Birth Gone Bad

I'd like to take this moment to share with our visitors just why we so strongly believe in responsible chin ownership. A brother/sister pair came in last week in pretty rough shape. The previous owners were told both were boys, but when one of them started having kits, they realized the mistake. Unfortunately, chinchillas go into heat immediately after giving birth, so without separation, chinchillas continue to breed indefinitely.

This is bad for several reasons. In this case, the mated pair of chins were directly related. This weakens the offspring which makes them more prone to health related issues, not to mention just a reduced quality overall. PLUS, breeding back to back takes quite a toll on the mommy chin. It takes quite a bit of energy to carry kits. Imagine how stressful it is to nurse a litter and be pregnant at the same time! By being put into a constant state of pregnancy, this could very quickly wear down the mommy chin. In this case, her condition (and that of her brother mate and remaining kit showed obvious signs of stress in that all of them were pretty severely fur-chewed.

The following video shows a chinchilla birth gone bad. View with caution.

Please people, be kind to your pets and consider carefully the massive numbers of unwanted animals who already need homes. I hate having to tell people who breed their pet chinchillas that the offspring will most likely end up in my shelter within the next couple of years. *sigh*