Chinchillas are cute and charming animals. They will enchant you with their joy all the time. By the way, you may tend to have more chinchillas.
You may have a plan to get more chinchillas. However, raising chinchillas brings a lot of responsibility on you; it is quite cumbersome, so you have to take care of this seriously. You must have knowledge about pregnancy complications, dental problems, difference between heat plug and intercourse plug and much more. Genetically, some problems are transferable. It is necessary to know that if any of the reproductive pair has any health problem. When you run your hand through the chinchilla’s fur, it should feel silky and smooth. The tail must be flocculent. Chinchillas must be extremely healthy and active, and not related. Never breed a chinchilla with another chinchilla of a similar color. Like a white with another white, or a black with black or a shiny velvet with velvet. These will create complications. They should be of similar ages and sizes. If you want to deny breeding, it is better to castrate the male. You must be prepared to invite the kits that come, with enough space and cages.
At the age of 8-10 weeks, male chinchillas can reproduce. 6-8 months is the fertile period for females. It is recommended that females are at least 8 months old before breeding. Allow 8 months or more to start breeding chinchillas or else you will create serious complications. This will help them reach sexual maturity and help them achieve maximum growth in the pelvic region. Once you have male and female chinchillas, keep them in separate cages, side by side, so they can get to know each other. This is the beginning of the breeding stage. It may take two weeks for them to introduce themselves and understand each other. Move the female to the male chinchilla’s cage; never move the male into the female’s cage. If they do well, that’s fine, or if not, separate them immediately and leave them again as neighbors for another week. Have a keen observation on this. Chinchillas take time to get to know each other, so be patient. The male will attempt to mate with the female in season. Every 30-40 days the females come into season. While chasing the female, the male wags his tail, creating curious noises. He will try to seduce his own style. During mating, the male will shed bits of skin from the female. Mating usually takes place at night.
The signs are visible, once mating is over the male chinchillas will hiccup and will insert a waxy plug into the female. She must now begin searching for the copulation plug (1 ½ inches long), which a female excretes within 24 hours of mating. Chinchillas mate up to 3 times a year. Male chinchillas clean their genitals after each mating. In this process, they release several strands of hair and this will create a ring of hair. This will result in excruciating pain, difficulty urinating, and swelling of the organ. So gently lubricate the penis, if there are rings of hair present, and then cut them off. Once the date of conception begins – excretion of the mating plug – you can count from 109 to 120 days for the kits to arrive. On average, pregnancy lasts 111 days. Never pick up tailed chinchillas while pregnant; this will create undue stress, and even the chances of miscarriage.
Before delivery, please remove the dust bath. A litter is usually one or two, but there can be up to six chinchillas. They normally hatch at night. Be prepared with a mounted crate with a heating pad underneath to keep babies warm when mom is out of the crate. Put a soft mat or platform on the floor of the cage for the babies to walk on to prevent leg injuries. If the female has more than one baby, it may be necessary for the breeder to dry off the first baby. Females will be ready to mate within 72 hours of giving birth. If you don’t want any breed, take the male out of the cage and place him in another cage adjacent to the female’s cage. You can put the male chinchilla back in the cage with the female after 72 hours to help with the babies. When babies are around 8 weeks old, they are weaned. Babies weigh 30 to 60 grams on average. Baby chinchillas are born with soft fur and open eyes. They can walk without any support. You can think how amazing and charming they look. They eat pellets and hay when they are two weeks old. In the eighth week, the male, female, and babies separate to prevent them from fertilizing each other.
Now they have their own beautiful cages. After 14 weeks, you can sell chinchillas.