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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

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.