Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[AnnieHank]

Well, my chinchilla had twins the other day, a boy and a girl I think. This is their second litter. I'm definitely not as attached as I was to the last pair, I haven't even let myself name them or take pictures (my boyfriend has done both these things though!)

A few people told me I couldn't keep a mating pair together and not have babies and they were absolutely right, I just didn't want to split up a bonded pair. So I'm wondering what my best options now would be. I'd rather not mate them again if I don't have to. I was lucky there have been no complications so far but that doesn't mean there won't be in the future and I'd rather not deal with mastitis or any of the other issues that can arise, not to mention the worry of finding good homes.

I have two large cages so I was thinking of trying to find a good home for the male kit and keeping the female kit with the mother permanently and the dad in a separate cage beside them. This way, I only have to look for one good home and I won't have any more kits. I was wondering if anyone else has had success with keeping two females and a male in this way. Would it be too traumatic to split up a bonded pair permanently though? Could you let them all have playtime together and keep an eye that he doesn't get up on them?

[ABC Chinchillas]

You wouldn't be able to have playtime with male and females. It takes 30 seconds to mate. Even with the best supervision in the world during playtime they would possibly mate

[dianah]

i think if you separated the boy and kept the girls separately, the boy would be miserable. i'm guessing he's not very old so if he lives to, say, 18, he will be miserable all this time, looking into the cage he wants to be with. chins have been known to stop eating and die over the loss of a mate.

i think you have two options

1. neutering. this is not a decision to be taken lightly. i have lost my boy after a surgery he had to have due to complications after neutering. however, i just had his sons neutered a couple of weeks ago because they were utterly miserable. i thought they'd be ok and i wouldn't have to do it - i certainly didn't want to - but i could not have them suffer all their lives. i knew it was the best choice for them even if it wasn't for me. if you decide to go down this road, make sure your vet is competent, insist on a course of antibiotics (if chinchi had this rather than just a post op injection, he would possibly be alive now), painkillers (some vets don't give them for aftercare) and keep checking for anything that looks different or not right and give your vet a call straight away - quick intervention is very important. both my boys are on a full course of antibiotics, spock even got an additional antibiotic because one of his wounds got a little inflamed. they are both doing well and they should hopefully be fully healed by next check up. they have less than four weeks to go before they can be introduced to the ladies, i cannot wait.

2. keep the boy and the dad together and find them a home with someone you trust. i did consider this option as i very much wanted to avoid the surgery, however, i could not give them away (i don't go on holiday because i don't trust anybody to take care of them!), especially not after i got this rescue girl who was in absolutely appalling condition.

i can't think of anything else. sorry, i know they are not great choices.

[AnnieHank]

I couldn't part with my grown chinchillas, I love them! Also, I doubt I'd find someone who would care for them the way my boyfriend and I do.
I really appreciate all your feedback. I'm not taking this decision lightly and I have plenty of time so I'm not in a rush. I think I need some more information. Would the males still fight if kept in a cage beside the females if one of the males was neutered? Is neutering any less risky if you have a vet you trust that has lots of experience with chinchilla neutering? would the bonded pair still be depressed at being split up if they had the kits as companions? I'd like an option that means I get to keep the kits and not ever have any more new kits!

[jmdebb]

oh dianeah, i'm sorry that happened to you..

i would love to do my males, but thats why i won't.. its too dangerous.

jean

[dianah]

thanks jean. i am very very sorry to. it's heartbreaking, every day and it will be 9 months in a week's time.

i think it's very different if your chin hasn't got a mate and especially if the mate is not right next to him where he can't see them or smell them but not cuddle up and groom etc. my chinchi was ok with just me when i spent a lot of time with him, then i had to move and i met my now husband who has a great dane and chinchi could not be in our room because of this. i also worked (i was off sick before and pretty much nocturnal) and he was very much nocturnal and hated being disturbed during the day. so we got him a friend we thought was a boy..

annie, they would fight if there are girls around even if neutered. it's either alone or neutered with a girl. i'm guessing he's separate from her now? what's he like on his own?

neutering is definitely less risky if you have a vet who has got the experience. but there's always a risk of reaction to anaesthesia, infection and hernia.

[AnnieHank]

He's eating and drinking fine at the moment. When we let him out to play, he seems his usual busy happy self. He spends alot of time at the cage wires trying to get her attention though, I think that may because she's in heat!
They still fight even if one is neutered? Damn. Looks like there's not going to be a simple answer to this!

[dianah]

how long ago did she give birth? they're only in heat for 2-3 days so even if she went into heat 24 hours after birth rather than straight away, if they kits are older than 4 days, he's trying to get her attention because he wants to be with her.

i did consider housing the boys together and asked about people's experiences. the fighting's not instant and there have been people saying they had a male pair getting on perfectly fine until one killed the other. so i decided against it especially given you often don't get a warning.

i wasn't going to neuter the boys, i was convinced that i could not do it and thought they'd be ok with human attention and other chins nearby. but one of them in particular became very withdrawn and would always hide, bark if you went near him and staring at the girls constantly. he has a cuddly strawberry and he sleeps on it as if it's a chinchilla. it was heartbreaking to watch so i decided that he can either have a miserable life or i can make absolutely everything in power to prevent complications (obviously, sometimes there's nothing you can do) and have them neutered. it wasn't without hiccups, ffynn developed a seroma because he was moving too much so he went on a double dose of antibiotics straight away and spock developed a very mild infection to the incision site 10 days after surgery - i caught it early - he was put on double dose of antibiotics and an additional antibiotic as well. they're both healing and they have a checkup next tuesday, hopefully they'll get all clear then.
i shed a lot of tears over this decision, i was absolutely petrified but i did talk to both my chinchilla vets at length and decided it was the best way forward, for them. now i can't wait to put them in with the girls, it will be quite something.

[AnnieHank]

She gave birth on Sunday and I'm pretty sure she went into heat 2 days before giving birth so you're right, he just wants to be with her. I have plenty of time so I'm going to take this opportunity to fully research all my options so I can be sure I'm making the best possible decisions for them all. I'm going to put an ad up and see if there's anyone with a fixed female that wants a companion. I'm also going to interview my vet about neutering and I just found another local vet that was recommended to me by a chinchilla breeder in my area so I'll check her out too. This doesn't seem like it's going to have a nice solution though. Either way, I'm looking at either neutering, separating a bonded pair or breeding them more. I don't want to do any of these things. I really appreciate the support and advice though, thanks folks!

[dianah]

you probably won't find a neutered female - this is not a routine procedure and is only done if medically necessary.

take your time. i took mine with the boys. they were over 10 months old when they were neutered, you can do it from 6 months onwards but i was petrified. i think i was completely against it until november, then i realised that ffynn wasn't just going through a phase and was truly miserable. so i started talking to the vets about it and then eventually booked them in in february.

good luck!!!! xxx

[Jhenderson27]

Like Dianah I just went through having my father of all the babies neutered.  We didn't take this decision lightly, we talked this over between my girlfriend and I for months, we also spoke with out Vet 20+ times in length about good and bad.  We eventually decided in the best interest of Titan to get him fixed.  For the most part it was pretty routine, minus a few staples falling out and having to get them redone.  I agree, if they neuter, mine got pain meds for 3 days (all he seemed to need) and had a full course of antibiotics for a week 2x a day with double dose recommended by the vet.  He is doing well minus the fact he has to wear a cone until tomorrow at 11am.  Hes taken it in stride, we have a very good vet here in my area.  Actually we have 2 different ones that are both fantastic.  They have both done many neutering and have all the special equipment needed (heated tables, cooling tables, special masks, etc.)  So i felt rather OK going into this.  I prepared myself for the absolute worst that could happen and hoped for the best.  It fell more towards the latter but not perfect.  All in all, in the long run, Titan and Ebbie can live together for the rest of their lives.  For what it cost me, its worth it 10x as they have provided us with much love and great babies and entertainment.  We chose to keep all but one of the 5 babies(2 litters).  The one girl did go to a close freind who is majorly loving on her.  We didn't breed to make money or even break even.  We did this for the experience and to save a pair of chins that were going to a shelter and who knows what.  Now they live happy in their own bedroom of our house and enjoy the luxury of raisins and shredded wheat dreams!

Good luck with your choice, if you have any questions or anything please get in touch.  I have been through what you have as well as a few others have here.  We don't know all but we can try to help anyway we can.

[AnnieHank]

Thanks for your support folks.
So after considering everything, I reckon neutering would be the most favourable option. I'm still not totally there yet though. I'm going to book Hank in for a health check next week to see if he's healthy enough for the operation and I still need to interrogate my vet about her procedures, although I've heard from other breeders in my area that this particular vet is very reliable and they'd trust her with their darlings. Failing that, I'm going to let them breed. I think separation would be the least preferable option. The health check and my chat with the vet will determine whether I decide to keep the kits or rehome them. According to one local breeder, she has a waiting list so she might help me find a good home for the kits. I'll let you know how I get on. I'm still not liking these options at all.

[dianah]

would breeding them be a longterm option though? even if you can find kits homes, i've heard of people who had a 24 year old chin give birth so it doesn't appear like there's a cut off point. and there may be problems, if she starts having larger litters you'll have to help out or any other problems.. it's something to think about... you may decide in three years that you've had enough or she's had enough and you'll have the same dilemma, apart from that your boy will be 3 years older - apparently it's best to neuter them before they are 3 years old, i don't know if it's because there's a chance of more complications when they're older.

well, my two boys that were neutered on the 14th of february seem to be fully healed, they're going for a check up next tuesday and hopefully it will be their last. it's not been without hiccups and i think if we didn't intervene immediately, there could have been bigger problems but i think they'll be ok now. spock's off his antibiotics completely and ffynn should be too after his check up.

[Jhenderson27]

I agree, dont breed because you can, thats not what everyone here works hard to do to improve the chin population.  If you have a confident Vet and the resources and time, neuter.  In the long run, you will be providing him with years of happiness with his mate.  Titan made it through his ordeal rather unscathed, rather i mean.  All in all, looking back i am now confident we made the right decision.  Having them next to each other(seperate cages) and seeing the love they are already sharing is worth the time, aggrivation, money and stress 10000x over.  Be confident in your decision and most of all the Vet who performs the surgery.

[AnnieHank]

Yeah, I don't really want to keep breeding them either, what I'm saying is that I prefer to let them breed if neutering is ruled out as an option. I'm not at all sure about separating them, I don't think they'd do well. They are very bonded.
I know neutering would have the happiest long term solution, but I think it's the riskiest. Hank is 8 years old, he might well be too old anyway. I really couldn't bear to lose him.
I briefly spoke to my vet about it and it seems the main issue with neutering an older chinchilla would be if his heart is strong enough to survive the anaesthetic. My vet performs a health check before considering neutering as an option and she won't perform the operation if he's not up to standard which I really appreciate. He's been leading a healthy life, no reason to expect that will be a problem until I have him checked out. I'm going to get the health check done anyway and see where to go from there. Even if she says he's healthy enough, it doesn't mean I'm tied to any particular route.
I'm going to check it all out anyway before I rule anything out and try to keep an open mind on all my options until I have investigated them fully. I have not made a decision at all yet. The kits are barely 2 weeks old, I have loads of time to check it all out and find out what's best.

Glad to hear all your chins are recovering well from their operations though, it sounds hopeful, although I'm sure they're all younger than Hank?