Refusing to Babysitting unaltered Male and Female Chin

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Jen&Nuts

Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2009
Messages
22
I have an acquaintance who asked me to babysit her chinchillas while she was out of state to complete a portion of her college education. I agreed but I just found out tonight that the chinchillas are a male and female living together in the same cage. I then refused because I know nothing about caring for a pregnant chinchilla because I never intended to breed chinchillas. I think that this could potentially be full of problems. She says she has no one else who is willing to watch her chinchillas and is afraid that they will die in her mother's care. She's suggested taking the female in to be checked out by a vet before she leaves. But I am not sure that really alleviates my concerns.

For those who breed are my fears justified? I just don't have a good feeling about this at all. I feel like it would be extremely irresponsible of me to take these chinchillas into my care without knowing anything about pregnancy. She believes that the chinchillas are 6-7 months old (not sure if that really matters when it comes to breeding).

What do you guys think of the whole thing?
 
I don't think that helps because what if she is pregnant now. I guess assuming that the vet can verify that she is not pregnant but what does she do if she is pregnant? She still needs someone to care for them. BTW I will be keeping the chins from May 21 until the first or second week in August. So it's for an extended period of time.
 
Yes, I found that out in my preliminary research of chinchilla pregnancy which I passed along to her.
 
I would also say no if I were you. She needs to turn the female over to a rescue or an experienced breeder to watch. The main problem is if she is pregnant because she is so small she may not be able to pass the kits and need an emergency csection or spay, and could very well die. That means $$$ so I'm wondering would be footing the bill??? They need to be seperated immediately regardless of the situation - she is obviously not well versed on chinchilla care if she did not know what would happen or that its deadly.
Where are the chins/you/her located?
 
We are in Pennsylvania. She told me that if they did have babies she would just sell them to recoup the costs of the two she bought and then separate them. I personally don't agree with that and clearly she is taking the idea of pregnancy very lightly. Since I have refused to take them at this point she did say she would separate them tonight.

That is the kind of thing I would be afraid of that this chinchilla would die and I would feel so guilty and responsible.
 
VolunteerChin22 said:
I would also say no if I were you. She needs to turn the female over to a rescue or an experienced breeder to watch. The main problem is if she is pregnant because she is so small she may not be able to pass the kits and need an emergency csection or spay, and could very well die. That means $$$ so I'm wondering would be footing the bill??? They need to be seperated immediately regardless of the situation - she is obviously not well versed on chinchilla care if she did not know what would happen or that its deadly.
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Exactly, you should say no if you are not comfortable being in a situation like that. Plus, she shouldnt expect you to have to deal with pregnancy or potential problems. I wouldnt feel bad about refusing. You could try to help her find someone more experienced to help her out.

Plus - with her comment about just selling kits to recoup any money she spent - then separate them.....IMO she shouldnt have chins in the first place. It's a very ignorant statement.
 
Well, I am very torn about this because she had a chinchilla before this who I baby sat for a week or two and that one died because she went on a week vacation and left the chin in her house with no air conditioning and it happened to be a very hot week where it was like upwards of 90-100 degrees outside and she told us that her chin died from heat stroke. Which I told her about earlier when we were babysitting and when she came to pick up her chin my fiancee made her go out and buy and A/C unit and installed it in her house. I also couldn't understand why she didn't ask us to take her again.

So I feel pressured to take them because is something like this going to happen again if I don't take them? I was so mad when I found out about her first chin.

I am going to see if my vet would board them for her tomorrow but I am wondering if the cost would be too expensive since it's for such a long period of time. I don't know any one else that has chinchillas so I am at a loss, to find someone else to help her.
 
This does sound tough. It seems like she is one of those stubborn people who, no matter how much advice you try to give them, they ignore you - and it's at the expense of the animal's health/life. Really, she makes me mad. She killed her first chin - and is intentionally keeping a male and female together now?

There is probably little you can do to help her. She shouldn't ever own pets. Maybe a pet rock.

But - back to the issue - see what your vet says and let him/her know your concerns about how she cares for them. Maybe your vet can set her straight and make sure the chinchillas are properly cared for while she's gone. That would be your best bet I think. Plus - if your vet can't watch them maybe they would know others who would be good temporary caregivers.
 
Frankly she sounds like an incrediably irresponsible owner. I think you should explain how much csection will cost and get her to give them over to a rescue.
 
VolunteerChin22 said:
Frankly she sounds like an incrediably irresponsible owner. I think you should explain how much csection will cost and get her to give them over to a rescue.
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My fiancee tried to convince her not to get any more chins after the first one died. So I doubt that she would listen to me. Even as I have been exchanging emails with her she doesn't seem to grasp how serious I think the situation is because I don't think she feels the same way.

She just feels that her chin is not pregnant and separated them and wants to just have them examined before she leaves.
 
Tell her you'll take them for a fee, use the fee to neuter the male, don't bother to tell her...

Solves a couple issues, or simply tell her instead of paying for an exam, have the male neutered and you'll watch them.
 
having the male neutered solves the issue of future kits, but the female is most likely pregnant already and that is definitely not a good thing.

i feel your hardship on this Jen! you want to do right for the chins, but are not entirely in a position to do so. i know i'd love to take in every 'free chin' i see on kijiji, but i know i'm not equipped nor experienced enough yet. it hurts, but better than getting in over my head too fast.

how about you babysitting the male, and the female gets boarded at a vet or at someone's house that is competent with breeding issues? that way you are not put in an uncomfortable position regarding chin pregnancy, and the female will have the care she may need should problems arise.
 
Riven said:
Tell her you'll take them for a fee, use the fee to neuter the male, don't bother to tell her...

Solves a couple issues, or simply tell her instead of paying for an exam, have the male neutered and you'll watch them.
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I really like that idea. So simple!
Since she won't listen to anything else, tell her that he's gotta be fixed or no chinsitting.

...but the first one is chinnie friendly and devious at the same time
 
I would consider making her have him neutered but I have a few concerns. #1 Is he too young? (I don't have males, so I don't know). #2 I don't know if there are experienced vets around for a chin neuter. My vet cares for my chins and he's owned chinchillas himself but I don't think he regularly neuters them. I flat out told me that exotics are a very small portion of his practices. #3 Do my concerns about pregnancy go away?

She told me that she has already looked into boarding and it's too expensive. I still plan to call my vet today. She doesn't know anyone with breeding experience and I don't either. She also told my that she is pretty sure that she isn't pregnant because every time the male mounts the female she runs away.
 
I am a pretty experienced chin owner and have dealt with ALOT of medical issues, I would not touch the situation with a 10 foot pole, I know squat about kits and Moms and would not want to be responsible for a 6 month old pregnant female and the vet bills that could go along with it, how easy would it be to collect a 2000.00 C section bill from this person if the Mom and kit died? What if Mom turns on Dad close to delivery and Dad gets beat up? Mom and Dad need to be separated, two cages with one being baby safe? Handfeeding kits every 2 hours round the clock? Nope, not for me.
 
I agree with Dawn. I wouldn't want to be in the middle of such a sticky situation.


Jen&Nuts said:
She also told my that she is pretty sure that she isn't pregnant because every time the male mounts the female she runs away.
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So, she is there watching 24/7? This is a pretty ignorant statement. She made an irresponsible decision by letting a male and female kit live together. Then she wants you to deal with the problem while she goes away. I don't think so. I wouldn't have any part of it.

Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
Jen&Nuts said:
I would consider making her have him neutered but I have a few concerns. #1 Is he too young? (I don't have males, so I don't know). #2 I don't know if there are experienced vets around for a chin neuter. My vet cares for my chins and he's owned chinchillas himself but I don't think he regularly neuters them. I flat out told me that exotics are a very small portion of his practices. #3 Do my concerns about pregnancy go away?

She told me that she has already looked into boarding and it's too expensive. I still plan to call my vet today. She doesn't know anyone with breeding experience and I don't either. She also told my that she is pretty sure that she isn't pregnant because every time the male mounts the female she runs away.
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If I recall correctly, you're in my area, right? Smoketown Vet is pretty experienced with small animals, but their cost for neutering a chinchilla runs around $300.
 
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