In this world, there’re around 25 species of chipmunks. All of them produce pups but it is still a mystery to uncover the time when they give birth to them.
They usually produce in the late summer or beginning of the fall or both seasons as the chipmunks mate 1 or 2 times a year. That’s when do chipmunks have babies!
Let me explain the topic from a wide perspective so that you can understand the exact period when they have babies!
Chipmunks Have Babies During Warm Seasons
Based on the species, the chipmunks can have babies in different months, but the season is late summer and early fall. Here is the sneak peek which will help to give a slight idea about the topic:
| Chipmunk Species | Month | Gestation Period |
| Siberian | January – March & April – June | 28 – 35 days |
| Eastern | February – April & June – August | 29 – 60 days |
| Colorado | March – June | 29 – 60 days |
| Least | Early April | 30 days |
| Palmer’s | March | 30 – 33 days |
| California | January – March & April – June | 30 – 31 days |
| Gray-collared | March – June & July – September | 30 – 31 days |
| Long eared | April – May | 31 days |
| Gray-footed | April – July | 30 days |
| Merriam’s | January – June | 32 days |
| Yellow-pine | Late April – Early May | 28 – 40 days |
| Uinta | March – June | 60 days |
| Allen’s | March – April | 28 days |
More than 2 male and 8 female chipmunks do their mating stuff in the early spring to early summer. This is how many chipmunks live together in the same den to complete the mating.
After 10 days or more, the female ones get pregnant. During that time, the pregnant mommy chipmunks rest inside the nest (deeper sleeping chamber) for up to 28 to 60 days based on the species. If you don’t know, learn where do chipmunks nest now.
Back to the topic, the period (those species who give birth to pups once a year) is around late January, March, or April to late April, June, or July.
There are some species of chipmunks (Siberian, Eastern, California, and Gray-collared) that mate 2 times which you can see in the above table. As they mate twice, the female ones have babies from January to June and July to September.
However, the breeding months can change since the late summer and fall seasons don’t come at the same time if you compare the geographic locations like the US to Canada or Mexico. To know when chipmunks give birth to babies, look beneath:
- Northern America: June 20 – September 20
- Canada: June 20 – August 20
- Mexico: March 22 – June 08
Chipmunks Stay with Their Mother After Birth
From birth to the 42 to 90 days (6 to 12 weeks), the chipmunks live under the same burrow as their mother. Most of the time, the forest soil or bushes are where do chipmunks live.
However, when the pups reach 6 weeks, they open ups their eyes, ears, and other sensing parts. But they aren’t able to jump or walk confidently to survive against predators.
So, it takes more than 1 – 3 months for them to grow well and then they build their independent separate burrow to live without mom.
Chipmunks Have Babies Every Year
In most cases, the chipmunks can reproduce babies 1 or 2 times per year. And if you look at the most species of them, they have a diverse reproduction period. Here are the honorable mentions:
- Siberian – 2 times per year.
- Eastern – 2 times per year.
- Colorado – 1 time per year.
- Least – 1 time per year.
- Palmer’s – 1 time per year.
- California – 2 times per year.
- Gray-collared – 2 times per year.
- Long-eared – 1 time per year.
- Gray-footed – 1 time per year.
- Merriam’s – 1 time per year.
- Yellow-pine – 1 time per year.
- Uinta – 1 time per year.
- Allen’s – 1 time per year.
Numberof Babies a Chipmunk Have!
The mommy chipmunks have limitations when it comes to giving birth to pups. Some of them can give birth to 8 pups while others produce 5 babies per year. Let me show you the common species of chipmunks and their produced number of babies per liter.
- Siberian: 3 to 8 pups.
- Eastern: 2 to 7 pups.
- Colorado: 2 to 7 pups.
- Least: 2 to 6 pups.
- Palmer’s: 3 to 6 pups.
- California: 3 to 4 pups
- Gray-collared: 2 to 5 pups.
- Long eared: 5 pups.
- Gray-footed: 4 pups.
- Merriam’s: 3 to 8 pups.
- Yellow-pine: 3 to 8 pups.
- Uinta: 4 to 5 pups.
- Allen’s: 3 to 5 pups.
Overall Thoughts
Now that you know when do chipmunks have babies, it’s time to stop these pests by kicking them out of your yard. If the number grows, it’ll be hard to get rid of this kind of pesky creature.
To do that, use a repellent and spray it near your garden so the chipmunks won’t come nearby and shift to a new place far from your home. Good Luck!
