Breeding and size of chinchillas

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Sgrover

Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
Messages
7
When you are breeding 2 chinchillas, does the size matter? Can the male be larger than the female? Also can you put 1 male in a cage with 2 females? Will he mate with both? The male is unrelated to the females.
 
First to answer you questions, I'm not a breeder but I'm pretty sure you want the male to be the same size or smaller then the female. If the size difference is a lot the female can have trouble giving birth which could mean needing an emergency c-section (easily a couple thousand dollars), and if she survives possibly needing a spay. Or you could have a situation like I just read the other day, someone rescued a pregnant female, when she tried to gave birth to the kits were too big for the female to pass, all 3 died and were ripped apart by the female trying pull them out. If you put the male with two females he will breed with both, and also females can get pregnant again right after giving birth so it's best to remove the male after breeding and move the females into a kit safe cage. Being pregnant again right after giving birth and/or while nursing kits can put a real strain on the females since all of their energy is going into the kits and the stress can even kill the female.

Breeding chinchillas is not something to take lightly though. Have you done research on breeding chinchillas and do you have a breeder mentoring you in breeding? A lot can go wrong so it's best you have someone to help. Aside from being unrelated are all the chinchillas breeding quality? Are they also all from good clean breeding lines, meaning no genetic issues for at least a couple generations back? There are several genetic issues that can pass down, or even be recessive so you need to make sure if one carries it the other doesn't, and some issues that can skip a generation so you need to look as far back as possible. Also have you looked into and are able to afford the costs for breeding? You'll need to have an emergency vet you can call lined up, ideally two just in case the other is not available as well as have at least a few thousand dollars set aside or a credit card for vet costs should things go wrong. Also are you prepared to have to hand feed round the clock, every 2 hours for 8 weeks per litter should one or both females decide to reject the kits or have too many and need help.
 
First to answer you questions, I'm not a breeder but I'm pretty sure you want the male to be the same size or smaller then the female. If the size difference is a lot the female can have trouble giving birth which could mean needing an emergency c-section (easily a couple thousand dollars), and if she survives possibly needing a spay. Or you could have a situation like I just read the other day, someone rescued a pregnant female, when she tried to gave birth to the kits were too big for the female to pass, all 3 died and were ripped apart by the female trying pull them out. If you put the male with two females he will breed with both, and also females can get pregnant again right after giving birth so it's best to remove the male after breeding and move the females into a kit safe cage. Being pregnant again right after giving birth and/or while nursing kits can put a real strain on the females since all of their energy is going into the kits and the stress can even kill the female.

Breeding chinchillas is not something to take lightly though. Have you done research on breeding chinchillas and do you have a breeder mentoring you in breeding? A lot can go wrong so it's best you have someone to help. Aside from being unrelated are all the chinchillas breeding quality? Are they also all from good clean breeding lines, meaning no genetic issues for at least a couple generations back? There are several genetic issues that can pass down, or even be recessive so you need to make sure if one carries it the other doesn't, and some issues that can skip a generation so you need to look as far back as possible. Also have you looked into and are able to afford the costs for breeding? You'll need to have an emergency vet you can call lined up, ideally two just in case the other is not available as well as have at least a few thousand dollars set aside or a credit card for vet costs should things go wrong. Also are you prepared to have to hand feed round the clock, every 2 hours for 8 weeks per litter should one or both females decide to reject the kits or have too many and need help.

Yes I have researched and we have breed other chinchillas with no problem. They have had babies already. We know their breeding genetics. This is another male we have that is in a separate cage and we would like to put him with 2 females so he is not alone. He is a little bit larger than the females though. We are able to pay for care if needed and I work from home so able to be here. We have a baby chin right now that is about 2 weeks old. It is from the pair that have been together for a while. We separated the momma and baby from the daddy however now.
I am just unsure of the size for the other ones. Is it best to weigh them and see what the weight difference is?
 
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