How do I tell how old my chinchilla is?

How do you tell if a chinchilla is pregnant?

• Answer:

  It is almost impossible without an ultra-sound preformed by the vet, but very few chinchillas will let you do this with out becoming stressed. Some signs to look for are; 1) a copulatory plug just after mating not proof of pregnancy but proof of mating. 2) movement of the kits inside their mum can sometimes be seen after 60 day or so. 3) pegnant chinchillas can lay down more than usual and become restless when the kits are kicking them. 4) nipples may elongate and become visable a few weeks before birth. This is quite noticable as they can be around 1cm in length. 5) pregant chinchillas can get grumpy near to giving birth, clicking at their partners and you 6) some chinchillas even stop eating a few days before the birth. If you are breeding chinchillas you may want to weigh them at regular intervals as this will show the chinchillas normal weigh and therefore the weight gain due to pregnancy. This method gives you a much more reliable guide without the stress of ultra-sound.