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[chinluver2013]

I just got a male and female chin Sunday and the female is more than likely pregnant. I was planning on separating the male and female as soon as I got them home but they are so attached to each other that I was afraid I would stress them out even more then they probably already are from the move. They are in a double level critter nation cage and right now it just has the ledges and ladders that come with the cage in it. I've noticed they have been bouncing off the walls of the cage though and not even using the ladders to climb up or down in the cage. With the female possibly being pregnant what would be a good setup for her?

[GrayRodent]

Sounds like a complicated situation. Separating bonded chins is going to be very stressful for them and sometimes it can result in extreme life-threatening depression in one or both.

You will need to separate them as soon as the female delivers in order to protect the kit and prevent breeding during post-partum heat (breed back). If you think delivery is imminent you can probably block off the two level cage with a divider. When the female delivers she really doesn't need any special accommodations but the kits will be able to escape from bar spacing any more than 1/2" by 1".  Some people use construction cloth with that bar spacing or 1/2" x 1/2" and cover over the bars with it but it might be better to just get a cage that will work with long term plans on keeping a second pair of chinchillas in.

Hopefully there will be one female kit that you can keep with the female and you can try to pair the male with another male. It is very difficult to pair a female with another adult and it's not always possible. Males are much easier to pair with other males but that is not always possible either depending on several factors. Pairing them with other chins can prevent or reverse depression but not always. Do not try to pair the female with an adult until after the kits are weaned.

I strongly recommend removing the ladders in the cages. These can be dangerous and, as you can see, the chinchillas prefer the space to jump around in.

Here are some articles you may find useful:
http://www.chinclub.net/qna/mojofaq.cgi?cat=preg

http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,4000.0.html

Hope this helps.

[chinluver2013]

Thanks so much! I actually have another male chinchilla and he also has a critter nation cage and I have taken the divider out of the cage and he has lots of ledges to get on and a bridge. I have read though that pregnant females shouldn't climb on high up ledges so I wasn't sure what to do about ledges. The ladders do have ramp covers on them and I have sewn the top of the ramp cover up because my other chinchilla had actually broke his leg on a ladder so am hoping to get these ladders out of their cage ASAP. The picture attached is a picture of my single male chins cage (have since added a long hammock on the one side beside of the ladder so will catch him if he falls), doubt this would be good for the pair though since she might be pregnant that was why I was trying to figure out what I should do with the cage. According to the lady I got them from they have been back together for a few months and she said she is probably a month out from having them if she is actually pregnant.

[GrayRodent]

The most important reason to not have ledges is to prevent the possibility of the mother going out of reach of the kit which could be fatal to it. When the kit comes it is best to have everything on one level.