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Breeding
Sure, those fuzzy little babies hoping everywhere are irresistible, but it’s not always as easy as it seems. There are lots of things that can go wrong. Some of those are:
You'll also have to consider whether you will be capable, and willing, to hand feed babies if necessary. The situation does occur with some frequency so you'll need to be prepared to hand feed babies with an eye dropper every two to three hours around the clock for at least three to four weeks. Then, you also need to consider what you'll do with these babies. Can you find good homes for them all? Do you have the space to keep them yourself if you don't find them good homes? You'll also need to be able to take care of any chins that come back to you because their new owners can’t take care of them anymore. What will you do if the pair of breeders you choose doesn't get along? Will you buy them new mates, sell one or the other, or something else? Do you have the money to buy good, healthy breeding stock? What about funds set aside for medical emergencies due to breeding? Lastly, are you thinking that you'll make money at this? You won't. Unless you have hundreds of animals, you'll spend far more than you can ever make back.
DO NOT breed chinchilla if you do not know how to take care of or if you have newly acquired the animal. Wait till you learn and understand more about the animal before attempting to do so. Being a pet-owner, regardless of what kind of pet, the owner is responsible for taking care of it. It really did bother me a lot that the lady did not make an effort to find out more about chinchilla pregnancy. It is advisable to read up more about the animal before and after making the purchase. I strongly advise speaking to breeders, pet store owners, experienced chinchilla owners, etc. Join a mailing list in your country; a lot of discussions go on all the time. There are always new thing to learn and pick up from others. I myself have learnt a lot by asking breeders questions and talking experienced chinchilla owners. The advice you'll get is invaluable.
You should not consider breeding chins if you do not know what you are doing as they do take care and this need to be taken seriously! You should wait and learn more from reputable places before taking this task on yourself.
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© The chinchilla information guide
When the perpetuation of a domestic animal falls solely into the hands of a breeder, and is far removed from the laws of natural selection, the knowledge and responsibility put into practice by that breeder is paramount. It has been seen how hip dysphasia in purebred dogs, HYPP in Quarter horses and malocclusion in the domestic chinchillas can affect a far greater percent of the breeding population than would ever be afflicted in nature. A breed can be degenerated extremely fast. The elimination of genetic disease and breeding soundness should never be sacrificed for the attainment of singular desired traits. With these things in mind, this article will point out some important breeding basics pertaining to the foundation of a domestic chinchilla breeding program.
When deciding to take on the responsibility of breeding chinchillas, the breeder needs to pay close attention to several factors including conformation, colour, temperament, and size. The selection of a herd's foundation stock is CRITICAL. These animals may very well have more influence on the future of the herd than any selected later, as they will in all likelihood appear in most of the herd's pedigrees. Buying older (3 years and up) breeding animals may at this particular time prove to be a great aid. Several reasons for this are:
Chinchilla conformation depends largely on strain influence (i.e. Brevicaudata, Lanigera, or Costina). Brevicaudata chinchillas developed at higher elevations, at around 4.600 metres (15,000 feet) elevation. They were known for being large with short ears and tails, and having docile temperaments. Pure Brevicaudatas generally have a brownish cast to their coats, and can have a wavy-type fur. Costinas developed closer to sea level, have longer ears and tails, and tend to have a pointy head and body. They tend to be a little higher strung than their Brevicaudata cousins. Costinas are largely responsible for contributing the desirable blue hue that is so complimentary to all the colour mutations. Lanigeras developed at moderate elevations, and have traits that fall somewhere between the other two in characteristics. The domestic chinchilla is a genetic combination of all three strains, but some tend to show a stronger influence from one of the strains than the others. Certain mutation colours developed from herds with a high percent genetic influence from particular strains: the Gunning black velvet, for example, mutated in a herd with heavy Brevicaudata influence. Regardless of which strain is most predominant in the animal's background, the chinchilla should be large, and blocky when viewed from above. The chinchilla should not be pinched in at the shoulders. A skinny or "pie shaped" chinchilla is very undesirable.
The “Standard” grey chinchilla is the natural and original colour of the chinchilla. All other colours are mutations which have mutated at random in the herds of domestic chinchilla breeders, and perpetuated. The three most common dominant (meaning the gene for this colour is dominant over standard) mutation colours are the Wilson white, Tower beige, and Gunning black (or black velvet or Touch of Velvet - TOV).The three most common recessive colour mutations are ebony or charcoal (this is not actually one colour gene, but a combination of several colour genes that have mutated in different herds, and in general is safest treated like a recessive), sapphire, and violet. There are also many hybrid combinations in which the animal shows several different colours. Some common examples of these are pink white (white and beige), TOV beige (black velvet and beige), tan or pastel (beige and ebony), TOV violet (violet and black velvet), and TOV sapphire (sapphire and black velvet).
*Note: Since the Wilson white gene is an incomplete dominant gene, often the recessive colour shows through, hence the white mosaic and silver. Solid white, white mosaic and silver are all the same colour genetically. The genetic variance in colour coat pattern is responsible for the different appearing animals.
When breeding dominant colour mutations it is important to keep in mind that there is a LETHAL factor associated with both the black velvet and the white colour genes. Neither of these two colours can exist in the homozygous form. Beige can be homozygous, however, and the result is the homozygous beige animal. When black velvet is bred to black velvet, the result is 25% less offspring produced. The same case exists when white is bred to white. Also, the same rule applies to any TOV colour bred to any other TOV colour (TOV Beige to TOV Ebony for example).
For a recessive colour to be seen (to appear as the phenotype), that animal must carry the genes for that colour in the homozygous form. This means that all sapphires and all violets are homozygous. If the recessive gene is only heterozygous, then the animal will be a carrier. A standard, violet carrier, for example, will appear standard, but will carry the recessive violet gene and can produce this recessive violet colour if bred to another animal carrying the violet gene. Considering that recessive genes in the heterozygous form are not visibly apparent, it is very important to know the ancestry of you breeding animal. A black velvet carrying the violet gene is often not the quality or as good of a producer as a pure black velvet when bred back to pure standards or other dominant colour mutations. Also, the quality of the recessive colours has not yet reached the quality of the standards, or even the dominant mutation colours. It is important to cross all colours back into a good standard line every few generations to maintain the quality of that colour. Constantly breeding mutation to mutation will degenerate the size and quality of the herd.
Despite whether the chinchillas being bred are standard grey, or colour mutations, they should have a clear or bluish tint to their coats, and no red cast. To clearly view colour it takes a well trained eye and the proper lights; a specific full spectrum fluorescent light bulb. Chinchillas should have very white bellies, showing no creaminess and no brown tip on the white hairs, especially between the front legs. This grey/brown tip often indicates the presence of the charcoal or ebony gene in the background of the animal. This is very undesirable unless that animal will be going into breeding with other ebonies. Chinchillas with the black velvet gene should show complete silky textured veiling from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail with no break in veiling at the back of the neck, or elsewhere. It can take up to a year for a chinchilla with the TOV (touch of velvet or black velvet) gene to completely get its veiling. Also, black velvets, males in particular, tend to be slow to mature and often are slow to breed. Beiges should be blue-beige, not orange. Whites should be true white, not yellow or creamy. Ebonies should be blue-black, not red. Sapphires tend to be true to their colour, but the whiteness of the belly should be watched. Violets should be clear, and their bellies must be watched very carefully, as they tend to be creamy or yellow. The other mutations like recessive beige and albino are so rare or obsolete that they will not be discussed. All other colours (pink white, TOV beige, tan) are merely hybrids of the colours mentioned above.
Please check the possible crossbreeds using the link at the Crossbreed results §.
Temperament should always be considered when selecting animals for breeding. Temperament gets passed on through both heredity and environment. Chinchillas should not bite or be excessively high strung under normal circumstances. Nervous animals also tend to be "fur chewers," and although there are several reasons why an animal may chew, chewing is considered to be largely hereditary. Fur chewers will chew off the hair around their hips or sides on one or both sides. They can chew from time to time, re-growing hair completely in the mean time, or chew constantly. Many times chewers turn out to be maloccluders. Chewers should under no circumstances, like maloccluders, be selected for breeding animals. Breeders selling breeding stock should guarantee the absence of malocclusion, as this is a breeding fault.
In general, female chinchillas are larger than males. It is important that the females are large so that they will have fewer complications when littering, and can have both the genetic and environmental ability to pass on size to their offspring. A general guideline for good breeding weight is 680 grams (1 pound 8 ounces) to 850 grams (1 pound 14 ounces), with more leniencies for high quality males lacking this particular attribute, and recessive colour mutations. It is very important to let females attain their full size before they are put into breeding. They usually don't reach their full size until 10-12 months of age. Some take even longer, up to 15 months. If bred too early, females will often not reach their own full size, and will tend to have smaller kits always. Males need to attain their full size before being selected for breeding primarily so that the breeder can be assured that he will be adequate size and quality himself. All and all it's well worth the wait to let chinchillas mature fully before putting them into the breeding herd.
You should check that the female's pelvic is big enough - about the size of the thumb. Females with small pelvic will have birth difficulty. Cæsarean operation is very complicated and dangerous. To check, hold the female by the base of the tip; place your thumb below the tail. The little round depression is the pelvic bone.
Whether your “herd” is just a few chinchillas, or several destined to become hundreds, the benefit gained by their breeder's understanding of the even the basics is immeasurable. By starting out with quality chinchillas, a breeder will be decades ahead of one starting out with mediocre or poor animals. The latter will be spending a countless amount of time in the effort to produce the quality that other breeders before them have already done.
There are certain colour mutants that you cannot mate them, such as black velvet with a black velvet, and brown velvet with another brown velvet. You should check it out as certain genetic combination can produce dead or unhealthy babies.
You have a few options here. Some people like to use breeding runs which allow one male to service several females. They consist of a line of cages sharing walls with the cage space on either side. The male accesses each cage through a tunnel that runs along the back of the line. The downside to these cages? The females need to wear special collars around their necks to keep them from using the tunnel to get in another female's cage. The babies can climb up into the tunnels and go into another female’s cage where the female may kill or seriously injure the uninvited guest. Chins can stick their little toes through the wire and get them bitten off by their neighbours. Last but not least, females have been known to grab babies and kill them when they venture too close to the sides of the cage wall.
Another option is the trio. This consists of one male with two females in the same cage. This is also getting as much use as possible from a single male, however, three adult chinchillas can be difficult to introduce. Someone almost always gets at least a minor injury. We've found that the best way to get our trios together is to acquire all three adults at the same time, and introduce them into a new cage together. This way, no one has territory to claim and they are still a little confused from the transition to the new home. However, should you do this, be warned, you cannot leave those chins alone for even a minute. You've got to watch them like hawks for several hours to make sure no fighting occurs. I f there is fighting, separate them immediately. You'll need to try a more traditional introduction method.
Lastly, there is the pair where one male and one female share a cage. This is the least stressful for new breeders. After careful introductions, there should be few problems. Don't forget, if babies will be born or living in these cages, the wire spacing can't be more than 1/2" x 1/2" and not taller than 2 feet. The babies will start climbing the sides of the cage within a few hour after birth. If you keep careful track of pregnancies, you can use separate cages for females close to term or with babies. Just move the female into the baby-safe cage a few weeks before delivery to be safe otherwise the babies could be born, escaped, and dead before you even knew they had arrived. If you use pairs or trios, you'll also need to have a suitable cage to place your male in if you choose to leave mom and babies in the main cage. If you use the breeding run, you can simply close off the entry hole to that individual cage when necessary. NOTE: No matter which style you choose, you should always include a wooden house, pvc pipe, or something for the chins to get away from each other, in case of a squabble.
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Once you have purchased your chins and your cages, you're ready to try to put the pair together. Getting related pair (except mating pair) reduces the chances of mismatched. If they are both brand new to you, and you are bringing them home at the same time, then you can try the method I mentioned in the housing part. If that doesn't work or you aren't in that situation, there are several other ways to attempt introductions. One of the most common and successful is to introduce your pair slowly over a period of time. You'll need a cage for each chin. Place the cages near each other so that the chins can see, smell and hear each other, but make sure they cannot touch. Allow them to take a few days to get used to each other then move the cages closer together. This is when you'll need to keep a sharp eye out to make sure no one loses a toe. If there is biting, move the cages away from each other immediately. If it seems like they are very upset after a few hours of being beside each other, move them back and try again in a few days. After they are living happily beside each other for several days, you can attempt to let them run around together under close supervision. You should do this in an area that is neutral to both of them, preferably space where neither one has been allowed in before. There will probably be some chasing, some fur released, and some squeaks or squeals, that's normal. Relentless chasing and biting are cause for separation and you should wait a few more days then try again. When they seem to play well together, you can try introducing them to a new cage or one that has been thoroughly cleaned and re-arranged (to lessen any territorialism). Generally, you should place the female in the male’s cage and not the other way around. Females can get very protective and could injure or kill the male. Get ready to separate them immediately if necessary. There will probably be some squabbling and chasing, but once again, actual biting is a sign to try this again in a few days. There are times when two chins will just not get along no matter what you do and try! If this doesn't go well, you can try letting the chins live in each others cages, switching them every day, so they get more accustomed to each others scent and pick up some of it themselves. Sometimes this makes it a lot easier for introductions. Another thing to try at this point is to put the female in a small cage inside the male’s cage, so they can get used to living together without actually being able to attack each other. Rotate who is in the small cage 3-4 times then try them both in the same cage again. One other thing to try is to place both animals in "the box" a small box, cage, etc. that is not tall enough for the chins to stand on their hind legs in. Since most chins rear up to attack and this prevents them from doing that, the chins are sort of forced to be together without being able to do much damage. I personally haven't tried this method, nor am I very fond of it, but if you have a pair you really want to go together, I guess it’s worth a shot. Keep in mind that some chins just don't get along, and never will. Also, no matter which method you use, be prepared to separate the chins immediately if necessary. If you find a method that you like better than these, use it. Each chin has a distinct personality, and methods that work with some chins will not work with others. You're the one who can best judge how your chinnies will respond to something.
Note - Even after the introduction period is over, you still need to pay close attention to how your pair interacts with each other. It has been seen pairs that have lived happily together for years suddenly attack and kill each other.
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Ok, the chins are finally living happily together. Now it’s just a waiting game. Conception time varies greatly among pairs, some mate almost immediately upon introduction, some take a few months, some take a year or more, and a few will never mate. So, don't panic if your chins are together for a few months with no evident pregnancy, sometimes it just takes a while. Males usually attempt the process several times over the course of a few days if the female is in heat.
Female chins will come into heat every 28-35 days. If you look at her privates, you'll notice that the slit that runs horizontally between the anus and urethra is open, whereas it is usually tightly sealed. If it isn't open, she isn't in heat. You may or may not find a heat plug (hardened mucus released by the female, sort of waxy looking). They begin to be in heat at an age of 6 months; however, this is considered too young to breed and you should wait until they are about one year old for standard grey (slighter older for other colour mutants). Chins have been known to become pregnant earlier than 6 months.
Chins usually mate from evening to early morning due to the instinctual habits. It usually starts with a lot of banging around as the female is usually quite resistant to the male to start with. He will chase her around the cage and she may sass at him or even spray him. Eventually if she is in heat and “ready” she will allow him to breed her. The female tends to be more aggressive than the male, do keep an eye on them to prevent the female from nipping off any part(s) of the male.
The mating occurs when the male successfully mounts the female from behind while she is in heat. He mounts her from behind and the deed only takes a few seconds. The male may breed the female multiple times just to make sure he gets the job done.
After the male has finished, he sometimes makes a hiccupping noise. In the next few hours, you will need to check your male closely for a hair ring. This is when hair gets wrapped around the male's penis.
Unless you actually witness the mating there is little evidence that will tell you your chin has been bred. There is some physical evidence that can be found which is a “mating plug”. It is waxy and yellowish in colour and about the width of a pencil and 1 1/2 inches long and may be seen at the bottom of the cage. This is expelled after mating.
Once you find the wax plug you can start counting down to the delivery date. [See the Calendar §]
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© Chinchilla informational site
© The chinchilla information guide
The average chin can mate up to 3 times a year, and have an average of 2 babies in each litter. Pregnancy for chinchillas is exceptionally long for rodents. While hamsters have about 11 days, chinchillas have 111 days.
During the duration of the pregnancy, the female usually gets along quite well with the male unless she somehow puts two and two together and realizes that he is to blame for this and decides to take out her frustrations on him. If this is the case it is recommended the immediate removal of the guilty party into a neighbouring cage for the duration of the pregnancy.
During the first half of pregnancy, the female may not show any outward signs of her situation. There are a few changes you may notice in your pregnant chin such as:
The second half of the pregnancy is the funniest time for the owners but can get miserable for the chins. The female is at this time showing her condition by ballooning out. If you check her nipples they will be pink and will get longer as she gets farther along in her pregnancy.
Here is a list of do's and don'ts while your chin is pregnant.
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Chinchilla's have a gestational period of between 109-120 days with an average count of 111 days. Female chins will become pregnant within a 3 day period after giving birth if they are not separated from the male. This is what is known as a "breed back" and is not recommended. Some say female chins will not allow this to happen unless they are healthy. But personally I feel it is not a wise idea. It does not give the chin time to rest or for itself. Not to mention it will be nursing one set of young and pregnant with others.
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If you wish to feel the babies move, try holding your chinnie in one hand and gently slide your hand under the chin to her belly. About in the centre of her belly is her (you guessed it) belly button. The abdominal walls are thinner and if you put a finger there gently, that is always where I first feel baby movements. You can feel elsewhere if you like but I recommend just 1 or 2 finger feels to start with. Sometimes a chin objects to the prodding so I would just leave it be so as not to stress her. Don't worry too much about hurting babies as they are extremely well protected in there but don't put extra pressure on her belly. Sometimes you have to wait a few minutes for the babies to move but when they move...it all seems real.
The floor of the cage is something that needs to be dealt with as well. Baby chins can break legs very easily in the wire. So placing cardboard on the floor, or using a piece of pine or even carpeting is a good idea for a few weeks until the chins have grown more and will not be in danger of getting a food entangled in the wire.
As for cages with more than one level you should be thinking of closing off upper levels so you do not have a dare-devil chin on your hands. They have absolutely no height concept and will fall to the lower levels. Once they have grown some and learn more you can reopen the upper levels. Better safe than sorry!
It is a good idea to place a small box, small wood shelter, small PVC pipe, etc. in the cage so the babies can escape from harm if mom decides to run and jump around. Just make sure that whatever you decide to use cannot be tipped so that momma ends up squishing her new babies because they somehow end up underneath it.
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Chinchilla birth is a wonderful thing to watch. Chinchillas usually have no need for assistance during this magnificent event. You should be well-prepared and have a good vet that is knowledgeable about chins lined up just in case!
Chins tend to have their babies in the early evening, or midmorning, when most of us are busy with other things. If you think your chin is getting close to delivery, check on her frequently between 7 and 11 a.m. This is when most of babies born.
Chinchilla's may grunt and groan during the delivery. Labour usually only lasts about 30 minutes but could last a few hours depending on the number of kits born.
At the onset of labour,
In the beginnings of labour, the female may seem more uncomfortable than usual. You may notice that she seems restless; she may refuse favourite treats and seem generally on edge. She usually will hang out in a corner and sit with her ears back grinding her teeth in an irritated sort of way. When the discomfort turns to pain she will usually turn around to face the corner and will usually squeal a little bit but she will usually remain fairly quiet. When the actual pushing starts, it's very apparent. She will usually rear up on her hind legs straining and grunt/squeak. She may start stretching out frequently, and she'll look like she is grooming her vaginal area. She may also be making chirping noises, or occasional grunts of pain. Both of these are normal. Between contractions she will bend down to clean herself. If there is shrieking, or other loud, frequent noises, you can assume something is wrong. To be safe, you should get her to a vet immediately. Finally she will give a final push and reach down and grasp the baby with her teeth and pull it out. A little while after the baby comes out she will begin straining again and will either produce another baby or the afterbirth.
The mother will clean the babies off as they are born and will eat the afterbirth. It is pure instinct and you should let her eat it. This gives them nutrients that they have lost. It has been said that it helps bring down the milk. If she has more than one baby, there should be more than one afterbirth. There is very little blood during delivery; however, if you become concerned do not hesitate to notify the Vet immediately!
When mom is busy delivering the afterbirth it is a perfect time to take the baby and examine it. Try weighing it at this time while the mom is busy. You can check the gender usually at this time as well.
Immediately following the baby coming out, the mother should start cleaning it up. If you are present watch and see that the baby is active and protesting the wash. (They usually do). Unless, the mother has had so many babies that she cannot get to each one to dry it off, the kits should be fine. If momma is not able to get to them fast enough you might need to intervene and warm the chinchilla by blowing on it. If not it will die from hypothermia. As soon as the baby(s) are dried off you can immediately place them back in with their mother.
When the babies are all out you may want to feel momma and see that she does not have any babies left inside.
Cover the cage with a towel or blanket and give the new family some privacy and time to rest!
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Occasionally, there are birthing problems. Basically, you just use common sense when dealing with emergency situations. Here are the signs you should watch for:
Bleeding fresh looking blood. This is caused usually by the rupture of some vessels in the uterus or birth canal or possibly the placenta. Take the chin and any already born babies and afterbirths to the vet's office. They might have to do a hysterectomy (spay) if they can't get the bleeding to stop;
Pulsating blood. An artery has ruptured in the uterus or birth canal. TAKE THE CHIN TO THE VET IMMEDIATELY! A ruptured artery is a medical emergency. Be sure you plan ahead and know where the nearest vet is open at day and at night that knows about chinchillas. A chin WILL bleed to death with an artery rupture. Bring any already born babies and afterbirths with you;
Foul smelling discharge. There is possibly a dead baby and/or placenta that are infected. Watch closely and if she does not deliver within 20-30 minutes since contractions started take her to the vet's office. Sometimes a chin is unable to deliver a baby that has died and outside stimulus or c-section would be necessary;
Prolonged labour. There are several possibilities. A kit could be too large, it could be a breech or sideways presentation of the baby (norm is head-first). Or it could be some other factor such as the female is sick or is not strong enough. As with most birthing problems, take them to the vet's office. If it is a bad presentation sometimes the vet can manipulate the baby into a head first position from the outside. A large baby though would probably need a c-section;
Female is obviously in excessive pain. A kit could be too large, it could be a breech or sideways presentation of the baby (norm is head-first). Or it could be some other factor such as the female is sick or is not strong enough. Or sometimes just an inexperienced female will panic when in labour. As with most birthing problems. Take them to the vet's office. If it is a bad presentation sometimes the vet can manipulate the baby into a head first position from the outside. A large baby though would probably need a c-section. If she is seemingly panicked and racing around the cage in obvious fear and pain, try carefully placing her in a smaller container such as a carrier and talk soothingly to her and drape a towel partially over the carrier and try to calm her down. You may have to actually physically restrain her while she is in labour from running all over;
Baby not breathing. The baby could have not have had the membrane cleaned off of its face, it could have inhaled liquid from the uterus and drowned, and other things. You don't have time to go to a vet. Check if the membrane is still on the baby. If so, clean if off and pinch the baby's foot. If it still can feel the pinch it will start and take a breath. If it doesn't, (don't laugh) start mouth to mouth respiration. Place your mouth lightly over the nose and mouth of the baby and puff gently while carrying the baby to the sink. Fill the sink with warm water and if the baby is still not breathing immerse it in the water with its nose out and massage it all over. Believe it or not this usually works. If the membrane is cleared off already and the baby still is not breathing, Try a "banana sling" Grasp the baby firmly but gently in your hand with it's head on your fingers. Curl your middle finger above the baby's head to keep it from flying out of your hand and curl your other fingers around it gently but firmly. Then sling the baby quickly in a downward sweeping motion. Not little jerks but pretend you are throwing something on the floor to see how high you can make it bounce (but hold on!). This helps clear the lungs of fluid. As fluid comes out the nose, wipe it off with a napkin and repeat the sling. If for some odd reason the baby doesn't wake up after all the slinging and you got all the fluid out. Immerse the baby in warm water as above and massage. And yes, sometimes a baby will not revive. It is a sad thing but at least you can be sure you did everything you could. Usually if a baby will not revive it is because of some deformity that might not have been apparent from the outside;
No placenta. Various reasons, uterus could be too tired to contract. Sometimes no one ever knows why a placenta is retained. Also, females are very sneaky and can eat the placenta when you think she is cleaning the baby. If you're sure the female didn't eat it on the sly, give her about 30 minutes after the baby is born. If she's not contracting watch her for the next couple days and if she seems off or in pain take her in. If she's actually contracting during that time take her in. It could be another baby or the placenta could be lodged somewhere.
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© Central mountain chinchillas
I would suggest leaving the mother and babies alone together for the first day checking after several hours to see that the babies are nursing all right (I am assuming at this point that you have taken the father out to prevent breed-back). If you do not notice the babies nursing, you should take them out and feel if their tummies are full. If they are not full or the babies act hungry, put them back in and watch to see if the mother is letting them nurse. If she isn't you may want to start thinking about hand feeding.
New born babies (kits as they are called) are very small. Baby chinchillas are born completely developed except for their fourth molars. They hit the floor running so to say. A healthy kit weighs about 35-60 grams (2 to 2.5 ounces) at birth.
Right after birth the wet baby will crawl under his mother to get warm and dried off. If the momma is having more than a couple kits, she does not have sufficient time to dry the first babies. You may need to remove the kits and warm them by blowing on them or placing them above a heating pad. I would suggest waiting till the mom is busy with the afterbirth so she does not worry where her baby is then weigh the young one/s quickly and put them back.
A few hours after birth, you will want to check the babies to make sure they are getting enough milk or the mother is producing sufficient milk. If their tummies are warm and feel full they are more than likely getting enough milk. Supplement the baby with food if the mother is not producing sufficient milk.
Over the next few days you will want to monitor your chins weight and make sure they are gaining and growing healthily. Keep track of weight by weighing it weekly. You should notice a general trend of weight gain.
Monitor the amount of pellets and hay given to the young chinchilla. It has the tendency to overeat, thereby causing diarrhoea. You will not want to give the babies treats as they have very sensitive digestive systems and need more time to grow and develop before they begin eating this type of food!
If you have a baby girl(s) you can keep them with the mom if you desire; however if it is a boy or boys you will want to remove them by the time they are 8-10 weeks old as they can impregnate mom. Inbred produces low quality offspring. Keeping the baby females with mom all depends on whether or not the dad is still housed with her or was removed. He will mate with the babies and you do not want any interbreeding taking place. (Chins do not have the concept of others being their relatives)
Removing the kits from the mother weans them from the milk. Most mothers will not allow the chins to nurse after they have reached a certain age; however if you have a mother who does not do this you will have to be assistance in the baby being weaned.
You will want to begin handling the babies within a week's time to give them human contact. This is what might make the difference in getting a really nice, social chin. When holding the babies you will want to really be careful so they do not jump from your hands (remember they have no height concept yet) Spending time with them will allow them to get used to humans, which in turn will make them not fear you!
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The information presented in this page is only intended to help people understand and appreciate chinchillas better.
This information has been taken from third web sites after an accurate research and compiled always making reference to the sources.
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