 2 males in with 2 females. Chins are no different than any other animal. Would you put 2 intact male dogs in with a female dog? Of course not, because the males would very likely fight to the death over her. It would be incredibly dangerous to throw 2 stud horses into a pasture with mares. The studs would fight and would very likely cause great harm to each other. It's no different with chins. Males are programmed to breed their females. If another male gets in the way, he's going to die.
AZChins
Pro Cage Cleaner Champion
I just read this. It is extremely dangerous to have two males in with one or more females. Males get so territorial. They may have gotten along in their youth, but when they start becoming more sexually mature they could start fighting. Separate them into two pairs...having two males in with a female doesn't help anything at all with getting pregnant.
And, females tend to have their cycles sync up when they are in the same cage or in cages nearby. If they both get pregnant, it will probably be within possibly a few days or a few weeks of each other. Be prepared for that.
And, females tend to have their cycles sync up when they are in the same cage or in cages nearby. If they both get pregnant, it will probably be within possibly a few days or a few weeks of each other. Be prepared for that.
