Pregnancy scare?!

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tillowiz

New member
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Messages
4
Location
Massachusetts
I have a unique situation with my chinnies. Right now I have a mommy chinchilla (about a year and a half old) with her baby kit (about 4 months old). I didn't intentionally breed them, as when I got the mommy and daddy chinchillas, I was informed that they were both female. So I rushed to buy a new cage to separate mommy and baby from daddy.

Now, some time has passed and the baby has gotten a little older. Of course, it would work to great disadvantage that this baby chilla is a male. I have tried countless techniques and am still working on trying to get daddy and baby chilla in one cage and just have mommy in the other. The thing is, daddy and baby chilla fight like crazy and I just don't want anyone getting hurt.

I am SO scared that mommy chilla is going to get pregnant from her son! Things that are not an option for me are:
-getting a 3rd cage
-giving up any of my chillas.

I have no idea what to do. I recently saw baby chilla feeding off of mommy chilla, which worries me. I haven't seen him do that in a long time and don't know why all of a sudden he's doing it again.

How do I make my chilla family a happy home?! Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, I tried to make it as short as possible!
 
Welcome to the forum.

You only have two options here and both of them you said are not options.

1. Get a third cage
2. Rehome one of the chinchillas.

You cannot leave the male in with the mom as he will keep breeding to her. You cannot put him in with his father if they are fighting or you will end up with a dead or injured chin or chins.

Please make note, that male babies should be separated from mom at 8 weeks.
 
Ditto what Meanie said. The baby needs to be separated into a 3rd cage or somebody needs to be re-homed if you can only have 2 cages. He is 4 months old, therefore possibly fully capable of mating and impregnating mom again.

As far as the nursing... He may be nursing because he was never fully weaned, therefore Mom hasn't really dried up yet, and although you don't see it often, he still does occasionally drink from her.
 
I do not breed chinchillas, but I do read A LOT!! And I've read most of the posts on this forum. From my reading, I know that your female chin can get pregnant from her son! You don't really have any other choice but to seperate mom from her son a.s.a.p. or you're going to end up with even more chins. Then you'll also have to buy a baby'safe cage.
Is there a way you can modify one of your cages to split it down the middle so dad and son can be together, but seperate? Not sure how big your current cages are.
 
I do not breed chinchillas, but I do read A LOT!! And I've read most of the posts on this forum. From my reading, I know that your female chin can get pregnant from her son! You don't really have any other choice but to seperate mom from her son a.s.a.p. or you're going to end up with even more chins. Then you'll also have to buy a baby'safe cage.
Is there a way you can modify one of your cages to split it down the middle so dad and son can be together, but seperate? Not sure how big your current cages are.

That's another thing I was wondering about! I would love to see baby and daddy in the same cage without a big fight. I was thinking about figuring out a way to modify the cage to have the both of them in it, but I'm not sure how to go about it...
 
What kinds of cages do you have? If you post the models or take pictures then perhaps we can help give you suggestions for dividing one of the cages. You've already been given very accurate advice, I'd just like to throw this out there.

There is always the potential for chins to fight. Any owner who has chins sharing a cage needs to be prepared to separate them at a moments notice. It concerns me when you say getting a 3rd cage isn't an option. If you can't get a 3rd cage because you don't have space, then maybe we can give you some suggestions. If you can't get a 3rd cage because you can't afford it I think you should seriously consider re-homing one of your chins. You can get a decent cage for under $200. This is approximately the same amount of money you would spend if one of your chins got sick and needed xrays, tests, or other extensive vet care. Are you not going to get your chins proper medical care because you can't afford it? That's just something to think about.
 
well I will tell you what your result is going to be--pregnant mother by son or dead chinchilla. You either have to give up the mother and keep 2 boy chins, you can give up the baby and have a male and female but they need to be kept separate to not breed again. These are your only options OR mother will be pregnant by son or dad or son will kill each other. PERIOD
 
There is already a possibility that she's pregnant. You need to either seperate them or you need to get rid of a chin, not doing so immediately is just being irresponsible.
 
another option would to have baby neutered and stay with mom..or dad neutered and stay with mom but remove baby. However that will cost you and if money is a concern then I guess it wouldn't be an option. Browse craigslist and see if you can find a temp cage until you can figure things out. It doesn't need to be big if it is going to be a temp. Either way you are looking at spending money, whether it is to modify your existing cage, buying a new cage, neutering, etc. Your cheapest bet would to rehome baby.
 
Only other options you pretty much have then is:
1. Divide one of the cages.
2. Get the little boy nuetered.
 
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