411 on Breeding Chinchillas
Posted by Jennifer Snyder on Thu, Nov 06, 2008 @ 10:49 PM
Before you consider breeding chinchillas there are several things you should know. The first step is making sure you find a vetrinarian in your area that can help with any conmplications. This may take some digging, I had a hard time finding a great vet that knew anything about chinchillas. One nightmare of a vet told me my ferret might have a skin condition. I told him about 3 times that it was a chinchilla. Below are some excellent tips from the members of chin-n-quills.com
For other cool chinchilla sites you may also want to check out http://www.chinworld.com/toplist/
Breeding Tips
Things you should do/know before considering breeding your chins.
You should find a reputable breeder to mentor you.
1. What is the minimum generally accepted weight for a male to breed?
2. What is the minimum generally accepted weight for the female to breed?
3. What is the generally accepted age for chins to be put into breeding?
4. At what age should babies be weened?
5. At what weight should babies be weened?
6.If needed can you hand-feed babies every 2 hours regardless of work, school, or sleep?
8. Can you afford around $800 for a c-section if necessary?
9. Do you have extra cages for all the babies?
11. Do you know when you're supposed to separate the male from the female?
12. Do you know about breedback?
13. Do you understand why breeding only quality chins is important?
14. Do you know how to tell if your chins are quality enough to breed?
15. Do you know how long gestation is?
16. Do you have the ability to get to an emergency vet at 1:00 in the morning?
17. Do you know what height a baby safe cage should be?
18. Do you know what the bar spacing on a baby safe cage should be?
19. Do you know how long before and after giving birth you should stop giving the female dustbaths?
20. What is the proper term for a baby chinchilla?
21. Can you keep the babies if you can't find them homes?