Pregnant Chin

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courtney456

New member
Joined
Mar 17, 2016
Messages
4
In december I got a "male" (actually a female) chinchilla to keep my actual male chinchilla company. Well like I said turned out to be a female and they've been caged together since December. If she got pregnant as soon as I put them together her due date would be sometime this month. I do know she is pregnant since she has nipples and has gained weight and been laying on her side. The problem is, is that I know you're supposed to put her into a baby-proof cage. But when I switched her over she started jumping on the walls of the cage and trying to get out, and I read that stress can lead to the babies dying. Sorry this was so long, but any suggestions of what I should do?
 
The female has to be in a baby safe cage, but you can try to help with it feeling more at home. If you haven't already, you can try moving some of her old cage stuff into the new cage, hidy house, food bowl, toys, etc. That way the stuff in the cage smells familiar, some chins deal with change better then others, but she should calm down. Chins are territorial, females more then males, so being placed in an unfamiliar cage that doesn't smell like her (so in a chin's mind could be another animal's territory), especially if she is about to give birth, can make her feel unsafe. Just make sure once the kits are born that the mother isn't hiding from the kits on top of the house, if she is remove it then.

Also chins don't always show signs of being pregnant, and some show signs and aren't really pregnant, so it's hard to tell how far along she really is or if she is even pregnant at all. It's best to count from the last day the male and female were together, the average gestation period is 111 days +/-, so count 120 (so you know for sure it's past time) from the last time they were together. If no kits after 120 days she wasn't pregnant after all and can go back in a normal cage, (not with the male of course) if the cage she is in isn't going to be her permanent cage.

I would also read over the threads in the breeding section if you haven't already, to help prepare yourself for the kits. A lot can go wrong so it's best to be prepared, with a vet lined up and knowing what to watch for just in case.
 
I put her back in the baby safe cage and put a few of her things in, but she still doesn't seem to be getting used to it. I'm worried that if she keeps jumping up on the walls she will have a miscarriage is this possible?
 
I doubt she'd have a miscarriage from jumping on the cage, unless she is climbing a foot or two up the cage and falling. It takes most chins at least a week to get use to a new cage/environment, so just give her time. They can have a miscarriage if they are handled too much when pregnant though, so it's best to keep handling to a minimum.

The only other option I can think of is if there is a way of baby proofing the cage that she normally lives in. Depending on what kind of cage you have I know a lot of people use hardware cloth (1/2" wire mesh) on the inside of the cage (walls, ceiling and floor) to baby proof cages like ferret nations to make them safe until their young kits get big enough.
 
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