1. if the babies and parents are growing together,will there be a danger of mix breed ?

2. Will the mother chin have a shorter life after giving birth to new babies?

3. I have a mother chin and her son chin. The son is almost 4 months old. I didn't know it was a boy chin until yesterday and now I'm worried about the mother getting pregnant by him. How old are male chins before they want to mate?

4. My male and female just mated, but the female didn't seem like she was in heat. If the female is not in heat can she still get pregnant if mated to? Also, is it ok to put a pregnant chin in a cage with another female she gets along with during pregnancy?

5. I have a couple of questions...We have a chin that has given birth three times. The first two were single babies the last she just delivered recently were two babies. She had always given birth while we were asleep, so she must have eaten the after birth since there was no sign of it. Is this a bad thing? Also, is it dangerous to have our other female chin with the babies? She seemed to be acting strangely and the mother and male chin seemed to be chasing her around alot. Lastly, do chins usually go up in numbers of kits as each pregnancy comes along?

6. I have 2 baby chinchillas and one is a boy and one is a girl. Will they have babies if they stay together?

7. How can you tell if your female chinchilla is pregnant?

8. I just brought home chinchilla thinking that i could learn us i went along and on the car ride home she had 1 baby. I was told that chins usally have 2 or more babies. Should i be worried that she only had one and how do i tell if she may still have another inside?

9. How old is a chin before it usually gets pregnant??

10. Our chinchilla just gave birth to 4 babies. We have never had babies before and don't really know how to take care of them. When can we pick them up? What should we do to take care of them? We have one adorable little baby that is the runt. Should we do anything to help him/her out and keep it healthy? It moves around the cage quite well but is half the size of the other 3. Will she continue to have this many babies each time or is it unusual?

11. My female chin had just given birth to 2 babies,but it seems that she's quite eager to take a dust bath at the second day already,should I give her a dust bath,or what?

12. When can the babies eat the usual food that their parents eat?

13. I need to make a house for the female who we will breed soon. At present the male is in his cage beside hers. They both have their own house and cage. So what dimensions for mom and babies? Thanks David

14. how long will the mother chin get pregnant again after delivery ?

15. how old will the chin baby need to get to know it's sex?

---

1. if the babies and parents are growing together,will there be a danger of mix breed ? top

Yes,the parents will breed to the children and this should not be allowed. submitted by daniel, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

2. Will the mother chin have a shorter life after giving birth to new babies? top

If the mother is in good health and fully grown before the pregnancy and is fed a quality diet, having babies will not shorten her lifespan. However, pregnancy has its risks for all animals. There is always a chance for complications that could be life threatening. Before you breed your chinchillas you should find a great vet with chinchilla experience just in case something goes wrong. submitted by Soso, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

3. I have a mother chin and her son chin. The son is almost 4 months old. I didn't know it was a boy chin until yesterday and now I'm worried about the mother getting pregnant by him. How old are male chins before they want to mate? top

Each chinchilla is different; however, males have been known to breed as early as 3 months-with 4 months being more common. The good news is that while inbreeding in chinchillas is typically a bad idea, if Mom is pregnant it won’t be a deformed baby as many people tend to think. It will most likely be physically healthy but will be lesser quality. Inbreeding tends to intensify any negative traits the parents have so unless the Mom and her son are excellent quality the baby will mostly be smaller, have thinner fur, etc. It would still be a good pet. submitted by terry, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

4. My male and female just mated, but the female didn't seem like she was in heat. If the female is not in heat can she still get pregnant if mated to? Also, is it ok to put a pregnant chin in a cage with another female she gets along with during pregnancy? top

If she wasn't in heat she wouldn't have gotten pregnant, but its hard to tell for sure if she was open unless you know what to look for. I would treat her as pregnant just to be on the safe side. Pregnant females can go through all sorts of hormonal changes while pregnant. Some can get really nasty to other chinchillas while others become more affectionate. You'll need to keep a close eye on the girls over the next 111 days to watch for any signs of fighting. submitted by Rachel, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

5. I have a couple of questions...We have a chin that has given birth three times. The first two were single babies the last she just delivered recently were two babies. She had always given birth while we were asleep, so she must have eaten the after birth since there was no sign of it. Is this a bad thing? Also, is it dangerous to have our other female chin with the babies? She seemed to be acting strangely and the mother and male chin seemed to be chasing her around alot. Lastly, do chins usually go up in numbers of kits as each pregnancy comes along? top

Its not uncommon for chinchillas to give birth to a different number of babies each time. It doesn't mean that her next litter will be larger than 2. Since her babies this far have been single births she will probably continue to have births of 1 to 2 babies. We don't keep our chinchillas in a group setting because of the dangers involved. I do know other people have successfully done it. I would suggest to watch closely for any fights and remove the other female if there is a problem. Your female went back into heat the day she delivered her babies. If she has been bred back like that each time you should remove the male and give her a break. Its important that she have a break between babies. If she is pregnant while she is nursing her first litter it will be a huge strain on her body. Repeatedly letting her do this will cause her babies to be born smaller and less healthy and Mom will not live as long. submitted by Troy, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

6. I have 2 baby chinchillas and one is a boy and one is a girl. Will they have babies if they stay together? top

A male and female will breed even if they are related. Mother to son, Father to daughter, sister to brother. Unlike some animals, you can not inbred chinchillas. And remember a male can become sexually mature as early as 3-4 months. A female can get pregnant as early as 4 months, but her body will not be large enough to deliver the baby and complications will arise. Never house a female in a cage with a male when she is between the ages of 3 -7 months. She will not be large enough to safely get pregnant until she is 7-8 months old. (Over a year old for Violets and Ebonies who mature slower) submitted by Ryan, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

7. How can you tell if your female chinchilla is pregnant? top

It is really hard to tell if your female is pregnant until it is almost time for delivery. The surest way to tell is by feeling for her nipples. Normally they are just a small bump and practically impossible to find. During the last few weeks of pregnancy they will begin to grow until they are almost as long as her hair. To feel the nipples hold her up with her belly away from you. Start at her "arm pit" and run your palm straight down. If you can feel very thin long nipples you will know that your female is pregnant. If you don't find any it may be that she is just not that far along yet. Chinchillas do not make nests, but they can become more hateful when pregnant. submitted by Helen & Joy, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

8. I just brought home chinchilla thinking that i could learn us i went along and on the car ride home she had 1 baby. I was told that chins usally have 2 or more babies. Should i be worried that she only had one and how do i tell if she may still have another inside? top

It is not uncommon for a chinchilla to give birth to only one baby, especially if it is her first pregnancy. If a mother has more than one baby the births could be as much as an hour apart. Once Mom is done laboring she will usually eat a bit of the after birth and then sit on her new baby to nurse it and keep it warm. If you chinchilla is still tugging at her bottom with her teeth, bleeding heavily, or acting as if she is in pain there may be cause for concern. If she is acting normal she should be just fine. Don't give her a dust bath for 10 days to give her body time to heal from the delivery. On the 10th day she and baby can take one together. submitted by Jennifer, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

9. How old is a chin before it usually gets pregnant?? top

A chinchilla can get pregnant as early as 4 or 5 months but this is very unhealthy and can lead to delivery problems in future kits and the possible need for a c-section to remove the babies. Its best not to put males and females together until the female is at least 8 months old. submitted by riley, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

10. Our chinchilla just gave birth to 4 babies. We have never had babies before and don't really know how to take care of them. When can we pick them up? What should we do to take care of them? We have one adorable little baby that is the runt. Should we do anything to help him/her out and keep it healthy? It moves around the cage quite well but is half the size of the other 3. Will she continue to have this many babies each time or is it unusual? top

You can pick up the babies as soon as they are dry, but only hold them for a very short time at first. Don't give Mom a dust bath for 10 days so she can heal. On the 10th day they can all have a dust bath together. If you have a scale that weighs in grams its a good idea to weight the runt often to be sure it is gaining weight. If not you can take the other babies out for an hour each day to give the baby time to feed. Sometimes the runt can't get to the mother to feed and will starve to death. If you are hole all day you could take then out of an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. If the baby still isn't gaining weight you will need to hand feed it. If you find this is the case email me at chinclub@lowcountry.com for directions. Be sure to keep the babies out of drafts. Its not unusual for a Mother to have 4 babies. She may continue to have large litters. submitted by Kelli, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

11. My female chin had just given birth to 2 babies,but it seems that she's quite eager to take a dust bath at the second day already,should I give her a dust bath,or what? top

You need to wait ten days before giving her a dust bath to give her body time to heal. submitted by Natalie, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

12. When can the babies eat the usual food that their parents eat? top

You will notice the baby chinchillas nibbling at their mother's feed as early as a week old, however they won't be ready to leave their mother until 7-8 weeks old or older. submitted by Natalie, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

13. I need to make a house for the female who we will breed soon. At present the male is in his cage beside hers. They both have their own house and cage. So what dimensions for mom and babies? Thanks David top

Keep in mind that babies are born with eyes open and full of energy. They will be running around and climbing the walls within hours of birth. A newborn chinchilla can get through small spaces so be sure the cage wire is no larger than 1 inch x ½ inch spacings. You also want to keep the height at a minimum. Babies will want to climb up but will not have the coordination to safely get back down. A fall from a high shelf could cause injury. My maternity cages are mostly one story. Some of them have one shelf but that is it. submitted by David Sirkel, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

14. how long will the mother chin get pregnant again after delivery ? top

If the mother and father are not separated she can get pregnant the same day she delivers her babies. submitted by Liza, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010

15. how old will the chin baby need to get to know it's sex? top

You can tell the sex of a chinchilla the day it is born. Visit our 'How to sex your chinchilla' page for more information. submitted by Natalie, answered by admin, last updated Sep 05, 2010