How Long Is A Chinchilla’s Gestation Period

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Today I visited a Chinchilla Rescue. I had the privilege of spending most of the day playing with the cutest bunch of chinchillas! A few of the rescues were soon-to-be mama’s. I’ve never handled pregnant chinchillas, so I had plenty of questions for the caregiver! In this post, I will share with you what learned about the chinchilla’s gestation period as well as other related questions.

The Chinchilla gestation period is usually 109 to 120 days. To help you prepare for the delivery date, I have provided a handy gestation chart below. Keep in mind the average gestation period is 111 days but this can vary. It’s best to prepare early!


Chinchilla Gestation Chart

 

JANUARY
Mating
Birth
January 1 April 22
January 2 April 23
January 3 April 24
January 4 April 25
January 5 April 26
January 6 April 27
January 7 April 28
January 8 April 29
January 9 April 30
January 10 May 1
January 11 May 2
January 12 May 3
January 13 May 4
January 14 May 5
January 15 May 6
January 16 May 7
January 17 May 8
January 18 May 9
January 19 May 10
January 20 May 11
January 21 May 12
January 22 May 13
January 23 May 14
January 24 May 15
January 25 May 16
January 26 May 17
January 27 May 18
January 28 May 19
January 29 May 20
January 30 May 21
January 31 May 22
FEBRUARY
Mating
Birth
February 1 May 23
February 2 May 24
February 3 May 25
February 4 May 26
February 5 May 27
February 6 May 28
February 7 May 29
February 8 May 30
February 9 May 31
February 10 June 1
February 11 June 2
February 12 June 3
February 13 June 4
February 14 June 5
February 15 June 6
February 16 June 7
February 17 June 8
February 18 June 9
February 19 June 10
February 20 June 11
February 21 June 12
February 22 June 13
February 23 June 14
February 24 June 15
February 25 June 16
February 26 June 17
February 27 June 18
February 28 June 19
MARCH
Mating
Birth
March 1 June 20
March 2 June 21
March 3 June 22
March 4 June 23
March 5 June 24
March 6 June 25
March 7 June 26
March 8 June 27
March 9 June 28
March 10 June 29
March 11 June 30
March 12 July 1
March 13 July 2
March 14 July 3
March 15 July 4
March 16 July 5
March 17 July 6
March 18 July 7
March 19 July 8
March 20 July 9
March 21 July 10
March 22 July 11
March 23 July 12
March 24 July 13
March 25 July 14
March 26 July 15
March 27 July 16
March 28 July 17
March 29 July 18
March 30 July 19
March 31 July 20

 

APRIL
Mating
Birth
April 1 July 21
April 2 July 22
April 3 July 23
April 4 July 24
April 5 July 25
April 6 July 26
April 7 July 27
April 8 July 28
April 9 July 29
April 10 July 30
April 11 July 31
April 12 August 1
April 13 August 2
April 14 August 3
April 15 August 4
April 16 August 5
April 17 August 6
April 18 August 7
April 19 August 8
April 20 August 9
April 21 August 10
April 22 August 11
April 23 August 12
April 24 August 13
April 25 August 14
April 26 August 15
April 27 August 16
April 28 August 17
April 29 August 18
April 30 August 19
MAY
Mating
Birth
May 1 August 20
May 2 August 21
May 3 August 22
May 4 August 23
May 5 August 24
May 6 August 25
May 7 August 26
May 8 August 27
May 9 August 28
May 10 August 29
May 11 August 30
May 12 August 31
May 13 September 1
May 14 September 2
May 15 September 3
May 16 September 4
May 17 September 5
May 18 September 6
May 19 September 7
May 20 September 8
May 21 September 9
May 22 September 10
May 23 September 11
May 24 September 12
May 25 September 13
May 26 September 14
May 27 September 15
May 28 September 16
May 29 September 17
May 30 September 18
May 31 September 19
JUNE
Mating
Birth
June 1 September 20
June 2 September 21
June 3 September 22
June 4 September 23
June 5 September 24
June 6 September 25
June 7 September 26
June 8 September 27
June 9 September 28
June 10 September 29
June 11 September 30
June 12 October 1
June 13 October 2
June 14 October 3
June 15 October 4
June 16 October 5
June 17 October 6
June 18 October 7
June 19 October 8
June 20 October 9
June 21 October 10
June 22 October 11
June 23 October 12
June 24 October 13
June 25 October 14
June 26 October 15
June 27 October 16
June 28 October 17
June 29 October 18
June 30 October 19

 

JULY
Mating
Birth
July 1 October 20
July 2 October 21
July 3 October 22
July 4 October 23
July 5 October 24
July 6 October 25
July 7 October 26
July 8 October 27
July 9 October 28
July 10 October 29
July 11 October 30
July 12 October 31
July 13 November 1
July 14 November 2
July 15 November 3
July 16 November 4
July 17 November 5
July 18 November 6
July 19 November 7
July 20 November 8
July 21 November 9
July 22 November 10
July 23 November 11
July 24 November 12
July 25 November 13
July 26 November 14
July 27 November 15
July 28 November 16
July 29 November 17
July 30 November 18
July 31 November 19
AUGUST
Mating
Birth
August 1 November 20
August 2 November 21
August 3 November 22
August 4 November 23
August 5 November 24
August 6 November 25
August 7 November 26
August 8 November 27
August 9 November 28
August 10 November 29
August 11 November 30
August 12 December 1
August 13 December 2
August 14 December 3
August 15 December 4
August 16 December 5
August 17 December 6
August 18 December 7
August 19 December 8
August 20 December 9
August 21 December 10
August 22 December 11
August 23 December 12
August 24 December 13
August 25 December 14
August 26 December 15
August 27 December 16
August 28 December 17
August 29 December 18
August 30 December 19
August 31 December 20
SEPTEMBER
Mating
Birth
September 1 December 21
September 2 December 22
September 3 December 23
September 4 December 24
September 5 December 25
September 6 December 26
September 7 December 27
September 8 December 28
September 9 December 29
September 10 December 30
September 11 December 31
September 12 January 1
September 13 January 2
September 14 January 3
September 15 January 4
September 16 January 5
September 17 January 6
September 18 January 7
September 19 January 8
September 20 January 9
September 21 January 10
September 22 January 11
September 23 January 12
September 24 January 13
September 25 January 14
September 26 January 15
September 27 January 16
September 28 January 17
September 29 January 18
September 30 January 19

 

OCTOBER
Mating
Birth
October 1 January 20
October 2 January 21
October 3 January 22
October 4 January 23
October 5 January 24
October 6 January 25
October 7 January 26
October 8 January 27
October 9 January 28
October 10 January 29
October 11 January 30
October 12 January 31
October 13 February 1
October 14 February 2
October 15 February 3
October 16 February 4
October 17 February 5
October 18 February 6
October 19 February 7
October 20 February 8
October 21 February 9
October 22 February 10
October 23 February 11
October 24 February 12
October 25 February 13
October 26 February 14
October 27 February 15
October 28 February 16
October 29 February 17
October 30 February 18
October 31 February 19
NOVEMBER
Mating
Birth
November 1 February 20
November 2 February 21
November 3 February 22
November 4 February 23
November 5 February 24
November 6 February 25
November 7 February 26
November 8 February 27
November 9 February 28
November 10 March 1
November 11 March 2
November 12 March 3
November 13 March 4
November 14 March 5
November 15 March 6
November 16 March 7
November 17 March 8
November 18 March 9
November 19 March 10
November 20 March 11
November 21 March 12
November 22 March 13
November 23 March 14
November 24 March 15
November 25 March 16
November 26 March 17
November 27 March 18
November 28 March 19
November 29 March 20
November 30 March 21
DECEMBER
Mating
Birth
December 1 March 22
December 2 March 23
December 3 March 24
December 4 March 25
December 5 March 26
December 6 March 27
December 7 March 28
December 8 March 29
December 9 March 30
December 10 March 31
December 11 April 1
December 12 April 2
December 13 April 3
December 14 April 4
December 15 April 5
December 16 April 6
December 17 April 7
December 18 April 8
December 19 April 9
December 20 April 10
December 21 April 11
December 22 April 12
December 23 April 13
December 24 April 14
December 25 April 15
December 26 April 16
December 27 April 17
December 28 April 18
December 29 April 19
December 30 April 20
December 31 April 21

 


Is My Chinchilla Pregnant?

If you want to find out if she’s pregnant or not for sure, you need to take her to a vet. There is no instant way to find out if the female is pregnant or not at home, especially if you haven’t bred before. But there are ways you can tell. If they have successfully mated, there should be a mating plug in their cage. It’s not always easy to find it. It’s about 1 1/2 inches but it can be eaten or lost among the bedding. The color of it is white/yellowish. Another sign is a pregnant female will act differently. She may become more sensitive or aggressive towards the male. She can even start a little fight with her mate if he bothers her too much. There are cases where you need to separate them if they fight often (mood swings towards their mates). A pregnant female also might sleep on her side. Weigh her more often than you normally do (you need to have a scale), this should indicate to you if her weight is increasing much more than you would expect it to.

Pregnancy

Sometimes you will find the mating plug. A mating plug looks like a small wax like plug which is small and round, whitish or yellowish and about 1cm or 1/2″ long. This is discharged from the female when she is in heat and ready to mate. Most time you will not find one, but if you do there is a chance she could be pregnant, jot down the date and check your calendar for the due date.

After conception, you will see a change in the female. She will gain weight, eat more, drink more, become more aggressive, sleep on her side, and about two weeks before she delivers you can feel the babies moving in her tummy. As it is ok to gently place your hand on her tummy, you must be sure to NEVER ever to push or palpate for babies since this may cause abortion. Be sure to handle her gently throughout her pregnancy. When you suspect your female is pregnant, start to monitor the weight gain. I believe a proper diet is very important to a pregnant chinchilla, I use Tradition pellets and offer a supplement to all my chins. Be sure to give her plenty of hay and fresh water to drink every day. This will help her milk production. Let her sleep when she needs to. She will be more tired during this time and will need her rest.

You will want to check into getting a Maternity Cage. These are great because there is no way for the babies to squeeze through any crevices or opening there might be. You will also want to provide a wooden pine house or a metal nesting house or something for the Chins to sleep in. But it would not be a good idea to put things in there that the babies could get stuck in like a hay rack. Keep that in mind.

The Birth

About ten days before she gives birth you might want to stop giving dust baths until ten days after birth. Doing this will help prevent infection. If you feel she could give birth soon, then removing the father from the mother before she gives birth would be best or else you can have a breedback.

Chinchillas usually do not need any help in giving birth. They will clean their babies and eat the afterbirth. This gives them their nutrients back for their babies. At any time you feel she is taking too long to give birth and she is pushing and pushing contact your vet, things do go wrong, and sometimes they can need a c section. Please be prepared for the cost and have a vet lined up ahead of time. There is a great site out there, telling how a chin gives birth and pictures as well.

It is important to handle the babies within a day or so after birth to get them socialized with us humans. It is also good to weigh the kits weekly, to make sure they are gaining weight. A kit at birth will weigh somewhere between 35-60 grams. You will want to wean the babies at around eight weeks. Also by doing this if you have some little boys, they could impregnant mom. Als,o you will also not want to put Dad with the girls because he can impregnate his daughters after they were weaned. You do not want any inbreeding going on. Babies can be weaned after about 6 to 8 weeks or 200g.