Storm, male black velvet and Missy, white mosaic female, seen on the left. When I first started to gather information on chinchillas, my most difficult problem was with understanding the terms used in the chinchilla community. My second difficult problem, was sorting out what was true and what would or would not work for me, with my little chins. There are many of those out there that would make up an answer or guess rather than to admit they do not know. Your best source of information is the breeder from whom you purchased the chin and/or someone that is well established/long-time breeder in the chinchilla community. Below you will find many of the terms used and the definitions for them. I will add to it, covering as many subjects as I have the information for, as time goes on. There will also be references made to other sites on which you may find additional information on that subject. Please do check out my links and web rings on the Links and Rings page, most are all breeders or former breeders that do have the ability to answer questions you may have, or services I do not yet have on Luv 'N Chins. You are interested in Chinchillas, or "Chins" as we love to call them, or you would not be here. See, you just learned the first of many definitions. Chin is short for chinchilla. Mutations is the changing of the natural colors. Do keep in mind, as we go along, that there are many variations of the same color, when you are referring to mutant colors of the chins. You may have a beautiful little chinchilla and one person will tell you (by just looking at it), that it is a beige chinchilla, someone else will tell you it is a tan and another will tell it is a brown velvet and another will say pastel. Unless you know the background of the chin's family, (at least the parents and grand parents, further back, if possible) you will not know exactly what color he is or what color he or she may throw (produce) in their kits (babies). A color or pattern a chins shows outwardly may be concealed in the ancestor's genes and not show up for several generations. The first chinchillas were gray, known as a 'standard gray' and came from South America, most lived in the Andes Mountains. They had been hunted almost to the point of becoming extinct for their soft, warm fur. A man by the name of M. F. Chapman hired others to help him and spent two years gathering eleven chinchillas to bring to the United States, to help preserve the species. This was in 1923. At that time, the United States were not allowed to export from there. The chinchillas had to be transferred to several different countries before Mr. Chapman could bring them to the U.S. They had a very long trip. According to what I read, during this time one died and one was born. Today there are millions being raised in captivity. But sadly the wild ones are still on the endangered species list. Sadly, many are still being raised on pelt farms to make expensive coats. But, in all honesty I must also say, that, without these ranchers, the chinchilla would be extinct today. We would not have these wonderful little creatures and all the love they give us. If you get a chance to buy a chin from a pelt farm, save it's life, and buy it. They make wonderful pets, but, are not handled by hand from birth as they are by small pet breeders and will take extra time to get them to trust you. As man will do, we started playing with the mutation (or changing) of the natural color of the chinchilla, by selective breeding. In 1955 in North Carolina the first white chinchilla was "produced", for the lack of a better term. It is called a Wilson White. It has white fur all over, except for the base of the tail and the ears, they are gray. They have dark pads on their feet and dark ears. This was the beginning of a long line of beautiful mixed colors of chins. There are dominate genes and recessive genes. The dominate genes are called Homozygous, meaning two genes of the same color. The recessive genes are referred to as Heterozygous, this is where there is only one gene of that color carried by the chin. For example, if you have a pair of standard grays and their parents were also standard grays, this pair should only produce standard gray kits, because they had homozygous genes of the same color in both parents, therefore producing the same color. All gray kits (babies), should be born to this pair of chinchillas. On the other hand if you have a standard gray and a violet, each with homozygous genes (2 of each gene in their own respective colors), you have brought together two sets of dominate genes, each of a different color. Normally, you will produce only standard gray/violet carriers. (Only one violet gene is thrown and one gray gene, the kit will be called a standard gray/violet carrier.) They will look like a standard gray, but will also be carrying the violet gene. Thus, we have what is know as the "carrier." The gray kits will be know as gray/violet carrier instead of just a standard gray. There are of course, as usual, exceptions to all rules. A standard and a pink white could possibly produce a standard gray (gray with a white belly), a white (a white mosaic - mixture of white and gray), a hetro beige (beige with a white belly) or a pink white, each of which would be in the 25% range, in each litter. This is reflecting the heritage of the pink white chin. OK, we have talked about the first and second generation of chins and their genes, now, let us go to the third generation. Let us say you mate this standard gray/violet carrier with a homozygous violet chin (showing the violet color), what kits will you have then? Keep in mind that the gray is the original color and the violet is a mutation of the original grays. Your chances on your kits' colors would be 50% standard gray/violet carrier, 50% chance of a violet kit, in each litter. Are you still with me? Have you noticed I have stayed with a standard gray and/or a standard gray/mutation color carrier so far? That is because Standard Gray is their base color and has the strongest genes. What would happen if you put two mutations together? You are weakening the genes and starting a real mix-up that will follow for generations to come! There is no way to know when that "odd/hidden" gene is going to show up in a chin and/or cause a discoloration in the kits born to it or future generations. Now it begins to get confusing. What would happen if you did this pairing? A gray/violet carrier mated with a brown velvet (TOV or touch of velvet) from a beige and Black Velvet chin. Here you have a chin that looks like a gray and has homozygous (2) gray genes, but is a carrier of one violet gene matched with a brown velvet carrying hetrozygous beige genes and one (heterozygous) TOV gene. What are your chances now? A black velvet is produced, in its' purest form from a standard gray and an ebony. A brown velvet can be produced from a beige and a black velvet. Again, all of which were originally grays. (At this point, my mind was as if it had been caught in a tornado.) Just remember two things, the colors involved and the fact that they were all descendants from the original gray chin chinchilla therefore, with a standard gray/violet carrier and an brown velvet. You would have the two gray genes, possibly one violet gene, two beige genes and one ebony and one velvet (TOV) gene in any possible combination. What would you produce now? What would the percentages be for them to produce? There are 16 different possibilities (6.25% for each), half of which would be violet carriers (but you would not know for sure until it was paired with a violet and produced a violet kit - most likely an off-colored violet). I am sorry, but this last combination should have never been made. The mixing of this many colors together can prove disastrous. Every second or third generation of most mutants should be bred with a standard gray to keep the healthy genes in tact. Please do not mix mutations unless you know how to do it and know each chin's family history! Silverfall Chinchillas has a Chinchilla Cross Caculator that will give you the possible results of what you are wanting to pair together. The URL is: http://www.silverfallchinchilla.com/ There are also combinations that produce what is called a lethal factor, two velvets or two whites being breed together is only two of these combinations. Lethal factor is a term you will often hear. It does not mean the kits will be born dead, it means that once the egg is fertilized, it will not develop and you will have lost that chance for that chin. This is only with a percentage of the eggs, not all of them. But you still stand a chance, according to some breeders of blocking the birth canal. Therefore it is recommended not to mate chins that would have the combination equaling a lethal factor. Basically, what I am saying is; Until you know enough about the genetics of raising chins, especially if you have a second or third generation mutant color, please, breed it only with a gray chin. It will produce not only gray chins, but also variations of the ancestors of the mutant colored chinchilla. Just in case I have you completely confused, a second generation mutant color is a chin that had parents that were both mutant colored and (not a standard gray chin). If the person or place you purchase your chin does not know for sure what the chin's parents were, play it safe and breed it with a standard gray. There are many different colors that have been developed and variations of those colors. Such as ebony, black velvet, brown velvet, beige, tan, mosaic white, violet, sapphire, pastel, and the list goes on. Please, check out the descriptions of chinchilla colors on the Photo Page. BREEDING Standard Gray is the original color of all chinchillas. A good standard gray chinchilla is to proper breeding as flour is to bread. A necessity for good results! Once your chins have been introduced and seem to be comfortable with each other there are several things you need to keep in mind when it comes time to consider breeding them. A female chinchilla will usually have the capability of having kits by the time she is three and a half to four and a half months old, and if left with a male, this will happen. To me and many others, it is not desirable to allow a chin to mate at this early age. I never put a pair together until the mother is at least one year old, by this age she has been given enough time to develop her own bones and organs completely before having to try to develop little ones of her own. If a female chin is allowed to breed before she is old enough, her birth canal may not be big enough/developed enough to deliver the kits and she and the kits could all die. Even a female chin that is a year or more old, she should weigh a minimum of 500 grams before being put into breeding. The female will go into season or heat period called the oestrum, approximately every 28 to 34 days. The gestation period, the time it takes for a kit to developed, is usually 111 days, on the average, but, it can vary from 104 days to as long as 120 days. Chinchillas have two wombs in which to carry their young, unlike most mammals which have only one. On rare occasions, she can become pregnant at two different times, and sometimes even in two different seasons, but this is rare. The kits conceived during the second oestrum, rarely survive, but, under the best of conditions some can, usually with some human intervention. Keep in mind, this second kit/kits already has one strike against it, it's a preemie, and you may be open for heart break if it does not survive. During the time the mother is carrying her kit or kits, it is important that you handle your little momma-to-be chin extra carefully and rarely. Do not press on the area where she is carrying the kits! They are very fragile and can easily be killed. Chinchillas have been having kits since the beginning and usually do not need assistance. Baby chins, known as kits, are born with their eyes open and covered with fur. The average litter is 2, but a chin can have between 1 and 6 kits in a litter. The latter being very unusual and usually presenting special problems. (This, also, will be covered in another section.) New borns usually weigh between 35 grams and 60 grams, but can weigh in the 90 gram range. They are usually very active and playing within 15 to 30 minutes after birth. Kits will seem to grow right in front of your eyes, they grow so quickly. They gain weight and size on a daily basis. As a kit develops it needs calcium to develop it's bones. This is provided by the mother. It is important that all chins have a calcium supplement, in my opinion, but especially so a female chin, when carrying kits and nursing them. Calf manna or cuttlebones are a good source for this. This will keep the bones (including the teeth, which will be covered in another section) strong and healthy. Please keep this in mind because you do not want to allow your female chin to become pregnant again while still nursing kits. If she becomes pregnant at this time it is called "breed back". A female chinchilla goes back into season as soon as the last kit is born ... remove the daddy chin before the kits are born and do not return him until at least the 10 th day after the kits are born! Breeding back a chin to it's mate while it is still nursing is not a desirable practice or situation for several reasons. One reason being the depletion of available calcium to the mother, the kits she is carrying and/or the kits she is nursing. All involved will suffer. Here we have a double drain on the mothers' calcium supply. This can result in malocclusion (a deformity of the teeth) for not only the mother, but also for the kits (already delivered and yet to be delivered) due to the lack of calcium available for all involved. You may think that malformed teeth does not sound so bad, but, for a chinchilla it is ... they can starve to death because they are not able to eat properly due to the teeth not being properly aligned or growing to long. The teeth can become over grown and grow around the jaw bones and/or into the brain. This is a condition, to my knowledge and to those I have talked to, that is not correctible. Just as we get nourishment from mother's milk, so do kits. It is impossible for the mother to produce enough calcium and nourishment for herself and her kits (born and unborn) when over taxed. When the practice of "breeding back" is used it will put to much of a drain and/or strain on the mother chin if she is not allowed a chance to recuperate between litters. In the wild chinchillas will have one litter a year, maybe we need to take a hint from mother nature! In the wild, chinchillas are larger and healthier as a general rule. Most domesticated chinchillas would never survive, should they escape to the outside. So please, if your chin escapes, make every effort to retrieve it as soon as possible! Not only do other animals endanger them, so does the weather. Careful breeding practices are very important. Chinchillas are capable of having as many as 3 litters a year, but if allowed to, the breeding period or years for a chin are reduced and usually the quality of the kits will suffer, also. "Fur biting" is also another trait often developed by a mother chin and/or her kits when she had been "bred back". Chinchillas develop habits, both good and bad, very quickly and learn by watching other chinchillas. "Fur biting" is a very undesirable trait for chinchillas. Beside the fact it does not look good, it is unhealthy and shows signs of being high strung and very skittish. Many believe this trait is often carried down through generations. Fur eating can also cause obstructions in the digestive system. These reasons alone are reason enough to use good breeding practices. Should you decide to breed your chinchillas, please, do keep in mind that the age of your chin is very important. Female chinchillas are not fully developed until they are a year old. I have only touched the surface, please come back and visit. I will continue to add information, not only on this page, but on other pages provided within this site. I will try to give you as much information as possible. It took me months to find the meanings of the words discussed here. I hope this will be of some help to you, so that you will not have to go through the confusion I did when first trying to learn about the beautiful, precious little fur balls called the chinchilla. It will take time to learn, but remember, it is just like putting together your first outfit and matching the colors and patterns as a child, the more you learned what would go together, what would work, the easier it was. So will it be with chinchillas. Email me with your questions about chinchillas