2 week old underweight rescue kit

[Stellara]

So I recently became involved in a rescue situation involving many adults and two baby chins, in addition to some other animals.
A friend of mine and her 30ish year old daughter who have done lots of adult chinchilla rescuing/rehoming in the past are going to be taking the adults and possibly pregnant females (who hopefully are NOT pregnant). I committed to taking the two, two week old kits whose mother died at birth. I begged to get these guys the day I found out about them but the whole situation has been very frustrating and I get resistance every step of the way.
We are supposed to be getting all animals tomorrow, though I kept urging that I would be surprised if the kits lasted until then based on the care they were getting. I could not do much besides beg and pray since I had absolutely no idea where they even were let alone the name of the person who had them.
Today I got a call that one kit had died, and at this point I was really losing patience and was finally, with help, able to finagle them "allowing" me to get the last baby before it died. The plan is still on to get the rest tomorrow and as far as I'm concerned this HAS to happen.
Anyway, the one surviving orphan is with me now. Firstly, let me explain that while I have hand-reared many, many orphaned animals I am NOT a chinchilla person as adorable as I think they are and have never cared for an orphaned chinchilla before. I was up all night last night doing as much research as possible but I just want to be sure I am doing everything I can for this kit and see if the chinchilla knowledgeable people have any suggestions.
Firstly, I have a new scale on it's way here as my baby animal scale just conveniently broke two days ago. The weights are not accurate, however I am still weighing him twice a day with it because it will at least be consistent in that it will tell me if he is gaining or losing weight and how much.
I am feeding him 1 part evaporated milk, 2 parts boiled water, pinch of benebac (I have other probiotics if this is not a good one), and baby multivitamin 1 drop. He is eating 2-3 mls which I really let him take his time with to avoid aspiration and I am feeding him every 2 hours around the clock. I have him in a carrier right now so that I can heat one side of it and keep him nice and warm. I am also stimulating him everytime I am feeding him.
His condition: I believe he is maybe a little bigger than a newborn despite him being 2 weeks. That being said, I don't know how big a newborn chinchilla is exactly but he is a little bit bigger than a teddy bearish sized hamster and very bony. He was very weak when I got him. He is already starting to perk up though and when I first got him I added a drop of glucose to his first feeding. He was not urinating or defecating but now that he's had a few feedings his fecal matter has really gone up in volume and he just urinated for the first time an hour or so ago since I've had him. As of his last feeding he was MUCH better and wanted to hop all over me and chew on the couch. He started curling his tail rather than having it lay flat, though it's not ALWAYS curled. He was VERY weak and could hardly stand so just seeing him be able to hop around and balance on me/my computer/the couch was a big improvement. I put some hay and pellets in his carrier and he has nibbled on those a bit as well.
He was dehydrated so I did give him a very small amount of LRS Subcutaneously.
He doesn't have a belly and his stomach was pretty sunken on arrival but after a few feedings I can feel a little "tummy" finally.
He is dirty and his tail looks like it has been chewed- it is scabbed at the end and he protested to me cleaning it. I am a little concerned it is fungus because of the issues with a LOT of animals at this home but the first thing that comes to my mind when I look at it is that his sibling was nibling on him. It doesn't look infected and has already scabbed over but i will definitely need to keep a close eye on it.
His Background: they were feeding him regular HUMAN milk for the first week and a half of his life. I'm sure they were not feeding him more than every 4 hours and I highly doubt they were doing it that often. I was told that they were probably not stimulating him. They said he started eating hay and pellets at a week old but he really doesn't seem that familiar with them. Three days ago they were begged to switch to evaporated milk but instead switched to orange flavored yogurt. The first baby died just today.

Sorry for being so long I just wanted to give as much information as I can. I planned on bringing him to my exotic vet tomorrow that I've been using for my hedgehogs for years to have his tail checked and get a fecal done. I highly appreciate any advice in advance. I just want to make sure I am giving this little guy the best shot I can.

 

[tunes]

I didn't read through this entire post, I'm sorry it's late and my eyes are blurry, but when I skimmed down I saw what you were feeding. I would switch to goat's milk from the dairy case and mix in some baby rice cereal. You don't need to add vitamins or anything else, just use the goat's milk and cereal.

 

[javachin]

I'm really glad you were able to get him finally. As Tunes said, get some goats milk. I'm not sure where you're located but Walmart tends to carry both fresh (in with the regular milk) and canned...typically found where they keep the condensed milk and/or baking supplies. I've even found canned goat's milk at Raley's Supermarket and I wouldn't doubt you'd find it at a health food store type place.

Here's a helpful link you can check out too: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21.

Good luck with the little guy!

 

[Stellara]

Thanks guys, I was not sure whether goats milk or evaporated was better and will switch to goats and take out the vitamin. It might have to wait until the PM but I will get it ASAP and continue feeding every 2 hours.
I cleaned his tail wound with nolvasan solution which I hope is okay..I use it on kittens at the hospital and as far as I know it is better than peroxide for use in animals.
Thanks again

 

[mrh1980]

You can get calendula cream to put on his tail. It will help with the healing. I get it at Wegmans but you should be able to find it at any store that sells homeopathic remedies. Obviously it is for humans but I have used it on one of my chins that got bit by his brother. It comes in cream and ointment form. Either form is fine.

 

[qtpie61282]

When I spoke to the women who emailed me regarding these chins, I told her to use goats milk for the babies as well.
It's what I use for chins who aren't doing as well.

 

[HolyBegeebers]

What a story! I am glad you have taken this little one in and are doing the best you can with what you've got. It sounds like you've already received some good advice.

~Shannon Marie~

 

[6Dusters]

You can get calendula cream to put on his tail. It will help with the healing. I get it at Wegmans but you should be able to find it at any store that sells homeopathic remedies. Obviously it is for humans but I have used it on one of my chins that got bit by his brother. It comes in cream and ointment form. Either form is fine.

Just a note about calendula. While I know you don't have an abscess issue. I wanted to say," DO NOT USE CALENDULA ON ABSCESSES!
This plant based treatment will close up the wound around the abscess. My girlfriend went to George Mason University for homeopathic training to learn how to treat her animals. I have never forgotten this warning.
I use this remedy in a petroleum base. I use it on the family, the cats and chins. I guess it is processed as a cream. Don't know.

Best of luck with the little one. Switching over to goats milk will add the weight with regular feedings. Will be a little chub in no time.

 

[ticklechin]

Calendula is on the toxic list for rabbits, not sure how much of it is in the actual cream but I would not use it where a chin could lick it off.

http://www.allearssac.org/pdf/poison.pdf

 

[Stellara]

update on "Moose"

So I thought I would post an update. Today we went and got ALL of the chinchillas out (to my knowledge). My god those poor babies...
Unfortunately we were told all were female but I just got a call from the chinchilla savvy woman and daughter duo who are fostering them and they are all actually in male and female pairs except for one lone female. Now she has to somehow figure out how to fit five separate cages (that she will now need to buy) and we are really trying to find at least one foster to take one or two of these chins. She would give the foster the chins in the best condition, however I have to add that I have never seen chins that looked so bad and neither had she (she has also done rescue for many years and worked with the SPCA even..) :-/
The baby is still holding in there. He is so cute and when he hears a noise during play time he comes bolting under me to hide. He always is running back to me and is such a sweetie. He weighed 64 grams today at the vet.
Unfortunately where his tail is bitten, it is turning black and if this spreads at all the vet wants to amputate a portion of his tail asap. I am hoping that it is not rotting away as the surgery alone is worrisome in itself since he is so tiny-it would definitely be risky. She said he would need to be under anesthesia completely but I am wondering if I bring him to Cornell if there is another option- maybe numbing tail first or putting him out just a little?

Anyway in the mean time I'm supposed to continue the Nolvasan solution and she gave me this non-toxic cream that she uses on exotics. I'm hoping to god that the black is just discoloration of the scab or something..but I did take pictures of it so I can notice any very small changes and get him back there asap if there are any. We also shaved the affected area at the vet so it is easier to both clean and monitor for changes. The quicker I catch it the better since if it is rotting and does end up spreading a lot more than a LOT more of his tail would need to be amputated. His poor little tail is already pretty short as it is, I hate to see him lose more :-(
She was very happy with how alert and rambunctious he was, so that is a plus. I'm going to try to post a picture of him if I can. His fur is looking SO much better and he was so excited for his first dust bath!

 

[6Dusters]

Glad to hear all the chins are out of this situation and in a better place. In a few days the chins will begin to show your friend how grateful they are for taking them in.

Lets hope the little one keeps the tail and it continues to heal.

 

[Zoaea]

Wow, they left them to eat only pellets at a week. =( If they had kept feeding it human formula and every 2 hrs they probably at least wouldnt have been starving! Glad you got that kit when you did, sounds like he might not have lasted much longer. Hope all the chinnies pull through and get loving homes.

 

[Stellara]

So I found out that he may have actually been around four days old when I got him, which would make a lot more sense it seems since he was around 50 something grams. Also it makes sense why he would still be alive in that situation if he'd really only been there for four days or so.
Anyway he is growing so fast and I'm happy to say we lucked out and the tail should be okay and not need amputation.
He is eating great and I found a very tiny thin nipple that I attach to the end of a 1 ml syringe for feeding. He gets SO excited and latches on right away. He is so much more plump than when I got him, I was looking back at one of the first pictures I took of him and he was so thin and his coat was so awful. His coat looks better and better each day and he now has a nice little belly and I can no longer feel every bone in his body- he has that round body shape now that he is supposed to have and looks so much better.
I do have a few questions I'm having trouble finding answers to though.
1. He is drinking 4-5 ml on average per feeding and I'm now feeding him every three hours all day and night. Does this sound right? Do you continue increasing time between feedings as the kit takes more milk as you would with most other mammals?
2. How much baby rice cereal should I add to the milk?
3. How long do mothers typically nurse kits for? I want to know how long is best to be feeding him milk.
4. Should I have a water bottle in his big carrier attached the door? If not now, when should I introduce one? I have tried Shringe feeding him water but he acts disgusted that it isn't milk.
5. How long does mom stimulate the kits for? He does not urinate much , usually one to two times a day , is this normal ? He will usually go a little when I stimulate him and then will urinate on his own once a day.
Thanks in advance!