Worried for my chinchilla

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Pattynpenny

New member
Joined
Jun 12, 2017
Messages
4
My brother and I got chinchillas about two years ago off of craigslist because we both loved chinchillas and wanted to save some. His chinchilla was a boy(Patty) and mine was a girl(Penelope), but I always kept them separated because I didn't know their genetics and didn't want to risk anything. About two months ago my brother decided to open the ramp between the two cages and when I got home I found the wax and found out it meant they mated. I wanted to take her to the vet but my parents told me not to worry about it and right now I kinda just need advice on what I should be doing. I have bay proofed the cage and done all the research I can and I just found this website and thought real people might be able to help.
 
Taking her to the vet isn't really going to do much good right now, most chins don't show any signs of being pregnant until they are about to or give birth. The only way to tell if a chin is pregnant is to do x-rays, which is dangerous since they will likely have to put the chin under anesthesia to do that. Also the stress of going to the vet and handled can hurt the kits or cause her to abort them. Chins are pregnant for roughly 111 days +/-, so it's pretty much just waiting and making sure she is comfortable and getting good food for now. Right now you should read through some threads on the forum here about breeding, if you can stomach it I would highly recommend reading through some of the horror stories of things that can go wrong so you know what to watch for. Also let your parents know that she may need emergency vet visit if things go bad. Breeding chins is not for the faint of heart, a lot can go wrong. I don't know how old you are so I don't know if you have a job or credit cards, but an emergency c-section on a chin for example can easily be $2,000 or more, just to give you an idea of worse case money wise. You can call around to vets offices too if you haven't already to see what ones even take chins in your area should the need arise. Also make sure you find one that is also open or at least takes emergencies at night, they tend to give birth at night.

I've only had one set of kits years ago, and done research, so hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. Some other advice I can think of is, it's best to also no handle her much, if she is pregnant you can hurt the kits. Baby proof the cage, meaning no bar spacing wider then 1/2", no ledges, wheels, and once the kits are born you may need to remove the hiding house so she can't get away/hide from the kits. Make sure she is eating her food, and you can also add alfalfa to they hay you give to help increase protein and calcium.
 
If needed, and if you live near me (Or at least in an ok driving range), I can make arrangements here for her until they are weaned.
Other wise, the best you can do is keep reading up on posts here, get yourself some goats milk and bottle just in case, and wait.

I'm located in Central Illinois and have had plenty of litters and a vet just in case. You are welcome to contact me for any information (sometimes reading just isn't enough)
[email protected]
 
Just wanted to update anyone who cares. Penelope gave birth this afternoon around 2:00 after a 4 hour labor. We were packing up to take her to the vet when the first kit started to come out. After all was said and done she had three kits. The first and third kit were breech births and the third was also still born. The second came out fine but is only 34 grams but very active. I was the scariest thing to watch Penelope struggle but she was so strong but i'm never letting her become pregnant again. The sweet little girls are named Luna and Nymeria.
 
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