How many grams is it okay for a baby to lose?

[TashaR]

Hi all!

I have one breeding pair; a mosaic male named Oakley and an eb female named Avalon. They recently had their first litter; triplets of course. I bred/showed chinchillas for ten years about four years ago, but haven't had any babies since my female had her Siamese twins delivered by c-section at 2 in the morning (see birth horror stories.)

Anyway, I got my new pair late last year at the WI show and their babies showed up Sunday. I was hoping for one big fat singleton, but the triplets are darling. Three girls; they were 45 grams at birth but some of that might have been due to still being a little damp. Yesterday they were 40 across the board. Today, they are 38, 40 and 41 grams. I know some weight loss is normal but I'd like to keep on top of them. I've only had to supplement one baby before, so my knowledge in this area is old and spotty.

Should I give them another day or two to sort themselves out, or should I be thinking about supplementing? Mom is attentive, the babies are generally under her and she is doing a great job.

 

[saphire]

If this is a first time mom, it can be possible that the milk is slow coming in. Make sure mom is drinking well.
Are you weighing them at the same time every day? If not, you should start. It plays on results.
Three days is a little long, they should start to gain weight. I would start supplementing them.

 

[Dreamlite]

I would supplement. That's a lot of weight loss. Is this her 1st litter? Are the kits fighting?

 

[tunes]

I would start supplementing, especially the 38 gm one. Once they hit the 30s, they start losing fast.

 

[TashaR]

Everyone is up three grams each this morning! Woo!

No fighting, and mama is doing wonderfully. I will be keeping a close eye on all three going forward but things are looking good.

 

[jbcstratton]

That is good news, triplets can be ruff on moms sometimes, especially if they are fighting.