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[endrisx5]

Alright, Im sure this is posted somewhere ont he site but I just dont know where to look. My 8 mo old male was hopping around having a fun time last night. he then came up, nibbled my hand and mounted it! Ive never had a chin so Im unsure what my response should be. My male rabbit did that a few years back and we got him neutered. I dont want to do that with snorri b/c I would like him to have babies at some point.  He is only about 2/3 the size of a normal chin, but he has such a great demeanor about him. we bought him from a rescuer. So, what can I do in the meantime? Also, is there a breeder who would breed with him and just allow us to have a chin from the litter? We dont really want to buy a female right now but I know him being "special" might put some people off. Let me know!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

They do the mount on any number of items besides a female.
It's a sign of excitement in chins. I've seen females mount others as well.
That said I read at least 2  reasons you should not breed this chin, nor are you likely to find any breeder that would.
He's a rescue, you have no idea on where he came from or his heritage, meaning what he may carrier.
And if he's only 2/3 the size of a normal chin, his off spring could be smaller again. Not a good breeding practice, and one of the main reason I would expect he was sold as a pet.

[chinclub]

I agree with Debbie - breeding is a very bad idea. But so is neutering.  It is very dangerous for chinchillas.

[Abby W.]

Just to put my two cents in  ....

I totally agree that this animal just be neither bred nor neutered.  If you don't know the animal's genetic background (his parents, grandparents, etc) then you could end up breeding chins that have genetic problems you don't know about, and producing chins with the same hereditrary genetic problems.  Many of the most common genetic problems can and often are life-threatening and extremely painful.  The animal would most likely end up being euthanised, but only after an owner has become attached and has to go through the heartache of that decision.  Also, remember, any animal you breed is going to be associated with your name.  You don't want to  get a reputation as a breeder who produces inferior chins. 

Neutering is a bad idea as well.  Surgery is always very risky for chins, as they tend to do poorly under anesthesia.  So surgery is something that should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

I understand the allure of having chinchilla kits around, and the concern that his behavior might be embarassing or awkward to deal with.  It's possible he is mounting as a show of dominance or excitement, and this behvaior may diminish or disappear entirely over time.  However, since this is your first chin, you should consider taking some time to really learn about breeding, before you do it.  It's a lot of fun, but any breeder on here willt ell you it is also a LOT of work and huge responsibility.  Responsibility not just for the care of the animals, but for the QUALITY of the animals we produce.  We have a responsibility to understand the genetics and biological processes at work in our chins, so that we can produce the best, strongest offspring possible.

[Jo Ann]

Since you are new to chinchillas and are not a breeder, you did not know about any problems that could be caused when a chin goes into breeding.  Also, for the safety of your little male, no responsible breeder will even attempt to breed him ... first reason, and possibly most important to you ... is that females can often get rather rough when breeding ... they can/will often beat-up and/or kill the inexperienced male.
     The reason for the breeder not to breed him is:  When you breed chinchillas, it is very important that you breed to improve.  Purposely producing very small chinchillas is not improving them. 
      I, too, think that small, often called miniature, chinchillas are very cute ... physiologically it keeps them "kits" their whole life ... in our minds.  Kits are always thought to be especially cute.  But ... a very small chinchilla is not normally, a healthy/genetically strong chinchilla.  Many times the tiny chinchillas are preemies and have not completely formed all of it's internal organs before being born.  This, in it's self, often is the reason for future heart aches.  We have had several preemies born, most do not make it to a year old, many not even to 6 months.  As the chin comes into maturity, different organs may show their weaknesses.  We had one little female at 5 months of age, while playing, must have bumped herself on something ... the results was the lining of the vagina (which was weak) ruptured, causing the intestines to prolaps into the vagina, killing her.   We had no idea the defect was there, until the autopsy. 
     Chinchillas in the wild often weighed 2 to 4 pounds ... by breeding naturally, the way nature meant it to be, only the strongest and healtest survived to continue to breed.  Mother nature may seem cruel, but this is the way many animals have survived for thousands of years.   Very few of the wild chinchillas had/have the problems the human-controlled-breeding chinchillas now have.
    This is why we, as breeders, have a huge responsibility ... to continue to try to make sure we head it back in the other direction by breeding only the best to the best ... reintegrating the best standard grays into our lines when ever possible, to strengthen the genes.  When I mention standard gray ... this is a standard gray that comes from a whole line of standard grays ... not standard grays that are born to mutation chinchillas.
      In saying this, I am not saying we should dispose of the genetically weaker chins, but that we need to find them homes for "pet only - NOT to be put into breeding".  These chins can have a happy care free healthier life because they are not put through the stress of breeding and reproducing. 
      It is our responsibility to make sure each chin lives it's life out the way that is best, for not only it, but all chinchillas.
      You might want to think about getting a male kit to be a friend/cagemate to the little male you have now.  The mutation chinchillas tend to be smaller than the standard gray chins, as a rule.  You might consider looking for a "pet only" male chin that is "pet only" because it is small, there are plenty of them out there.   

Good luck!
 
Jo Ann

Oh ... to get to you original question ... the "humping" is done even to the same-sex chinchilla to decide who is the dominate chin.  (Feel honored ... he thinks of you as a "big chin", one of the highest complements a chin can give you!) 
AND neutering or spaying a chinchilla for anything other than to save it's life, is taking a big chance on taking it's life ... not that many vets are that familiar with this, and a chin can easily die ... if not from the surgery itself, from the anesthetic/shock/antibiotics and/or during the healing process afterwards, if all aspects are not properly addressed.

PS Letting your little male chin 'do his thing' (since this is what you think he wants) would not be good for him (what you've never had - you can not miss  ) and probably not for the kits.

[ChinchillAZ]

I completely agree with what everyone above has said.  I wanted only to add that I have created a Things To Consider list for anyone who is considering breeding.  Even if your chinchilla wasn't a rescue and wasn't so small, breeding isn't necessarily something you want to get into.

[Leslie]

I have a chinchilla that tries to mount my hand on a regular basis.  It's usually when I'm putting food in the cage and my hand is in a specific "chinchilla like" position  My response is usually to pull my hand away and laugh....it doesn't hurt or anything!  Silly little animal 

My little mounter is also quite small and he won't ever be a daddy...my hand's as close as he's going to get.  If I wanted to breed, I would start researching and saving money for a breeding pair....can you imagine how much easier it would be to breed when you are confident that your chinchillas will produce a healthy baby?  You can bet that the mother of your current smaller-size chinchilla was also small....they only get smaller as you continue breeding.