Advice for newly weaned babies

[tweak1976]

My chin Nala unexpectedly gave birth to two kits 7 weeks ago today. One is male, one female. I was told on this forum to keep them all together in a small cage until the kits are 8 weeks old and then they can go in a larger cage again, with the male separated. I have decided to keep the daughter, but my cousin will be taking the male. I just want to know if there is anything different about raising young chins that I may not already know, as well as any advice I can give my cousin. Both of us have had chinchillas in the past, but never this young.
Both babies are eating regular food, though the girl seems to still be nursing occasionally. Both kits have grown huge... their heads are now the size their entire bodies were when they were born. They have been handled frequently and are taking occasional dust baths as well.
Any advice or suggestions out there?

The mom and daughter have been living in my classroom 1/2 of the week and with me the other 1/2. They are doing well in the classroom and my 5th grade students LOVE them. I used to send the mom home with a student on the weekends (in her regular large cage), but don't know if this is a good idea with a mom and young daughter. Mom did fine traveling to kids' homes (and the students and parents are aware of the responsiblity and care a chinchilla requires. At what age can the baby start the same habit?

 

[Lillybabe]

I am a teacher myself and the idea of sending a chinchilla home with different children is absolutely terrifying to me. 5th graders are younger than the typical recommended age for children to own chinchillas. Then there's the risk of the chins getting ill or the house not being suitable for young chins. Are these children's parents willing to take a chinchilla to the vet at 3 am? Are they willing to pay hundreds of dollars for the visit? Most vets expect payment at the time of service. Will they know what vet to go to? What advice to believe? When a chin should see a vet? Chinchillas go downhill very quickly. You could have a happy bouncy chin on Friday and a very ill chin on Saturday or Sunday. This forum is full of people who said their chin was fine and then all the sudden, they weren't.

What size cage can you be sending home? Most the cages people love on here... would have to be taken apart to fit into your standard vehicle. How many grams are the kits? The kits also most likely need far smaller spacing in their cage so you would need to check that. It would be bad if one escaped at a child's house. Kits also need closer watching since they are so young. Playtime for kits isn't recommended until 6 months. Are these children going to be willing to fight the urge to show one off and let it bounce around their home? I've substitute taught in 5th grade classrooms and I wouldn't trust them with my 11 week old girls. Even in the best situation there's the fact that chinchillas need consistancy and things like filtered water. How do they get use to one place if they're constantly bouncing places?

I'm really not trying to be completely negative but the idea as I said scares me. Chinchillas can adapt to being held more, to noisy houses, etc. but to move around all the time I'm not sure it's good for them. Final question, how did Nala unexpectedly get pregnant? Have you only had her a short time? Assuming others felt that this setup was safe for a chinchilla my recommendation would be not to send a kit home with a child before 6 months of age. Personally I wouldn't have one in my classroom at all... but if I did it wouldn't be again until the kit was 6 months old and had gained a bulk of it's weight.

 

[Dreamlite]

I would never trust anyone to randomly take home a chin for a weekend like that. Just because you have provided a care sheet doesn't meant they read or understand it. Lots of people read things in books or on the internet that aren't true about chins. If you want to bring them back and forth for you and them, that's a entirely different thing altogether. I personally wouldn't do that to my chin but they can adapt to new things like weekly travel, but why stress them more than is needed?if the parents wanted the kids to learn about pets and responcibilities they would get the kids their own pet.

I usually wean kits at 8 weeks old if they are over 200 grams. I would wean the female kit as well so the mothers milk can dry up then re intro them. Just be careful with the bar sizes on the cages till they are fully grown. They can fit out of very small areas.and be ure to keep them at least a week after weaning to make sure they are gaining weight properly and eating well on their own.

 

[RDZCRanch]

The baby is already used to traveling between the classroom and your home. There is no set age to start her on the trips to the kids' homes. The only thing I would worry about is her being smaller and squirmier than her mother which encourages kids to squeeze when holding them and that can cause lasting neurological problems or death.