A possible concern.

[CJR]

Okay, so I've had Bessie for just about a month. When I got her, she weighed in at 770g.

Well, I've been noticing that she's getting fatter. A LOT fatter. So I threw her on the scale... She weighed 937g two nights ago. I checked my scale to make sure it was accurate, and it was. But... a 167g gain in a month?!

The only reason I suspect she may be pregnant is because, in her previous home, there were 4 males and 2 females. All were caged individually and either on the floor or stacked on another chin cage. Bessie's cage was on the floor. Her previous owner told me that her one male frequently escaped and would wander around the basement. At the time, I didn't think anything of it.

But obviously, he could have bred Bessie through the bars.

Tonight I felt her belly. It was very, very round and very firm.

I just don't know what to look for in a pregnant female, and honestly, I'm both excited and terrified if she is pregnant. I have no idea what to do with kits!

(I am keeping in mind that she may have gained so much weight simply because she stuffs her face with two handfuls of hay each night...)

 

[Laurie]

Pash, if she is pregnant her nipples will be elongated and you will be able to feel the baby/babies kicking when you hold her. I'm not 100% positive but when I think back on Bobo and Abigail being pregnant they were bottom half large if you get my meaning. From the arial view looking down their head stayed the same, shoulders looked the same but their bottom half definitely was bigger and wider.

 

[Essentia]

Laurie, you only feel baby kicks toward the end of the pregnancy. How long have you had Bessie? If it's only a month, and she got pregnant right before you got her you don't be far enough along to feel bebeeee kickies.

Edit: If she has a beige male, you already have a home for him...my house.

 

[CJR]

Yeah, there are no kicks, no babies that I could feel. Just VERY firm and VERY round. Not like Tia's belly at all, Tia's belly isn't nearly that firm.

And if she has a beige male, you can have him... but if she has a beige female, she's mine!

I just don't want something to go wrong.

 

[Essentia]

You can keep her. I don't want your ewwie females anyway. I love my male chinnies.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I guess the only thing you can do it wait it out and keep a very close eye on her.
Know when the last time the male escaped was might also help give you an idea of when she could have gotten pregnant if she did.

Also, if shes been on better food and more hay than her previous home, that could play a big role in it as well

 

[CJR]

I would love to know when the male escaped, but the person I bought her from will not answer my texts or emails.

She is on more hay than before, I don't think she got hay in her previous home. If I am correct, she was on Big Red Rabbit feed before I got her - I have been switching her to Purina Show (or whatever it is called now) and she is currently on a 50/50 mix of it.

 

[Megan]

Pash, with the extremely firm and hard belly it makes me think she may be pregnant. Combine that with the weight gain, and I really think she is.

PM and I'll give you my cell phone number. If she is indeed pregnant, and you need anything feel free to call me. I can try my best to help.

Good luck! Care of a pregnant chin isn't too bad-- Lots of fresh food and water, and a baby proof cage. You'll want a vet around just in case you do need to take her in if something goes wrong. Most likely one morning you'll wake up and find babies in the cage, though. I'd go ahead and mover her into a baby safe cage soon, just in case. It won't hurt her if she turns out to not be pregnant, but would greatly benefit the babies if she is pregnant.

 

[CJR]

To a baby safe cage it is... I have two cages that I can transfer her to, one is definitely baby-safe and the other I am not sure.

The one I am not sure about is the cage Tia used to be in - it is 24"x12"x12". The other is a bird cage - 18"x18"x22". I know that ranchers keep chins in 18"x18" cages, will that be okay to move her into for now? Can she still have some ledges?

 

[Megan]

The biggest thing will be the bar spacing on the cage. Which one has the smallest bar spacing for the wire? You'll need something they can't get out of. 1/4" x 1/4" is good, and 1/2" x 1/4" will work, but I wouldn't go larger then that personally.

You can put a ledge in the cage, but once babies come you'll have to decide if you should leave it in or not. If she's ignoring babies, take out the ledge. If she's only going up once in awhile for a break, leave it in.

I keep a leap n ledge type thingy in all my cages so mom can get a break from her kits if she needs to.

I would just act like she's pregnant at this point. If she isn't GREAT, if she is you'll be prepared.

 

[CJR]

The wire spacing on the bird cage is smaller, I am not sure how large the wire spacing on the other cage is. I'm not at home right now, I'll be home tomorrow around 9am or so. I'll switch her to the bird cage then.

 

[moon]

I agree with Megs - sounds like she's pregnant to me too. Unless you're feeding her lots of fatty treats it's unlikely that she would gain THAT much weight in so short a time.

I think Megan meant to say 1/2" by 1" would be the largest spacing to use for a baby safe cage - that's the spacing on the runs we use for breeding. I wouldn't go any larger than that. Bird cages usually don't have enough cross wires for safety, but you could always get pieces of the correct size from a hardware store and attach them to the outside of the cage in a pinch.

 

[Kalandra]

Here is a link for caring for kits that you may want to read through as well (if you haven't already). http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21.

 

[CJR]

Thanks Kalandra, I actually already printed that out and pretty much have it memorized.

The wire on the bird cage is thus - the front and back are vertical bars, the sides are horizontal. The spacing is very small, like the width of a pencil. Is that all right?

In any case, she is now in the bird cage and she is not pleased about. She was peeping at me and begging to be let out.

 

[CJR]

I hope you all need a laugh...

Okay, so I got home tonight and weighed Bess. She's very wiggly, so I always put her in the weighing/travel cage to weigh her. I was in a hurry, and didn't tare the scale to account for the cage, nor did I put a towel in before I put her in (both of these facts are very important). The scale thought for a minute, and then spit out a number:

1638g.

I know the weighing cage weighs 930g. So... 1638 - 930 = 708.

Wait, what?!

I usually will put a towel in the cage before I weigh anyone, just in case they pee. The other night, I tared the scale once the cage was on it but forgot to tare it when I added the towel.

Just to be sure, I weighed the towel by itself and yep, it weighed 236g.

236 (cage weight) + 708 (Bessie's REAL weight) = 944

So it turns out Bessie has actually LOST 60g since I've had her, probably due to the food switch. Her belly being hard is probably because she inhaled two fistfuls of hay right before I felt her belly.

I'm feeling really stupid right now. But hey, at least I don't have to worry about babies.

 

[Essentia]

Aww. I'm happy for you, and sorry for you all at the same time. I know secretly you were a bit excited.

 

[inzeos]

I wouldn't assume she is not pregnant at this point either. Sounds like she could have gotten pregnant from the male "escaping" from his cage.

Just remember 110 days is a long time.

The only thing I noticed with my girl who gave birth this past week was a change in her belly and more prominent nipples. Neither of our two rescue girls liked to be held; however, both don't mind if you slide your hand under them and cradle their belly so long as you do it slowly.

 

[CJR]

True Inzeo, but I finally got ahold of Bess's previous owner and asked her about it. That male did frequently escape, but 6 months ago she put a lock on his cage and he hasn't escaped since. I will definitely keep an eye on her, but I think we're in the clear.