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[ShamysMomma]

First of all, Thanks for adding me! 
I have had my chins,Sheldon and Amy, for almost 2 years now. When I acquired them from their previous owners, they had already been together for 3 years. The previous owners told me that they had originally thought that both were female (they bought them both very young) and were still somewhat unsure since there had never been a kit.
Well here we are, 2 years later and Amy has had her first kit 
I believe that part of the problem before was that they were both overweight and their enclosure was small. They were use to daily treats of Cheerios and raisins. I still give treats, just better quality and less frequent. They are now a much more healthy size. The enclosure they now occupy is twice as big too. (these are just a hunch on my part)

I was pretty sure that Amy had become pregnant a few months ago and started reading up.
Now that the little bambino is here, I have a couple questions...

First, I did remove Sheldon as soon as I realized Amy was in labor. They have all been separated for 2 weeks now (momma and baby doing great). I have began introducing them all in small increments to see how everyone will get along and it has been great! Sheldon really seems lonely and I would like to house them all together now until baby is weaned. Is this OK? Is it safe? I thought about maybe just separating them at night, maybe...? Any thoughts on this from experience would be great.

I do not plan to keep the kit. He will remain in the family, as my sister in law and her family want him.
At this point, I can't bear the thought of separating Sheldon and Amy to avoid future babies, they are too attached. Is this irresponsible on my part? I have enjoyed this experience and I am glad that Amy had the chance to be a Momma but I wonder how ethical it is to just have a little baby factory...
Especially since I don't know their genetics as well as a breeder should.

Any thoughts? Thanks!!

[GrayRodent]

Wow, that sounds like a big mess you have there. Best practice is to keep the nursing chinchillas and mother separate until the babies are weaned. Until then it's fine to have the sire in the same room but I don't recommend putting him in with the others as there is a risk of serious complications. Do not separate the dam from the kits overnight until the kits are weaned.

As far as putting the parents back together I do not advise that unless they absolutely cannot tolerate separation. Separation is the best policy at this point if it can be managed. I know that for many breeding pairs it cannot be managed and you just have to live with the fact that the kits probably don't have good genetics and the kits should never be bred.

[ShamysMomma]

Thanks for the advise...
They seem to enjoy play time together but I will continue to keep Sheldon separate when not supervised. I guess we will have to see, after the weaning, if I can keep the two apart. Makes me sad to think that after 5 years, they have to be separated.
Thanks again!

[dozla]

why don't you get him neutered? that way they can live till the end of time together without her having continuous potentially ill bred babies.
Before I knew the damage I had caused with breeding my chinchillas I would have kept them together, but my kits ended up being put to sleep at nine months due to genetic malo, was the worst time of my life. 

[ShamysMomma]

I have heard a lot about neutering that does not end well...It has seemed very ill advised.

[GrayRodent]

I certainly have mixed feelings about neutering. It doesn't always end well but I've seen good results although after a lot of post-surgical care. Basically if you can't go through intensively caring for your chinchilla after surgery for 2-3 weeks I wouldn't recommend it. If you are good with that kind of thing there is still a considerable risk. You will need to find a highly acclaimed vet who has had a high rate of success if you wish to go that route. I'm still not sure I'd ever recommend neutering. It is certainly a judgement call to make.

[BLS Chins]

Please do not even allow supervised play times together. It literally takes a second to breed. By the time you notice and break them up your germane would be bred already. I'm assuming the chins don't have pedigrees so it's possible that they are siblings. I would suggest keeping then apart completely. They adjust fine to being singles and most chins actually like it