I haven't been posting on here much since the move, but I do still have one breeding trio of chinchillas. Things have been fine with them, healthy litters with one or two nice babies, easy deliveries and no interventions needed.
Last night, I noticed that Terrah, my 9 year old ebony, had given birth to one healthy kit but still appeared to be in labor. When I checked her, I could see the face of another kit. I decided to give her 30 minutes and check her again.
When I checked her again at 8:45, the kit was bloodied and mangled, and clearly deceased. I attempted to help her deliver the kit by gently pulling on the head, but she whimpered in pain and I didn't want to make things worse by pulling too hard and hurting her.
Of course now it is 9 pm, she has one healthy baby, and is clearly in distress. I called my Emergency vet, but the vet who deals with exotics wasn't available, so we bundled up in the snow and drove an hour and a half to an emergency vet in St. Paul.
The vet took some X-rays and saw two spines on the X-ray, meaning there was the mangled kit still inside of her, as well as another one. They gave me a CD of the X-rays but I cannot get them to open on my computer at this time. A shot of a oxytocin was given to her to see if we could restart her contractions. 45 minutes later, she was no closer to delivery, so we decided to go ahead with a c-section (and spay).
I stayed at the vets office with her while they worked. I didn't get to watch, obviously, but they were wonderful people and one woman kept me updated. At 4 am, she came to tell me that Terrah had made it through the spay, that her first kit was still alive (the one she'd come in with) and that the reason Terrah had been unable to deliver the kits was because they were siamese twins. She brought them out for me to see, and they were attached at the chest. Two perfect little black velvet chinchillas, conjoined from chest to belly with what appeared to be one placenta.
They took some pictures and told me they would email them to me, so if I get them, I will share them with you.
Terrah and her surviving kit, Mia, are home now, 12 hours later. She is spayed and has stitches up her whole belly, but is still actively nursing Mia and grooming her. For medication, she needs to take Baytril 2x a day, Metoclopramide for digestion help, and the vet gave me 3 days of painkillers as well as a packet of critical care in case she quits eating.
Total cost of my night? $1,988.43 and Terrah is still not 100% out of the woods yet.
I have been breeding chinchillas since I was 14, so for ten years now, and I have been blessed with good luck. I have never had a birthing complication yet, but I did have money in place and a plan in case of emergency. I was never so thankful for planning in my life as I was last night, when the vet brought me that estimate for Terrah's care.
Like I said, if I end up with access to the pictures, I'm happy to share. I will get a picture of Terrah's incision later, but she and Mia have had a long night and I want to give them some time to rest before I poke at them. I am supervising her to watch for her nibbling at her stitches but the doctors put a piece of medical tape (I cannot remember the name of it, but it's supposed to be permeable to air?) over them and thus far she hasn't fussed with them.
I just wanted to share my night with you! If anyone has any suggestions for Terrah's continued care, I would appreciate any advice you might have!
Thanks!
Last night, I noticed that Terrah, my 9 year old ebony, had given birth to one healthy kit but still appeared to be in labor. When I checked her, I could see the face of another kit. I decided to give her 30 minutes and check her again.
When I checked her again at 8:45, the kit was bloodied and mangled, and clearly deceased. I attempted to help her deliver the kit by gently pulling on the head, but she whimpered in pain and I didn't want to make things worse by pulling too hard and hurting her.
Of course now it is 9 pm, she has one healthy baby, and is clearly in distress. I called my Emergency vet, but the vet who deals with exotics wasn't available, so we bundled up in the snow and drove an hour and a half to an emergency vet in St. Paul.
The vet took some X-rays and saw two spines on the X-ray, meaning there was the mangled kit still inside of her, as well as another one. They gave me a CD of the X-rays but I cannot get them to open on my computer at this time. A shot of a oxytocin was given to her to see if we could restart her contractions. 45 minutes later, she was no closer to delivery, so we decided to go ahead with a c-section (and spay).
I stayed at the vets office with her while they worked. I didn't get to watch, obviously, but they were wonderful people and one woman kept me updated. At 4 am, she came to tell me that Terrah had made it through the spay, that her first kit was still alive (the one she'd come in with) and that the reason Terrah had been unable to deliver the kits was because they were siamese twins. She brought them out for me to see, and they were attached at the chest. Two perfect little black velvet chinchillas, conjoined from chest to belly with what appeared to be one placenta.
They took some pictures and told me they would email them to me, so if I get them, I will share them with you.
Terrah and her surviving kit, Mia, are home now, 12 hours later. She is spayed and has stitches up her whole belly, but is still actively nursing Mia and grooming her. For medication, she needs to take Baytril 2x a day, Metoclopramide for digestion help, and the vet gave me 3 days of painkillers as well as a packet of critical care in case she quits eating.
Total cost of my night? $1,988.43 and Terrah is still not 100% out of the woods yet.
I have been breeding chinchillas since I was 14, so for ten years now, and I have been blessed with good luck. I have never had a birthing complication yet, but I did have money in place and a plan in case of emergency. I was never so thankful for planning in my life as I was last night, when the vet brought me that estimate for Terrah's care.
Like I said, if I end up with access to the pictures, I'm happy to share. I will get a picture of Terrah's incision later, but she and Mia have had a long night and I want to give them some time to rest before I poke at them. I am supervising her to watch for her nibbling at her stitches but the doctors put a piece of medical tape (I cannot remember the name of it, but it's supposed to be permeable to air?) over them and thus far she hasn't fussed with them.
I just wanted to share my night with you! If anyone has any suggestions for Terrah's continued care, I would appreciate any advice you might have!
Thanks!
And yes -- the siamese twins were interesting to see, but I'd rather it hadn't happened to me!
