First playtime (introducing chinchillas) Help?

[arwagen]

Back on Tuesday the 16th, I purchased another chinchilla for my female chinchilla, Echo. Echo is almost a year old, and this new chinchilla, a male, is around 3. They have both been in separate cages. Now the day I got the male, I introduced them in a room. They touched teeth. Then the male chased Echo and I saw he had some fur in his mouth. After this I took it A LOT slower.

Their cages faced each other for 2 days. Then ever 24 hours I switched their cages so they could get use to the others scents. Throughout this they each have used the same dust bath to mix the scents. Today, nine days later, I let Echo and Leroy play together in the Hallway where neither of them have ever been. I had the dust bath in the middle of the hallway. Echo use to seem scared of Leroy, but now i dont know. Shes eager to go see him, they touch teeth. Then she like runs away frantically. At one point they were making noises, they didnt seem angry or territorial but happy noises. then i noticed Echo tried to bite Leroy's tail. Ive never had more then one chinchilla before, so does this sound normal? Am I just paranoid? I know it could be months before they are able to share a cage, but does it sound like Progress?

Thankyou for any responses in advance. Much appreciated

 

[Stackie]

Are you wanting to breed them?

 

[arwagen]

Yes. I know about breeding. Ive gone through a post being updated on things to know. I plan on maybe one litter, then neutering Leroy. Trust mee, ive done my share of research P

 

[Stackie]

Where did you buy Echo and Leroy? Just reading through a post isn't really enough "research".

 

[MelodyR]

Not to criticize, but if you did your "research," why didn't you do strict a quarantine FIRST? It's for their own good.

It doesn't sound like you have thoroughly thought this thing out. If you're having issues with intros, imagine trying to assist a mom with a breech birth. Perhaps you should rethink this.

 

[arwagen]

you dont know the background. I KNOW what im doing. I KNOW the risk. Im just wondering whats considered normal for two chinchillas during playtime. i dont need to be told to rethink anything. Sorry for ranting but I mean, I ask one question, and then i state ive done research. I got Leroy from my friend. Leroy had a cagemate. Both were healthy, didnt have any health problems in the past.

can someone please just answer my question... Im just wondering whats normal chinchilla playtime..

 

[kimbt622]

i haven't dealt with a male and female playtime only two males but i would imagine that its normal for them to check each other out and test their limits a little bit. as long as there is not vicious fighting, one "wrestling" the other or anything like that it seems to be good progress. try letting one out while the other is still in the cage and let the one that is out go up to the cage and smell through bars to avoid any violence and then they can both see that the other doesn't want to hurt him/her. good luck! hope they soon are a very happy couple :dance3:

 

[lauralynne]

you dont know the background. I KNOW what im doing. I KNOW the risk. Im just wondering whats considered normal for two chinchillas during playtime. i dont need to be told to rethink anything. Sorry for ranting but I mean, I ask one question, and then i state ive done research. I got Leroy from my friend. Leroy had a cagemate. Both were healthy, didnt have any health problems in the past.

can someone please just answer my question... Im just wondering whats normal chinchilla playtime..

If we don't know the backgroud, please, enlighten us. If you KNOW what you're doing, you wouldn't be asking the questions. No one minds helping (and they are not criticizing), but it has been proven too many times that people who "think" they are ready to breed, are not.

 

[Stackie]

We're trying to keep you from experiencing heartbreak and to keep your chins from getting hurt or even dying. I'm not going to advise someone on how to put their chins together and let them mate, if they shouldn't reproduce in the first place. Breeders have worked hard to get the quality chinchillas we have today. Just taking any two chinchillas and throwing them together is undoing their years of hard work. Rescues are filled with unwanted chins due to backyard breeders that just throw anything and everything together, or people who want cute babies but when they have them, the interest wears off and they don't know what to do with them.

It sounds like they aren't pedigreed breeders that came from experienced breeders who know what they're doing- so you really can't be sure that they are of breeding quality or if they have any genetic diseases in their background. Makes me very curious where Echo came from since you didn't even mention her background..did she come from a pet store? Just because Leroy came from your friend- that doesn't mean you know his whole history. Who were his parents? His grand parents? How did they do in shows?

Are you prepared to find either your male or your female beaten to death by the other? It is not uncommon for mates to turn on one another, and even die.

Are you prepared to spend hundreds if not thousands on veterinary care should your female experience problems with her pregnancy? C-sections are not cheap, and there are so many things that can go wrong with the kits. I was just told a story of a breeder who walked in to find a kit completely dismembered by mom because of birthing complications- head and whiskers on one side of the cage, tail on the other side of the cage.

Another horrific story: this breeder came home to find 3 dead kits..a kit with it's whole midsection torn out, the others were already dead. Only one was barely alive and the breeder had to revive it by giving it mouth to mouth. She worked hard to save her but the kit ended up dying anyway. http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13101

Breeding takes a lot more thought and consideration. I do not understand why people feel the need to breed their pets due to the vast array of things that could go wrong. Imagine coming home to find one of your beloved pets dead because she had birthing complications, or to find a male beaten to death by his mate. Or to find a slaughter of dead kits in the cage torn apart because mom had problems birthing them.

Since you do not know their FULL histories, nor have you even had them evaluated to determine if they are of proper breeding quality, you may unknowingly allow the parents to pass on hidden genetic defects; i.e. malocclusion- the disease that causes a chin to slowly suffer a painful death by the roots growing up into the eye sockets. By not knowing their COMPLETE history, they could harbor the genes for this disease.

We are looking out for the best interest of the chinchillas, and trying to help you. Please take this advice and keep them separate. Breeding, as you will see from this post, is not all about "cute, fuzzy" babies. Much, MUCH more consideration and careful thought needs to be put into it.

 

[Megan]

Considering you've done your research, introduction of two animals is one of the first, and most common questions. Therefore, if you completed the research phase of it like you said you've done, you would know what is normal and whats not.

So whats the problem here?

 

[arwagen]

Thankyou D

Im so happy to get a normal answer. I have tried that too. It seemed to help. I put the male (at the time he seemed the most aggressive) into a carrying case and put it in the bathroom which Echo ran around. After ten minutes Echo built the courage to go up to Leroy and stay there.

 

[lauralynne]

Echo is a bit small for her age, she is a bit larger then a Guinea pig but not the size of a normal female chinchilla.

That is a quote from your other thread. If she is not the size of even a normal female - that is a HUGE red flag (other than the obvious red flag of not knowing her background).

I'm just trying to understand why you would welcome the high risk of complications, heartbreak, etc. If you want a kit, why don't you find a reputable breeder and buy one? Keep Leroy in a seperate cage. Why put your female at such a high risk AND next, the male, by having him fixed?

That just doesn't make sense ethically OR financially.

 

[RDZCRanch]

I agree with Laura, Arwagen. You've mentioned this girl is smaller and I understand the draw of having a baby from her if she's a great pet, but honestly, her life should be more important than possibly getting a baby.

It sounds like they are doing normal sizing up and such, but even with us answering your original question, that doesn't make us any more willing to just ignore that you want to breed a small female.

Just because you CAN does NOT mean you SHOULD.

 

[alli713]

Breeding a smaller female can lead to complications. Are you willing to put your girl through that? If her birth canal is not large enough to pass the kits due to being of a smaller size, she's going to have a really hard time passing the kits. If you're not there during the birth (as most breeders can tell you, it's hard to be there at the time of the birth!) and she can't pass the kits, the kits could die from not enough oxygen, she could tear them apart trying to get them out, she could harm herself trying to get them out, or even kits could get stuck inside her and need a c-section to get them out.

What's the benefit in this for her? Are you willing to put the health of your chin at risk just so you can have some baby chins?

 

[Parkerspetchins]

:deadhorse: Selfish people don't listen to reason.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

I ADVISE YOU TO PLEASE LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE.....

this is the result of breeding to small animals,one being from a pet store also.....

this was my "premature still born" baby that resulted from me being ingnorant and jumping into breeding when i knew nothing about it......... and my female was bigger than yours was but still small...so if you insist on breeding after i just showed you that...then i wouldnt even ask for peoples advise anymore...i acted just like you did at first, and look what i got out of it..

 

[Laurie]

Thank you Chinchilla*0927 this is the EXACT reason why breeding is not a pleasant experience. Nothing rips your heart out more than seeing a dead kit or holding a dying kit in your palm as it takes it's last breath.

FYI babies, kits, puppies, kittens, foals, cubs, and so on and so on aren't cute little playthings for our amusement--they are living breathing creatures of GOD. They should be treated as such and revered--not just created for the simple "heck" of it. Breeding chinchillas is something you do for the betterment (not a word but I don't care) of the line. Breeding chinchillas is something taken seriously, meaning you're going to attend shows and continue to upgrade your breeding herd. If this is something you're not prepared to take the time and money doing--please don't do it simply for the fun of having babies.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

Thank you Chinchilla*0927 this is the EXACT reason why breeding is not a pleasant experience. Nothing rips your heart out more than seeing a dead kit or holding a dying kit in your palm as it takes it's last breath.

your welcome,im simply trying to make this person see what could happen....cuz it happened to me, nothing hurt me more than knowing i made my poor girl go threw 3 months of pregnancy for her to do all the rite things and her baby die...if thats not a reality hit to you than what is??????????????????????????

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I agree with everyone else - Ive already posted in your other thread. Breeding is just a side effect of the fact you want your chinchilla to have a cagemate before you can get him neutered, and that's not how your priorities should be. Like Lan said these are living breathing creatures that you need to be responsible for.

And these are normal answers, it just sounds like they aren't the ones you want to hear. We are here for the health and wellness of the chinchillas, nothing else. No one here is going to be an advocate of breeding a small female, once or anytime for that matter, period.

 

[kimbt622]

i did provide a bit of advice on normal behavior between two chins, but that does not mean i don't agree with everyone here. if Echo is that small, please do not put her through that. i suggest you wait a while until she POSSIBLY grows to a healthy size and you have done intensive research and weighed your options before making a big decision like breeding two beautiful chinnies. if that does not happen, i would also suggest to not breed them, that is too dangerous for her.