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[gwynchilla]

Hi everyone!

I am hoping to ask you all for a bit of your expertise. My partner currently has a mixed sex pair (they are separated). When he reserved them at the breeders we were told they were both female, but it turns out one is a fella.

The current plan was to have the guy neutered, however I am concerned. The vet said it was ok to neuter him at just under four months old, but this seems very young to me. Do you think the benefit of his not being a single chin outweighs the risk of the operation? I can't find any statistics anywhere.

Also are there any things you would recommend for asking the vet beforehand?

Thank you very much!

[GrayRodent]

This is one area where there may be differing opinions. My personal opinion is that it is not worth neutering a chinchilla. However, I will say that I've witnessed on our board about 3 successful neutering operations and a fourth one that resulted in the death of the animal. I know of other deaths and successes outside of our board caused by botched surgeries by inexperienced veterinarians as well as unidentified causes of death. In those three successful cases where the chins did survive it required intense post-surgical care to get them through anorexia and minor complications that resulted in repeat vet visits and regular hand feeding. If your chin does heal up chances are it will be fine the rest of its life. The risk of death and complications is high. If you don't have knowledge of intensive care of very small animals I doubt you will be successful.

In my opinion the best thing to do is sell one off and get another from an experienced breeder. You can just keep them separate and enjoy your pets as is but if they accidentally do get together count 111 days and you'll probably have more chins which is a bad thing. Breeding the wrong chins together can result in genetic problems in the offspring and of course there's the rigamarole associated with breeding, specialized cages, and preparation that is required with its own set of possible complications.

As far as the best time for neutering I don't know. I'd guess 4-6 months because they are big enough to survive minor complications and are still developing so they'll heal faster. The older a chin is the worse they'll react to anesthesia as well. If you decide to neuter ask your vet about hand feeding and exactly how to do it and obtain the necessary supplies and diet. Expect your pet to stop eating after about two weeks post-surgery. This can last up to two weeks which seems to be a pattern in my limited scope of observation. Antibiotics are known for causing anorexia and serious digestive complications. Know how to manage those and make sure your vet is experienced with chinchillas and their extraordinary sensitivity to antibiotics.