Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[iSpi]

I just have three questions.

I have a chinchilla who had a kit who is 2 months old. I was just wondering if weaning should already be in progress, or if the kit should be completely weaned by this point? The kit is eating hay and pellets and so is the mom, but I see the kit laying belly up under the mom sometimes. Not as often as when she was really young, but I wasn't sure if she should still be nursing at all.

My other question is about caging.
I plan on building a cage for the chinchillas, and as of now the mom and baby will be separate from my first chinchilla who is around the same age as the mom (2 years). Their cages will be side by side, but I was just wondering if it would be okay to do that with the kit still young. The mom and my first chinchilla will not be able to see each other while in the cage, but they will smell one another. I'm not sure if it would stress the mom or kit out to the point where they might be aggressive towards each other and the kit getting hurt.

I'm sure they smell each other after I go from room to room to check on them and let them run around, but I just want to see if it would be okay to put them in the same room where they can hear and smell each other.

Last question is can I bond the three? I am building the cage in the basement where none of them have been so none of them have their scent there. If I can see if they will get along, how does one go along introducing two to one with one of the two being smaller than the chinchilla she is meeting?

I hope this makes sense. You don't have to answer them all, but any input would be appreciated. This site has really helped me when the kit was going through some troubles. (The kit is now 2 months old and weighs 191 grams. I don't quite know ideal weights, but she is very energetic and is always popcorning!! She always comes out of the hut when she hears my door open to see who is there!)

[GrayRodent]

No problem with keeping them in same room. 8 weeks is acceptable weaning time for a chinchilla that acts ready. Some take longer. In your case it's probably fine.
You can have multiple males in a cage if they are not in the same room as a female or you might see fighting. Multiple females are harder to mix in.
Of course it goes without saying any male+female combo = more chins.

[iSpi]

Okay. I just wanted to make sure on those things!! I've checked the kit and so has a vet to confirm that she is a girl. My original chinchilla is also a girl, which I have also checked myself.
If the mom and baby get a long with my original chinchilla, would it be best to keep them separate? Or will that make my original chin sad because she likes them but just can't be with them when I'm not there? I just don't want there to be a fight when I am not present, but I don't want my one chinchilla to be sad when they are apart. Maybe I should avoid introductions all together, since my original seems perfectly fine without another chin. She has a chin buddy, and sits on it, but doesn't seem angry. She's full of energy and gets lots of play time with me. I think she's just a little moody now because of the holidays we weren't able to let her out as often.

[GrayRodent]

Also to mention it's okay to pair same sex chinchillas of unlike size however the risks of injuries from fighting increase for the smallest chin. Therefore extra care must be taken. Do not pair larger males with smaller females for breeding as the resulting kits may become bound.
You don't have to separate mom from kit if you intend to keep them both. You may wish to wait until the kit is 6 months old or larger before trying to introduce it to the other chin. It is better for your pets to be in a stable environment so cage settings should not be flip-flopped unless there is a very good reason. Otherwise you risk stressing all of them. There is no need to mix them id you can easily accommodate two cage setups.
Also do not assume that once a chin is bonded it will always be. If at a later time you separate them, especially if housing in different rooms, you should introduce them like strangers.

[iSpi]

Thank you for your input. I will have to see once the kit has gotten older to see if I want to introduce them. The cage that I'm building can easily give access to the other cage if wanted but just simply getting rid of a middle piece, but it will stay there for a while. Like I said, the cage setup will not allow them to see each other.

[GrayRodent]

Seeing each other is not the problem. Reaching each other through the bars is the kicker. Sounds like you have things well under control.